Acts of violence in the days that followed, burning of buildings, jailbreaks, looting — all so much state-sanctioned provocation say many of the protestors, who see in it an attempt to undermine the reform goals.
Forces unleashed against Nigeria’s #EndSARS protestors suggest panicking politicians trying to manage a modern political movement with the toolkit of the 1980s.
READ MORE Lagos burns after army accused of ‘Lekki massacre’
The old guard are unlikely to get the toothpaste back in the tube. But the amorphous leadership of the movement will need to avoid getting sucked into sectarian dynamics, and get ready for a marathon not a sprint.
In this edition of Talking Africa, we ask:
- How does the official response measure up to the challenge of a young, much larger, and better-informed electorate who may be less likely to be pushed around than previous generations?
- Is the protest movement able to stay unified in the face of the ethnic dimension many are trying to inject into the crisis?
- Has the shooting of unarmed protestors been instumentalised by APC leader Bola Tinubu to knock him out of the 2023 race?
- Are there lessons from youth-led protest movements in Sudan and Egypt?, and what of closer to home, where another band of elderly gentlemen in Côte d’Ivoire insist on clinging to power…
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We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Beyond the vast opportunity manifest in African markets, we highlight people who make a difference; leaders turning the tide, youth driving change, and an indefatigable business community. That is what we believe will change the continent, and that is what we report on. With hard-hitting investigations, innovative analysis and deep dives into countries and sectors, The Africa Report delivers the insight you need.
