Thread by @T_Bakare

Citizens of our beloved great nation here present; Nigerians at home and in the diaspora joining us via various media platforms; friends of Nigeria across the African continent and the world. #SOTNB

When our nation attained independence on October 1, 1960, it was with fervent faith in the possibilities of a great nation that our founding fathers lowered the British flag and hoisted the Green-White-Green. #SOTNB

Their dream of a great nation was etched in the lyrics of our founding national anthem, the second stanza of which states:
#SOTNB

"Our flag shall be a symbol
That truth and justice reign
In peace or battle honour’d,
And this we count as gain,
To hand on to our children
A banner without stain."
#SOTNB

In the past week, we witnessed with great sorrow the desecration of our nationhood as Nigeria’s armed forces stained the banner of our nationhood... #SOTNB

the Nigerian flag, with the blood of our children, the Nigerian youth, to whom our founding fathers charged us to handover a banner without stain. #SOTNB

It is, therefore, with a heavy heart over the current state of our nation, but with resilient hope in the possibilities of a New Nigeria, that I bring you this State of the Nation Broadcast originally intended to celebrate Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary. #SOTNB

In this moment of despair and sobriety, I have titled my address ‘The Building Blocks of Nationhood: A Blueprint for the New Nigeria’ because this dark chapter of our history is not how Nigeria’s story ends. #SOTNB

All across the nation, there is a wave of people movement. It is a wave of citizen engagement championed by the so-called ‘ordinary Nigerian’ who has proven in extraordinary terms to be by no means ordinary. #SOTNB

I believe that this wave of people movement is the physical manifestation of the birth pangs heralding the New Nigeria. #SOTNB

As I observed the End SARS protests, I could not but conclude that we are witnessing the crescendo of an era and the beginning of another. #SOTNB

Ten years ago, when we convened civil society organisations under the umbrella of Save Nigeria Group, our objective was not to be the voice of the people, but to restore the voices of the voiceless in a nation where social mobilisation had been frozen for too long at that time.

Ten years later, the End SARS protest has assured me that a generation of Nigerians has arisen, armed with clear and unmistakable voices... #SOTNB

...refusing to dim their lights or turn down the volume of their requests, because we have entered the era of ‘Soro Soke.’ #SOTNB

I salute the courage of this unbreakable generation; I salute the resilience of every Nigerian youth, named and unnamed, who has stood up to be counted in this momentous era. #SOTNB

We remember at this time the heartbreaking tales of extortion, torture, rape, and murder that drove our young people to the streets in the first place. #SOTNB

We remember Linda Nkechi Igwetu who, in 2018, was reported to have been shot in a friend’s car by SARS operatives the day before her passing out parade, after serving her nation as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Abuja. #SOTNB

We remember Stella Ifeoma Abugu, another corps member, reported to have been raped and murdered while being unlawfully detained by SARS officials in Abuja. #SOTNB

We remember Saliu Alli Haruna, a twenty-one-year-old student of Business Administration at Ambrose Alli University, Edo State, whose remains were found in a well after a reported raid in his hostel by SARS operatives. #SOTNB

We remember Kazeem Tiyamiyu, a promising Nigerian footballer who, based on eyewitness reports, was pushed out of a moving vehicle to his death by SARS operatives. #SOTNB

We remember Femi Bello, an enterprising 300-level student of Kaduna State University, reported to have been arrested without charge and murdered extrajudicially in the custody of the Nigeria Police Force. #SOTNB

We remember Tina Ezekwe, a seventeen-year-old secondary school girl who was killed by a police officer while assisting in her mother’s shop. #SOTNB

We cannot forget twenty-year-old Jimoh Isiaq who was reportedly killed by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force as they violently clamped down on peaceful protesters in Ogbomosho. #SOTNB

Our hearts bleed at the memory of the peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate who were shot and killed on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, by the Armed Forces of the Nigerian state as they held up the Nigerian flag... #SOTNB

...young compatriots pledging allegiance to ‘one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity’ as they sang our national anthem in their final moments. #SOTNB

Let us observe a moment of silence for these Nigerians and many others, named and unnamed, who have been unjustly killed by agents of the Nigerian state. May their souls rest in peace and may God comfort their families. #SOTNB

In like manner, we also remember those unsung heroes of the Nigeria Police Force who, despite being part of an institution that has the worst reputation for corruption and ineptitude in the Nigerian public sector... #SOTNB

