The Mechanics of A Leader-less Protest And How It Works, by Mofijesusewa Samuel
For the past week, Nigerian youths have come together across different state lines to protest police brutality and bad governance. They have successfully trended the protest hashtags on social media and gotten the attention of international media.
The government, confused about how it’s been possible to successfully lead peaceful protests in several locations at the same time for different days, have been wondering who the protest leaders are. The youths have reiterated the same response over again, ‘We have no leaders, you answer to us all’. The question now is, if there are no leaders of the movement, how is it possible to mobilise protesters like we are doing? Well, it’s simply a result of volunteering and the willingness of youths to play different roles and parts, without expecting compensation.
Today, we take a look at the different roles different protesters have taken up to make the #EndSARS and #EndSWAT campaign a success.
1. The Lawyers: In only one week, over 400 lawyers have volunteered to help bail out wrongfully arrested protesters. As soon as the police arrest any person on the streets, the lawyers immediately swing into action, to help out in any way possible. Some of the lawyers have also been harassed, but they keep fighting.
2. The Financiers: Many young people who cannot come out on the streets have resorted to funding the movement. Fintech startup Flutterwave, in partnership with the Feminist Coalition, created a donation account at the beginning of the protest. On Thursday, October 15, 2020, they released a breakdown of the total amount raised and how some of it has been spent on health care, legal fees, food, basic amenities, etc. They announced that they had received N62,643,663.05, $11,474.34, CAD$ 5,595.89, EUR 875.42, GHS 1,256.70, KES 53, 016.60, and BTC 1.28827988 in donations.
They have used these funds for protesters in 25 states, and they continue to do more. In their statement, they said, “Like everyone else, we decided to play our part and help fight the injustice through fundraising to sustain the peaceful protests and ensure the safety of Nigerians exercising their civic rights by providing food, water and other refreshments, masks, medical aid, and legal aid for protesters.”
3. The Chanters: A protest will be incomplete without people who shout the words that encourage people to continue to fight. That is where these people come in. They are usually one of the first set of people to get to the different protest grounds. Using their mega or microphones, they chant demands and the crowd replies. On arriving at any protest ground, you will be sure to hear them saying, “What do we want?” And the crowd will respond with – “End SARS”. They work tirelessly for hours, and many of them lose their voices.
Credit: Bolaji Rasaq
4. The Clean-Up Crew: In what has been one of the most surprising twists of this protest, the youths have successfully managed to keep protest grounds clean. All thanks to the members of the clean-up crew, who use their hands (covered by gloves), to pick up trash from the floor and deposit bags of dirt in one place.
5. The Fighters: There have been many iconic pictures of people in the most interesting positions. People who put their lives on the line to try and keep others safe like Davido and Aisha Yesufu. Or people who pick up cans of tear gas to throw back at the police. Some people do everything in their power to keep other people safe, including fighting government-sponsored thugs.
6. The First Responders: These are the medical personnel who have dedicated their time to keep protesters safe. They are on standby to help injured protesters, and their tireless and amazing work is one of the reasons many feel safe to come out and join in the fight against police brutality.
7. Flag Bearers: What are protests without the sign holders and flag bearers? This is a special shout out to people who create different signs and spend their time and energy holding them up. We’ve seen amazing photos of people holding up signs in the rain and the sun, including a video from DJ Cuppy. One flag bearer, in particular, has become a sign of hope to protesters. They call him the ‘The Gram Boy’. He holds up the Nigerian flag, the anti-SARS flag, and the Reform-the-Police flag at different protest grounds.
8. The Food Sharers: While some people are donating money, used to provide food for protesters, others are bringing the meals directly to the protest grounds and sharing them. Some who can afford to feed many, share to a lot of people. Others who can only feed a few, share with those around them. That way, no one at the protest ever has to go hungry.
9. The Entertainers: Many protesters entertain others by showing off their talents. Others create skits, music videos and the likes online to spread awareness about the protest. From the DJs to the Aluta choir, and the performers, everybody contributes to making sure protesters don’t stay fired up.
10. The recorders: Then there are the special group of people who document everything that happens at each protest ground with pictures and videos. They have helped to save lives as reports coming from the sides of the authorities have proven to be false. On Monday, October 12, 2020, one protester, Ojah-B, was unlawfully arrested at the Surulere protest. The Police were ready to frame him for the murder of another policeman who died at the protest. Without the countless number of videos and pictures from the protest that proved Ojah-B had no hands in the officer’s death, the young man may have gone to jail. These groups of people also help us to amplify our stories to the international community, and they help make the movement possible.
11. The Keypad Warriors: Not everybody can afford to go on the street to protest. This is where this group comes in. They amplify the protest online. Over the last seven days, the initial protest hashtag, #EndSARS has received over 49 million mentions, and #EndSWAT has been mentioned 21.9 million times in the past two days. This group is the reason #EndSARS is the number one hashtag in the world right now, and why the international community has its eyes on Nigeria as we protest.
12. The Influencers: These are the celebrities who have helped the movement with their contributions. Everybody from Falz, Wizkid, Davido, Tacha, and Small Doctor to Pastor Sam Adeyemi, Pastor E.A Adeboye, Jack Dorsey, Pamilerin, Genevieve Nnaji, Mr Macaroni, and more. Protesters feel their presence more when they show up at different venues. They always help to calm down volatile situations and amplify the issues through their large followership.
Nigerian youths want to change the status quo, and we will achieve this if we continue with this level of cooperation. For now, continue to ‘Soro Soke’ and Aluta Continua!
