Soweto uprising, the Arab spring and Nigeria’s misplaced revolution

While the planned “nationwide” protest by Innocent Idibia aka Tuface, is still enjoying headlines, I have been pondering over the possibility of the protest bringing a lasting solution to Nigeria’s problem. I was deeply engrossed in this mind-boggling adventure yesterday, when I stumbled on the 1992 South African blockbuster film, Sarafina. Yes, that star-studded movie that featured Leleti Khumalo, Whoopi Goldberg, Miriam Makeba, John Kani, Tertius Meintjies and many others. Sarafina retells the Soweto uprising of 1976. As part of the policies of the then apartheid government in South Africa, the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, was introduced to force all black schools to use Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.

According to the new policy, Afrikaans was to replace the indigenous Africa languages, so while all black schools had to provide instruction in both Afrikaans and English as languages, white South African students learned other subjects in their home language. In response to the policy, students from various Sowetan schools took to the streets of Soweto on 16 June 1976 to protest. Though the students embarked on the protest unannounced, it is estimated that close to 20,000 students took part in the protests. As portrayed in the film, the students met fierce police brutality which resulted in thousands of death. The movie may not have told the complete story of the uprising, but one thing is very true, a bunch of black college students led the protest that eventually changed, not only story of Soweto but also the story South Africa.

“The aftermath of the uprising established the leading role of the ANC in the anti-apartheid struggle, as it was the body best able to channel and organise students seeking the end of apartheid”. (Source: Wikipedia). In his address on 16 June 1994 to mark the 18th anniversary of the Soweto uprising, the then President Nelson Mandela acknowledged the role of the Sowetan school students in South Africa’s struggle for freedom; “To the question, So Whereto Now, the answer of the youth and people of South Africa was: to battle, to struggle, to more bravery. Today, we mark the 18th anniversary of June 16th as a free people, proud and full of joy for taking the resistance of that generation and others before and after it to its final conclusion”.

May be Soweto is too ancient, let’s talk about the Arab spring. Many Arab countries have been in a make or mar state following the revolutionary movement, Arab spring. The spring began on 17 December 2010 in Tunisia when a 26-year-old fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of a government building. The incidence sparked series of anti-government protests across Tunisia, which later spread to other Arab countries. The uprising, which was a civil response to bad governments in the Arab world, involved both violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, coups and civil wars. Of course, the protests met with counter-demonstrations and violent responses from pro-government demonstrators and militias. The Arab spring led to the ousted of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, including civil wars in Libya, Syria, Yemen and other countries in the Arab league and its surroundings.

Revolutionary movements like the Soweto uprising and the Arab spring do not just happen without leaving significant impacts. Nations have been made or marred by revolutions. In his article, “The best revolution Nigeria needs”, Muhammad Yusha puts it thus, “Other revolutions can start from the people as we are witnessing today in the Arab awakening. But not every revolution is successful”. Yes, not every revolution is successful. It is no longer a question of whether the state of affair in Nigeria is going in the downward spiral since the advent of democracy. The question now is the speed at which the country is sliding into a state of comatose. At this point, no country needs a revolution more than Nigeria. Muhammad Yusha opines that; “There are so many ways to conduct a revolution and change the society. Some of these ways include visionary leadership that understands the needs of the society and leading people in that direction”.

Apparently, Nigeria’s quest for visionary leadership is a vicious circle. The quest has even caused more leadership crisis in the country, hence, any revolution capable of changing Nigeria’s situation must come from the people. Truth is, under the current democratic dispensation alone, Nigeria has missed several golden opportunities for a revolution. The Odi massacre of November 20, 1999, where “nearly 2500 civilians were killed” by the Nigerian military was enough to spark a nationwide protest. Sadly, the fiercest revolutionary movements in Nigeria of recent, have either been completely misguided or driven by ethnic/tribal, religious or political sentiments, such as MEND and MASSOP. However, in 2012, the country came close to witnessing a revolution that was for the entire country. It was the #OccupyNigeria protest. Everything was right; the anger, the fierceness and the contagiousness. Like Soweto uprising and Arab spring, #OccupyNigeria happened on the spur of the moment. Everything was right until politics came in; the PDP/APC balderdash.

