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March on Capitol vs EndSARS: The misunderstandings by Lateef Adewole

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Pro Trump protesters invade the US Capitol Capitol Hill January 6

The Insight by Lateef Adewole

In the past one week, since unpleasant incidences that beclouded the glorious bastion of global democracy, United States of America, I have read different reactions from Nigerians. And their positions are expectedly divided along the local political idiosyncrasies. There are supporters of President Buhari and his government, who “gloat” about the incident to spite those critics of government’s handling of our own local crisis that engulfed the country few months ago in the name of #EndSARS.

They used every opportunity and medium to abuse those who supported #EndSARS movement, had sympathy for it and or condemned the way the government hounded the protesters at the last stage, which led to the conflagration in many parts of Lagos. There are articles, commentaries and posts on different social media platforms written by them for that purpose.

On the other side are some people who are “supporters or sympathisers” of President Trump of the USA. There are write-ups that validate the unwholesome behaviour of “Trump’s thugs” (as some call them), who violated the sanctity of the US Congress. They believed Trump is “God-sent” to save America and the world, hence, by him being “rigged-out” (as they claimed) was to interfere with the “Lord’s work” by the “unbelievers”. Their prophesies to this are numerous.

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On the 6th of January, 2021, an unexpected incident happened in the United States of America. Constitutionally, that is the day that the Congress of the USA must certify the election of the president-elect, in this case, Joe Biden who will take over on 20th of January. The leader of the Congress for such occasion is the sitting Vice President Mike Pence. All seemed to have started well until a later time.

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President Donald Trump was impeached for insurrection by the House of Reps

Concurrently while this was going on, the outgoing President Trump slated his rally on the same day, in the same city, Washington DC. There, he addressed a mammoth crowd of his supporters in his usual rhetorics of false claims of electoral fraud, throwing accusations and many statements which were considered inciting. The consequence was not far-fetched as immediately he ended his address, his unruly supporters marched on the Capitol Building of Congress, where the certification process had begun.

They forced themselves against all security barriers and checks, breached the security, overwhelmed the standing forces and gained entrance into the building. The Vice President and other members of Congress had to be rescued while everyone scampered for safety. The mob took over the Congress. Videos and pictures of them destroying things, carting away items, and desecrating the hallowed chamber were beamed live. One even sat on the seat where Pence previously sat.

This incident horrified majority of Americans and people around the globe. Different reactions trailed the incident from both world leaders and citizens. Nigeria was not an exception. More so, some Nigerians saw this as similar to EndSARS protest that happened in Nigeria last year.

From all the reactions by Nigerians, my deduction is that; “if you hail Trump but criticise Buhari, or hail Buhari but criticise Trump, you are an hypocrite.” This happened to be my categorisation of many Nigerian commentators about the incident.

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MRA #EndSARS protesters across Nigeria are calling for an end to police brutality Lekki youths

#EndSARS protest began peacefully but turned violent

Many people reached out to me to seek my opinion about the whole incident given my position on the #EndSARS when it happened. That warranted today’s article. I totally condemned the incident in the USA where it went beyond the boundary of peaceful protest, attacking and invading Congress, and causing injuries and deaths in the process, just as I condemned the attacks on people and destruction of properties which happened as an aftermath of previously peaceful protest during EndSARS. I wrote copiously about all these at the time.

While some were particularly interested in what I have to say now was because of my opinion that the EndSARS protest was largely peaceful for many days, until the unfortunate shooting on the night of Tuesday 20th, October, 2020. That was what triggered the crisis which became violent and destructive. Before then, the “real” protesters were well organised, peaceful and acted with reasonable decorum in their protests, as exemplified in Lekki, Alausa, Abuja, and some other areas. Even when some thugs started attacking them, an action which the security agencies were supposed to prevent but not.