...serve with remarkable professionalism and bravery, sometimes doing so at the cost of their lives. #SOTNB

In this regard, we remember Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko who, in 2017, was seen in a viral video bravely combating armed robbers at a bank in Owerri, Imo State, losing his life in the process. #SOTNB

We remember Inspector Musa Sunday, ironically of the now-disbanded SARS, who, in 2016, was reported to have been buried alive by hoodlums, after he gallantly rescued a man who was being attacked by the said hoodlums while he was on duty in Oshoko, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. #SOTNB

We remember Sergeant Sunday Idoko who was killed in Ilaro, Ogun State, while firmly resisting an attempt by hoodlums to snatch election results during the 2019 elections. #SOTNB

Once again, let us observe a minute’s silence for these and hundreds of other unsung heroes of the Nigeria Police Force who lose their lives yearly in the line of duty. May their souls rest in peace and may God comfort their families. #SOTNB

When a people elect their leaders, they hand over the responsibility to protect and defend them. The gun in the hand of the policeman is the closest, most visible and most easily identifiable symbol of that handover of power and responsibility from the people to the government.

In other words, as far as the responsibility of the government to guarantee the security and welfare of the people is concerned, the policeman on the street is the first ambassador of the government to the people. #SOTNB

Any misuse of that power by the police, especially to repress and oppress any citizen, is ultimately an abuse of the power conferred by the people on their government. #SOTNB

This is why the widespread protests against police brutality are justified. #SOTNB

I acknowledge the efforts made by the government to address the protesters’ demands, but the government must move from commitment to full compliance in the implementation of the 5-for-5 demands of the End SARS protesters and in overhauling our policing architecture. #SOTNB

Above all, I strongly recommend that President Muhammadu Buhari should ensure that those who ordered armed soldiers to fire on innocent citizens are fished out and made to face the full weight of the law. #SOTNB

The officers who carried out such wicked acts should also be prosecuted under international legal standards. #SOTNB

Unfortunately, the protests took a sad turn, from the attacks on protesters by thugs, to the infiltration of protests by hoodlums unleashing mayhem in cities and communities. #SOTNB

According to Alan Bible:
No nation, no matter how enlightened, can endure criminal violence. If we cannot control it we are admitting to the world and to ourselves that our laws are no more than a facade that crumbles when the winds of crisis arise. #SOTNB

Furthermore, in the words of President Lyndon Baines Johnson:
The poor suffer twice at the rioter’s hands: First, when his destructive fury scars their neighbourhood; second, when the atmosphere of accommodation and consent is changed to one of hostility and resentment. #SOTNB

Unfortunately, this is where peaceful protests hijacked by thugs and hoodlums have landed us. #SOTNB

Be that as it may, governments at the federal and state levels have lent credence to the conclusion of protesters that the government itself was behind these smokescreen tactics to discredit the protests. #SOTNB

By its actions and inactions, the government has burned the bridge of trust. It is my hope that this address will help rebuild that bridge and resolve the issues in the interest of the Nigerian nation. #SOTNB

Any attempt to resolve the issues must go beyond the surface to excavate underlying factors. Our overarching challenge is systemic governance failure which, over the decades, has worsened the living conditions of Nigerians. #SOTNB

As a result, although the Special Anti-Robbery Squad has been disbanded, the spirit of SARS continues to prowl unchecked. Therefore, my fellow citizens, lend me your ears, as I unveil to you the true meaning of SARS and why we must End SARS. #SOTNB

For too long, the citizens of our country have been served insecurity, poverty and underdevelopment. For too long, our people have been denied access to the basic goods that make for a decent standard of living. #SOTNB

We have been denied quality education, good healthcare, quality roads, access to electricity, and much more.
The brutal impunity of the gun-wielding policeman or SARS operative is the symbol of this bad governance experience. #SOTNB

SARS is also the symbol of that politician who loots public funds to build a political war chest and spends it during elections buying votes, hiring thugs, intimidating voters and robbing the people of the power of choice. #SOTNB

SARS is the symbol of the electoral officer who colludes with politicians to rob the people of their voice as expressed by the vote. #SOTNB

SARS is the symbol of that appointed public official who, with a stroke of the pen, robs the people of funds that are allocated to education, healthcare, and other social infrastructure. #SOTNB

