REWRITING HISTORY: Nigerian government recycling colonial use of force on peaceful protesters.
The End Sars Protest was an eye opener on how histories are rewritten by our leaders to suit their narrative. The government of Nigeria turned a peaceful protest into a story of catastrophe and labelling the peaceful protesters “Terrorist Organization” “Unlawful Assembly” “An act to hijack the government” e.t.c. It is disheartening that the government is changing the narrative of the “peaceful protest” to a “riot”, whereas citizens are peacefully asking the government to “End Police Brutality” “End Sars” and “End bad governance” . The government with the aid of Nigerian Police,Army and Hoodlums killed , arrested,tortured,detained,prosecuted and froze accounts of peaceful protesters.
The “Aba Women protest ” and “End Sars Protest story is almost the same.The colonial historians labelled “Aba Women Protest a “Riot”. The 1929 Protest which opposed the imposition of direct taxation on women and calling to an end of unlawful acts of warrants chiefs. The Igbo society was alleged to be an acephalous society. The acephalous status of the Igbo people makes the indirect rule system difficult and a failure in that region. This made the British government appointed “Warrant Chiefs” to collect tax on behalf of the Colonial government.
Within few years , the warrant chiefs became oppressive in their duties just like the “Nigerian Police”. They seized properties,imprisoned anyone who openly criticized them. They imposed draconian local regulations.
The 1929 protest was led by women in the Southern-eastern Nigeria from November 1929-December 1929 against the policies of the British colonial government to impose taxes on women despite the men paying huge amount as tax. Nwanyeruwa vehemently opposed the warrant chief who came into her compound to tax her, she gathered large numbers of women to the market square and they moved around singing and dancing , calling to an end to oppressive taxation and unlawful activities of the warrant chiefs.
Over 50 women were killed by the colonial government. The Massacre indeed happened just like the End Sars Massacre. The fact is that our histories were rewritten to favor those in power and using the power to silence citizens speaking against the oppressive government.
The British colonial government rewrote Aba women protest as “Riot” to favor them and our leaders took over the evil baton to rewrite “the End Sars peaceful protest” as “Riot” just like many unfortunate incidents that happened before and after independence.
The Aba Women Protest was one of the major challenges of British authority in Western Nigeria during the colonial period and also a pointer to the beginning of “Feminism and improvements of the status of women in our society”
There is really not much difference between what happened during Aba Women Protest and End Sars Protest. Why must the government respond to peaceful protest through “violence” ? Why changing the narrative? Why are we living in cycle in this country?! A lot of questions on my mind but the oppression from our leaders will never silence us! Our Voices will continue to speak up against “bad governance “
Soro Soke generation will never go into silence!