Those who were committing crimes under the guise of protest in that first ten days were obvious and were supposed to be isolated and dealt with by the security agents but no. It suits the narrative to lump them up with the peaceful protesters so as to get reasons to clamp down on the protesters. And that was what eventually happened. My stand has not changed. Call a dog a bad name so that you can hang it. That carnage would not have happened had government acted more responsibly.

Moreover, the crisis in USA was incited by a sitting president for his selfish gain unlike the EndSARS movement which was a citizens’ protest against the evil activities of some agents of government, SARS and later extended to bad governance as a whole. It can be said to be in the mold of the #BlackLivesMatter which started in the USA, as a result of police brutality against black and coloured people.

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About 25 people died during the #BlackLivesMatter protests in the US

Had the US government used the security institutions to prevent or crush the protests and hound the protesters then, those who are defending Nigerian government’s actions against EndSARS protesters would have been justified. We saw how it was handled. As bad as Trump is seen, he did not act irrationally despite his obvious “racist” biases and enough reasons to have done so when criminal elements infiltrated them and started looting, burning and destroying things.

Therefore, I disagree in many respect with those who wanted to justify the high-handedness of Nigerian government against the protesters with what happened in the USA. They are only being clever by half or out rightly mischievous. We all know that if it were to be in Nigeria or other African countries, or many countries around the world that the series of events that have bedeviled America since that election of November 3, 2020, orchestrated by the sitting president himself, the story would have been different.

An example is what is currently going on in Uganda, where incumbent President Yoweri Museveni contested to rule the country seventh time at age 76. He has been there since 1986 (34 years ago). He has been doing everything to crush all oppositions. A video of how a woman said to be the wife of one opposition candidate Bobi Wine, has gone viral online. She was seen been tortured, stripped naked, and dragged on the ground in the presence of her young son by some Ugandan police officers. That’s a country, but not in America.

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In spite of the desperation of Trump to sit-tight, employing all kinds of underhand tactics, the institutions in America kept throwing him out. He failed in all fronts from abusive use of the instruments power for self service. When he claimed to have won the election even before counting ended, the institution rejected his claim and he lost. Were that to be in Nigeria, will that happened?

Long before the election, Trump has said that he will not lose the election and will not accept defeat. Can President Buhari’s supporters interpret this well? President Buhari never accepted any defeat in the three previous elections that he lost. That was within his right. As the sitting president, when he was asked in 2019 what he will do if he lost the election, he simply said he wouldn’t lose the election. That was immediately after he cast his ballot.

nddc A virtual meeting with former Heads of State presided over by President Buhari at the Council Chambers in the State House, Abuja land border anti-corruption protests land borders

President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of nepotism and Fulanisation

In fact, in my assessments, I see many similarities in the presidency of Trump and Buhari, more than differences. The only demarcation is that; one is cowed by the national institutions while the other cowed the national institutions.

People accuse President Trump of racism, which in essence, is discrimination against people not from his race (white). President Buhari is also accused of nepotism, Fulanisation and northernisation. Likewise, they both are accused of religious bigotry. In both cases, the accused always denied. Conjoined with these is the use of double standards in treating issues. When white committed crimes, Trump was always mild or looked the other way but not when black or others race does.

Joe Biden even alluded to this in his tweet in the wake of Capitol building attack. He said; “If it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting, they would have been treated very, very differently than a mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol”. Similarly, President Buhari has been severally accused of looking the other way when allegations of gross misconducts were levied against his allies while the government agencies were unleashed on such persons if they were to be oppositions. That’s double standards.

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One issue that generated huge debate was Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barret into the Supreme Court as the presidential election drew near. This move was seen as preparing the ground for possible legal fallout of the election. This was one of so numerous other nominations to the bench at different levels in past four years. Unfortunately, he failed because, the Judicial institution asserted their independence. Almost all the cases he instituted based on his claims of electoral fraud were thrown out for lack of merit or inability to prove his case. The judges could not save him.

