By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos

Convener of Hope Initiative Bashir Abdullahi II on Tuesday recommended youth representatives to dialogue with the Federal Government on behalf of the ENDSARS protesters on their demands stressing that the open dialogue will end the current imbroglio and save Nigeria from the imminent socio-economic and political consequences if protests persist and are infiltrated.

Bashir who is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Konad Group made this known while addressing newsmen .

He said that i address you on the ongoing protest against police brutality and impunity in our country. You may wish to recall that the unfortunate incidence of Saturday, October 3, 2020, at Wetland Hotel, Ughelli in Delta State, where a police officer attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) shot a young man, and he and his colleagues took away a Lexus SUV belonging to the victim. This event captured on video started trending, wildly, on Twitter. The resultant public outcry led to the nation-wide protests tagged #EndSARS. Since October 8, the country has been overwhelmed with outcry and anger. The number of videos and pictures showing police brutality, harassment and extortion in Nigeria is overwhelming and totally unacceptable.

The #EndSARS protests have gained international traction, and perhaps have the most famous hashtag on Twitter for the last week. From rapper and US presidential candidate, Kayne West, Arsenal FC midfielder Mesut Ozil, to British media personality, Piers Morgan, we are witnessing a lot of people across the globe lending their voices to the protests against police brutality in Nigeria. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, even entered the fray. He twitted the #EndSARS hashtag and urged protesters who seem to be having difficulties in securing a viable platform for raising funds for the protest to consider using bitcoin. The #EndSARS hashtag has been used over 50 million times on Twitter alone.

The SARS problem and other forms of police brutality have lingered for too long. The Nigerian police are reputed to be the most corrupt in the world. Each time there is a public outcry, the authorities take cosmetic measures.

What is clear is that Nigerian youths are very angry with the current situation in the country, which is a product of many years of vision-less Leadership and bad governance.

The #EndSARS protest has sent a clear signal that the youths of Nigeria have found their voice and the message is that we need comprehensive reforms in all sectors of our country, be it security, education, healthcare, governance, economy or youth engagement. To assume that it is all about police brutality is a simplistic interpretation of a complex situation.

For decades, Nigerians have been complaining about police brutality, the Nigerian state has turned a blind eye, despite panels upon panels set up and recommendations upon recommendations made. As Professor Jibrin Ibrahim, respected political scientist and newspaper columnist, pointed out, all presidents since 1999 have set up one panel or the other on police reform. The reports are gathering dust on Aso Rock shelves. Meanwhile, the police have been gleefully stockpiling dead bodies, cocksure that there would be no consequences. SARS went on robbing and killing with impunity.
Poverty, unemployment and inequality are the biggest triggers of uprising in any society.

Some young person’s taking to “yahoo”, drug dealing, and armed robbery are products of a system that does not reckon with the implications of unemployment and poverty. An idle hand, it is said, is tempting the devil. No human being will sit at home and die of hunger. Self-preservation is a basic human instinct. If it is to steal, beg or borrow, the human being will strive to survive. Let me be clear: I am not in any way justifying crime; however, a wise society will make a connection between unemployment, poverty and crime, and act decisively to address the problems at the root.

As a young Nigerian, I am very proud of the gallantry displayed by the youths in this movement.

The accomplishments are already unprecedented but now require tactical measures in moving forward.
In all, we need to have an articulated game plan. We must have an end game in mind. At what stage do we sheathe the sword and seize this golden opportunity to begin to hold leaders at all levels accountable as a movement? No government official, whether elected or appointed, should sleep at ease again.

What are the lawmakers doing with the constituency projects? Why are the roads so bad? Why are the hospitals and schools in such horrible state? Why are government officials chartering jets to attend political rallies? How are the budgets spent? These questions should shape the next stage of agitation, which should be peaceful and orderly as usual.

However, in all dealings with governments and sovereignties worldwide and throughout history, including wars, everything ends on the negotiating table.
I suggest we please prepare to go to the table with the authorities to discuss but before then, we need a structured leadership and a well-articulated compilation of our demands which must be comprehensive and addressing all areas where leadership and governance have failed over the years. Let me also state clearly that I do not seek to lead the delegation but I am simply sharing my opinion as a young concerned Nigerian who believes in the possibilities of our great nation.
So, going forward, we need,
Immediate.
Short term
long term plans.

The change we are agitating for is not just a change in governance but an overhaul of the Nigerian system to give us the Nigeria of our dreams.

For the comrades in the protests, I urge us to come together and create platforms through technology where we can have representatives in each state.

Those who want to offer themselves can be registered with their CVs and bio data. We should then choose a date and let all those involved who must have registered online to vote, vote among them for a purposeful leadership. We could pick the first 10 or 12 or any number to be determined by the groups in the states to constitute the leadership for each state.

All state leaders elected can come together virtually or physically and select National leaders, ensuring every state is represented. With this team in place and our propositions at hand we can approach the government and begin the historic talk, because a new beginning is upon us.

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EndSARS protest – Bashir Abdullahi II recommends dialogue with FG