Who Ordered The Killing—20.10.2020: Our Only Crime Was Asking for Better

What pains me so dearly about October 2020 is that young Nigerians had to come out from across each state and take the the street to ask for things that should have been too much to ask for: justice, transparency, safety, and a country where being a young youth does not feel like harassment or crime.

We got so tired of all the police brutality and stories of harassment, tired of being innocent yet being stopped on the road and profiled wrongly because we simply dress responsibly and look good. All we want to do is live without constantly wondering who is going to be the next victim of the brutality and killing, also wondering if police, who are truly our friends, are meant to keep us safe or if the institution that was built to keep us safe is actually the ones we need to protect ourselves from in reality.

Then came the twentieth of October 2020, that night at Lekki Too Gate. Till this very day, the date has gone beyond an ordinary day because of the weight that it carries, which is difficult to explain. Those who survived that awful, terrible night still remember where they were, what they saw, the gunshot they heard, their loved ones lost, how helpless they were, and that out location did not fall to that place. We still remember those who were arrested, still locked up, the blood we saw, and how the government denied their involvement. Because who ordered the killing if not the government involvement in it? A lot of us still have questions that deserve truthful and real answers. How does a country move forward when so many people feel that their pain has been dismissed?

I always get perplexed when I hear some sets of people saying people should move on and forget. Like where should we move on to? With what assurance? With the proof that in the future the same thing will not repeat itself? Healing is not something that can be forcefully mandated on anyone simply by asking them to forget. And because someone is silent does not mean peaceful, and because a lot of times have passed does not automatically mean we have forgotten the unanswered question: "Who ordered the killing?"

And today, it's been six years already; the massacre is trending on X again, which is calling for a better country. But our hope is becoming exhausting simply because this same government keeps telling us to be patient while the same concerns are yet to be attended to. We should not have to keep proving that our lives matter.

On 20.10.2020, what we asked for and are still asking for is simple: let our voices be heard, let us live free without fear, and let us all be seen and treated like human beings, not criminals. That is so simple, right? Because why should it be a big deal for us as citizens to ask?

Thank you for reading.

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