Change comes when you're willing to sacrifice for the collective. And that's exactly what thousands of young Nigerians have been doing on and off for the past 3 years. The last few weeks culminated in a rampant disregard for freedom of speech and peaceful protest. According to Amnesty International, 56 people were killed in a span of 2 weeks of protests at the hands of Nigerian armed forces due to their call to #EndSARS the special police unit known for bribing and brutalizing civilians.
This issue of police brutality is a worldwide problem, especially in countries with a history of colonizers that controlled with force and plundered the lands. As a result, "their colonial enterprise had left behind a culture of violence and corruption", and Nigerian politicians have struggled to reform the very system that is supposed to protect the people. Communities around the world have stepped up including Canadians who care about ending #policebrutality and beginning #policereform.
Fortunately. there has been a step in the right direction. A few weeks ago the Governor of Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, with a population of almost 15 million people, brought the "five demands" from the protesters right to the President's door step.
He agreed to work on the demands with his government departments, but numerous officials have since been ordered with a suit against them regarding the unconstitutional use of force and killing of innocent peaceful protestors. The Federal High Court has not set a hearing yet, but I hope the urge for reparations to these scarred families does not depend on the legal system but rather the quick action and morality of those currently in power.