This is contrary to what would have happened in Nigeria or any other country with weak institutions. The judges would have been the first to declare him winner even before the cases got to their desks. Judiciary has been bastardised in this clime. This reminds one of what happened to the former CJN Walter Onnoghen and the hurried appointment of his replacement. It was trailed by controversy and criticisms, given that 2019 general elections were also on the way.

Justice Walter Onnoghen, Chief Justice of Nigeria

The removal of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has been described as political and nepotistic

What about the police and military? These are institutions in the pockets of leaders in third world countries and some other dictatorial second and first. The US military condemned the attacks on Capitol, despite knowing it was incited by the president and that those people are his supporters. Here, what would we have had? The security agents would be the first to deal decisively with whoever is against the president. They would have given free pass to the unruly supporters of the president and even gave them adequate protection.

Those who defended crushing the EndSARS talked about invasion of Congress. Throughout the EndSARS, I cannot remember anytime the protesters invaded and took over assembly, whether at the federal or states. The farthest they went was to seek audience with the leadership of the national and state assemblies outside the assemblies. Would they have been able, even if they tried? In the presence of vicious-looking security agents? There would have been blood flowing if what happened in the USA had been attempted in Nigeria. Invade and take over the assembly? Deadly!

The issue of media and private organisations which banned Trump was another point raised. The critics of EndSARS protest claimed that human rights were trampled upon on the altar of national security by the media in America with the indefinite banning of Trump on almost all social media platforms. The organisations felt he is using their platforms to propagate lies, incited the mob and fuel the crisis. The EndSARS critics used this as justification to reiterate the call for restrictions or total banning of access to internet and social media.

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Let me categorically state that I also condemn anyone using social media to incite people or calling them to arm and destructions. Such people should be handled according to the law. I will never be part of it. However, banning or restricting access to internet or social media just because citizens voice out their grievances against governments’ actions and obnoxious policies is unconstitutional and dictatorial. It is undemocratic.

To put it in perspective. Firstly, can any private organisation operating within the country dare what Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and the rest did; banning the “most powerful president in the world” from using their platforms to cause crisis? That’s unthinkable here. Then, it is not government of the USA or any government institution that banned anybody, including Trump. They are private independent organisations, and it is within their constitutional right. Trump can still challenge that in court. This is unlike here where government wants to restrict the citizens. They are not the same.

Can anyone imagine the leaders of parliament controlled by the president’s party to disagree with him without consequences, and the president could not hound them or force their removal? That’s America. Many Republican lawmakers openly disagreed with President Trump on his vote fraud claims.

Donald Trump has just gone down in history as the first American president to be impeached twice after the House of Representatives did so on Wednesday, based on allegations of misconduct and incitement of insurrection that led to the invasion and desecration of Congress. He lost on 232-197. Some ten members of his party (Republican) even voted against him. That’s how bad things have gone. Can anyone try that here? The impeachment would never happen in the first place. And those members who voted against the president would not sleep in their houses that night!

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So, it is laughable when people are quick to compare what happened in USA and the subsequent backlash from institutions and private organisations, to what happened in Nigeria during the #EndSars protest and how the government reacted by the deployment of soldiers to Lekki toll gate, in their efforts to justify such illegality. They are not the same.

And to our Nigerian prayer warriors who prophesied Trump would not lose the election and he will do another term, you all should “calm down” and face the reality. Trump himself is beginning to do so. You cannot love Trump but hate Buhari. Otherwise, you are not sincere.

Irrespective of what America may be going through today, that capacity of the institutions to checkmate rascally president and any other person in authority, still makes their democracy a model to the world. As the Yorubas will say, when a home is still peaceful, it means the bastard child in that home has not matured. I suppose that has eventually happened in America.

It is well with America.

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May God continue to guide us aright.

God Bless Nigeria.

Lateef Adewole is a political analyst and social commentator can be reached by email lateefadewole23@gmail.com or via WhatsApp +2348020989095 and @lateef_adewole on Twitter

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