When We Say Black Lives Matter It Means Black Nigerian Lives Matter Too – Support The #EndSARS Movement.

Sometimes we have no choice but to break our very own rules, yes Culture Club is on a production break and we are only publishing articles that are build-ups to the exhibition, but this article is not part of the build-up articles to the exhibition. I just felt the urge to address this issue. We (by we I’m referring to the entire world) were in solidarity for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, now Nigeria is fighting the same battle with the #EndSARS movement and I must say that I am quite disappointed, only because I haven’t seen a lot of South Africans talking about it or raising awareness about what is happening in one of our African countries.

South Africa is undeniably known as an Afro-phobic and xenophobic country in the entire African continent (I might be exaggerating just a tad bit, but it’s factual). Many South Africans might not be interested in what is currently happening in Nigeria right now, but I am very much interested hence I took time to do a thorough research that way I could write about it and hopefully raise awareness. Black lives that matter are not only Black American lives, All BLACK lives matter and that is why we need to support the #EndSARS movement.

#EndSARS stands for End Special Anti-Robbery Squad, “it is a social movement in Nigeria that was established on Twitter calling for banning of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, a controversial division known for police oppression and brutality.” One of the first people who organized this movement is Segun Awosanya, an Nigerian realtor and human right activist.

This movement was sparked when a video of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police officers dragging two men from a hotel in Delta States and gunning one of the unknown men down on the street emerged on social media. Nigeria has been fighting against police brutality for quite some time now, from when they were fighting for justice after the brutal murder of 16 year-old Tina Ezekwe, after she was shot dead by a police officer, while she stood at the bus stop in Lagos near her home earlier this year. The most saddening thing about this is that just like the police brutality we faced here in South Africa, it is black on black violence.

“Black lives matter everywhere that black lives are found: be it on the streets of the US, in rubber dinghies on the Mediterranean Sea, or in the towns and cities of Nigeria. Nigerians cried over the killing of George Floyd. And we hope in America, in Brazil, in Britain, in France, in China, in India, the African diaspora will also stand with us as we mourn the protester Jimoh Isiaq, who was shot last Saturday, and others killed by Sars” -Chibundu Onuzo on The Guardian.

To learn more about the #EndSARS movement read the tweet below and you’ll know everything there is to know:

To support the protesters and victims, please donate to 0120009843 GTB Mosopefoluwa Odeseye.