The #ENDSARS Protests: Lessons on Effective Governance, Active

Citizen Participation and Nation-building.

THE ENDSARS PROTEST

Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) is one of the intelligence units in the Nigeria Police Force saddled
with the sole responsibility to investigate crimes related to robbery, vehicle theft, cattle rustling and
firearms. This unit was created in 1992 and the officers of the unit operated undercover in plain clothes
and plain vehicles and they did not carry arms in public. SARS has been working in the shadows and all
the public has been seeing is the manifestation of their work in cases like the apprehension of Evans, the
famous kidnaper and others alike until they went rogue and became an issue of concern to the public
due to the harassment, extortion and the extra judicial killings accredited to them. They now carry arms
in public on plain clothing and even mount road blocks.

In 2017, Nigerians got fed up with the excesses of SARS officers and started a social media protest which
only earned a lot of promises from the government. Nothing was actually done to that effect even after
the Vice-President, declared that SARS will be overhauled, it seemed like their lawlessness grew from
bad to worse. In the year 2020 after several cases of extra judicial killings, extortions and intimidations,
Nigerians returned to social media to protest once more. This time, many people got involved because
more people had tasted the bitter pills of SARS officers.

When the EndSars protest gained momentum on social media and was still not taken seriously, then
came the need to take it offline. The response of Nigerians to the offline protest was overwhelming.
Within few days there was simultaneous protest in about 21 states in Nigeria. The protest was not
limited to Nigeria alone as Nigerian diasporas were also protesting; world renowned figures were also
lending their voices to the protest.

Even though the EndSars protest was ignited by Police (SARS) brutality, there were some underlying
factors that fueled the protest. These factors include: perceived marginalization by the Southerners,
insecurity in the North, youth idleness and the hostility of the society towards young successful people.

LESSONS ON EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE

According to United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Policy Paper (1997:2), characteristics of
good governance are as follows: Participation, Rule of Law, Transparency, Responsiveness, Consensus
orientation, Equity, Effectiveness and efficiency, Accountability, Strategic Vision.

The EndSars protest could have been avoided if some of the items that characterize good governance
were seriously considered. None the less, the government needs to learn to avert future occurrence.

Responsiveness
Whenever a major challenge confronts the citizens whether internal or external, the Government should
act swiftly in responding to the plight of citizens. In so doing the citizens will develop trust in the
government due to the fact that they, the citizens know the government has them at heart. If the
government is nonchalant towards the plight of it citizens, over time, the citizens will be forced to carter
for themselves whether legally or illegally and if so happen anarchy will set in.

Management Effectiveness and Efficiency

The government should put in place checks and reward systems for it bureaucracies so as to ensure that
they are effective and efficient in discharging their duties within the confines of the law. If any of the
Public bureaucracies are found to be exceptionally skillful and efficient in transforming public resources
into services and infrastructure that correspond to public determined priorities, such a bureaucracy
should be rewarded and if found wanting should be sanctioned.

Equity and inclusiveness

During the EndSars protest, all the sourthern states were actively involved while it was just a few of the
Northern states that were part of the protest. The Northern states that participated were demanding for
“SecureNorth” which felt like they were opposing the EndSars protest. Some northerners were
demanding that SARS should be left to tackle insecurity in the north. There were subliminal messages
that were being exchanged during the protest which were; the South wanting an overturn of
government because they do not feel they hard fair share and the North wanting to maintain the status
quo. All groups particularly the less privileged ones should be given opportunities to improve or
maintain their wellbeing.

ACTIVE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

The lackadaisical attitude of the government towards issues that concern the citizens has caused the
citizens to lose trust in the government, thereby causing them to feel their participation in the act of
governance will not yield any positive result. None the less, the citizens do not have to wait for a perfect
government before they can participate because there will never be any such thing. The citizens
participating actively would even get the government on their toes. The citizens can participate actively
through the following ways:

Knowledge, they say is power, how can you hold somebody accountable when you are not
knowledgeable about their roles and limitations. Hence the first and most important way citizens can
participate actively in governance is by being abreast with the happenings in the government and
comparing such happenings with the provision in the constitution. By so doing they can be able to tell if
the government is working within its’ power or otherwise.

Next to that, citizens should capitalize on the civic space provided by civil society organizations so that
they can use their knowledge to police the government into being accountable. The cautiousness that
somebody is watching and will demand for explanation is enough to keep the government on their toes.

NATION BUILDING

The Nation building is a joint task of the government and the citizens. The government produces the
plan and policy while the citizens participate in the building and scrutinizing of the plans and policy. It is
through this way that we can build a nation of our dream that everybody will be proud of.