Thread by @RevDrCraig

On this leadership matter, you will hear several well meaning "elders" in the next few days suggest that we elect from within ourselves the natural leaders that have emerged during this #EndSARS struggle

They mean well, but we must resist their calls for conventional leadership. This kind of leadership is the only style the older generations know, and for them, it is difficult to conceptualise a successfull movement without one. #EndSARS

But just as millenia ago it was unheard of for a country or a people to have no King and to be ruled by elected leaders, so also we are on the cusp of a new breed of leadership. #EndSARS

Let's take a look at leadership styles and how it is that the #EndSARS movement has succeeded without traditional leadership, and explore what options there are for the future

First we have Monarchy, (and all the other pseudo Kings, Emperors, Khans, Oligarchs and Dictatorial leaders.)
Here, ONE person claims a divine right to rule or birth right based on their anscestors claim, or a right by conquest having killed a sitting ruler.
#EndSARS

All Monarchy stems from the premise that one bloodline, or one family, or one tribe, is better than all the others and that a person can be "born to rule". But once you agree that no one person is more important than another, the idea for Monarchy quickly unravels #EndSARS

Monarchy has always been problematic. So, say you start off with a good King, What is the guarantee that his son will do the same? Or that his grandsons after him? Given enough time ALL kings become tyrants and the people will cry out for change. #EndSARS

In truth, while not everyone has the same skill or talent or education, we must accept no one is more important than another. If there is anything the pandemic taught us, it is that some of the lowest paying jobs are some of the most important in society. #EndSARS

How do we develop a leadership system where the welfare of every individual in the collective is paramount? Perhaps we let everyone have a say? Well if you have a few hundred people each person could vote. But how do we make it work when there are thousands or millions
#EndSARS

Enter Democracy.
Since it was impractical to have everyone vote on every single issue and have everyone be the leader, we devised a system of representation. The people choose the leaders and the leaders represent the people
#EndSARS

The democratic leader is supposed to push the agenda of the people, but as years of democracy have shown us, the leaders often end up looking out for themselves alone. Once one person is elevated to a palace, it is difficult to not feel more important than the others
#EndSARS

So we are forced to revisit the idea of everyone having an equal say. Is it possible? Some say it is! Enter Egalitarianism
#EndSARS

Egalitarianism is the concept that every person in a collective has a say in the way that they are governed.
#EndSARS

Prior to now, true egalitarianism has been dismissed as utopian idealism because it was seen as impossible to take into account the wish of an entire population due to the logistical challenges
#EndSARS

But with the unprecedented rise in technology over the last decade, it may now be possible for true egalitarian leadership to emerge.
#EndSARS

Internet connectivity, high speed data and acess to smart technologies means that it possible for the vast majority of the target population to be online simultaneously, debate issues and vote on matters that directly impact them
#EndSARS

Blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrency, biometric identification which is almost ubiquitous on most phones and secure data encryption means that it is theoretical possible to assign each person a unique identifier to prevents fraud or impersonation #EndSARS

A glimpse of this future Egalitarianism was used in the Hong-Kong protests of 2019 where each decision made by the group was agreed by the collective using online voting on a custom made platform called LIHKG
#EndSARS

"We have no leaders" is not the same as "there is no leadership".
There are hundreds of people across the country organising funds, bailing out protesters, providing legal aid, printing placards, treating the injured, providing refreshments and entertainment #EndSARS

The difference between this and #OccupyNigeria is that in 2012, a "leader or group of leaders spearheaded and set it all into motion. Whereas here, each component has happened organically, decentralised and independently, all the while driven by a common ideology
#EndSARS

There will be calls to come together and create a list of demands so that the government can "negotiate"
No thank you!
Sam Adeyemi said it best. The strength of this movement is the fluidity with which it can start and stop protests and switch from online to the streets #EndSARS

Today are demands are simple. #EndSARS
Reform the police. Sack the IGP. Bring the perpetrators to justice. Compensate the victims.
There is nothing to negotiate.
Once we start devising complex multi-point agenda the government will pick and choose what they want to do.

It's always the same tactics of "give and take" when it comes to a negotiation. We are not sitting down at any table that seeks to take any more from us as a people. We are the people. We have the power. We will demand what is ours. We will take what is ours.
#EndSARS

Today we #EndSARS
Tomorrow we as a collective will decide what part of this dead system we want to target next. #NASS we are coming for you!

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