Agreed. Right now, Nigerians are at the boiling point because of the current situation. The anger in us right now, if properly utilized, can change the story of Nigeria for good. But the question is, are we ready to do the needful? The answer is No. I hate to break the news but for many reasons, I am very certain that the much hyped February 6 protest will not change anything. The kind of revolution that Nigeria needs right now has unique qualities. First and foremost, like other renowned revolutions, it must be spontaneous. Nigeria is in a very critical situation. So the kind of protest we need is not a show or concert that needs planning. It should be impulsive in order to take the government by surprise. To successfully revolt against a stubborn government like ours, we cannot give the government time to prepare. The anti-government protesters in Tunisia took the government by surprise and barely a month into the protest, the president fled.

If my memory do not fail me, the Islamic sect, Boko Haram never announced its plans to the federal government before launching its first attack. Even MEND did not give Nigeria a fixed day it was going commence its militant activities but both groups held sway for years. Relatively, the Super Falcons won the 2016 Women AFCON title but the federal government failed to pay them despite several pleas. The Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung even said that there was no money to pay the girls because the government did not expect them to win the tournament. As few as the girls were, they showed up “unannounced” at the National Assembly for a protest on the day President Buhari presented the budget and less than a week, their bonuses were paid.

The point is, a protest is more potent when it puts the government in a certain state of bewilderment. So, giving over a week notice for a protest, has already neutralized the effects of the proposed protest. For instance, the Lagos State Police Command has warned against the protest holding in Lagos. As much as you hate to hear it, the Lagos Police can stop the protest if they wish to. The same Constitution that guarantees the freedom to protest, also empowers the Police to protect the society. In my opinion, that Tuface is busy having photo sessions and flinging with paparazzi as part of the preparation for the protest, clearly indicates that February 6 will be a mere show. Remember the much hyped #OccupyNASS protest? Well, those folks went, occupied and left.

Also, it is very funny to see that a supposed “nationwide” protest will only hold in few designated cities. I am trying to wrap my head around it; asking myself questions like, could it be that Nigeria’s problems are only in those cities or the solutions? We have had genuine and golden opportunities to change this country but we keep sacrificing them on the altar of sentiments. The thinking is that Nigeria’s problem is in Aso Rock. Well, here’s what you should know – Nigeria’s problem is in every community in Nigeria; in all the 774 local government areas and the 36 States of this country. Any governor who gets his state’s allocation from the federal government regularly but fails to pay workers in his state as at when due is part of Nigeria’s problem. Any governor who gets the local government allocation from the federal government but runs his state without democratically elected local government council executives is part of Nigeria’s problem. All the oil multinationals conniving with some privileged people to exploit our local communities are part of Nigeria’s problem.

Clearly, February 6 is only about venting our anger and frustrations against President Buhari and that’s very sad. For the PDP apologists, February 6 will be an opportunity to take their own pound of flesh; to repay the APC with the same coin they paid the PDP in 2012. To hear that Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State is planning to join the protest is very sickening. Are we that gullible? How about the money laundering cases hanging on his neck? How about the backlog of unpaid salaries he owes Ekiti workers? Governor Fayose’s endorsement alone ridicules the entire protest. And, a pro-government protest is billed to hold on the 5th, which is meant to counter the Tuface led anti-government protest. This is Nigeria. Believe me, February 6 will come and go with all the noise and may be, a few casualties, but nothing will change in this country. Again, we have lost.

In my candid opinion, one reason why the Nigerian problem remains unresolved is because the country has a very cruel leadership but extremely weak people. Nigeria will remain unsolvable as long as the people are unable to fiercely challenge the status quo. Moreover, the Nigerian democracy in reality expands the powers of government but shrinks the people’s liberty. At this point, the only thing that can rescue Nigeria is a complete awakening across the country – from the major cities through the communities to the creeks. A revolutionary movement that will spread like a wildlife till every state and major cities in the country are littered with protests. A real nationwide protest that the government will not contain – everyone aggressively holding their territories to ransom till the demands of the people are met. I believe that someday, with one voice, the Nigerian people will swear in the words of Fidel Castro, that “No thieves, no traitors, no interventionists. This time the revolution is for real”. But February 6 is definitely not that day.

So, Tuface can give Nigeria a show. But when we’re ready for a revolution, even the world will not sleep.