SARS is the emblem on the agbada of the legislator who robs the people through budget padding, outrageous allowances, and unaccounted-for constituency projects. #SOTNB

SARS is the symbol of the corrupt judge who compels Lady Justice to remove her blindfold to check whether the person in the dock is a poor phone thief or a wealthy pension thief so as to sell justice to the highest bidder. #SOTNB

Together with the murderous members of the police force who have robbed our young people of their lives with the trigger of a gun provided for them by the state,... #SOTNB

...these pen-robbers who deploy the powers, privileges and provisions of their offices to rob the Nigerian people of our common patrimony are all operatives of SARS. #SOTNB

They all belong to the State-Aided Robbery Squad (SARS). That is the true meaning of SARS: State-Aided Robbery Squad. #SOTNB

Fellow citizens, at the root of the issues that confront our nation is a foundational problem of nationhood that has persisted from one administration to another and provided a conducive environment for the State-Aided Robbery Squad (SARS). #SOTNB

Until this foundational problem of nationhood is addressed, the call to End SARS will persist long after the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. #SOTNB

No degree of brutal repression of protesters can quench the flame of protests in the hearts and minds of the Nigerian people. Your bullets may drive them off the streets, but your bullets cannot pierce their spirits or puncture their resilience. #SOTNB

This speech is about how to disband the State-Aided Robbery Squad (SARS) and rebuild the foundations of our nation from the current undesirable state to the Nigeria of our dreams. #SOTNB

Before I proceed to unveil the building blocks of nationhood, permit me to address an issue that is heavy upon my heart, for we cannot proceed with laying the building blocks of a new nation without addressing the issue of how older generations of Nigerians have failed our youth.

By the older generations, I refer to the so-called ‘Independence Generation,’ those who were born before and immediately after the independence of Nigeria. I refer to the parents and grandparents of the millennial generation. #SOTNB

One can understand why the younger generation would so heavily indict preceding generations. At independence, we inherited a promising nation, but we are bequeathing a predatory nation to the young generation. #SOTNB

We inherited a nation whose structural foundations were built on principles of true federalism, a nation in which the diverse groups had the freedom to determine their destinies... #SOTNB

...but we are bequeathing a unitary nation, federal only in name, in which subnational expressions are suppressed by an overbearing centre. #SOTNB

We inherited a relatively secure nation characterised by a thriving nightlife and a peaceful village life, but we have bequeathed to the younger generation a society grappling with kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and police brutality. #SOTNB

We inherited a banner without stain, but we have introduced a new colour to our green-white-green: blood red. #SOTNB

This is why there has been a definite generational spin to the protests. It is why we hear rallying cries like ‘You messed with the wrong generation.’ #SOTNB

It is why some protesters have asked why the likes of Prof. Soyinka, Tunde Bakare, Oby Ezekwesili, Pat Utomi, Femi Falana, the so-called ‘senior activists in Nigeria,’ are not on the streets. #SOTNB

To citizens of the young generation who are disappointed in the older generation; to those young freedom fighters who believe that the generation of their fathers and mothers has failed them; to those young Nigerians who have stood up to oppression... #SOTNB

Permit me to stand in the gap to apologise on behalf of my generation and the older generation for the undesirable state of the nation you were born into. #SOTNB

Permit me to apologise on behalf of your parents and grandparents for the kind of country you have grown up in. We salute your courage, and we applaud your resilience. #SOTNB

We hear you, we share your pain, we share your story, we share your dreams for a better nation; and, although you may not realise it, we did our best to fight for you. #SOTNB

Fighting to ensure that you live in a nation where you can even air your views was what sentenced Prof. Wole Soyinka to twenty-two months in prison as a thirty-three-year-old man. #SOTNB

Fighting to ensure that you inherit a nation where every Nigerian has access to justice was what subjected the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi to three decades of harassment, assassination threats and thirty-two episodes in detention. #SOTNB

Fighting for equity, justice and dignity was what led to Ken Saro-Wiwa uttering his final words: ‘Lord, take my soul, but the struggle continues. #SOTNB

Fighting to ensure that every Nigerian is treated with respect was what deprived Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin of the bliss of young womanhood and sent her to torturous detention cells no fewer than seventeen times. #SOTNB

Fighting to bequeath to future generations a nation governed by ideas rather than the barrel of a gun was what subjected the likes of Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr. Oby Ezewesili and other members of Concerned Professionals to repression by a brutal military dictatorship. #SOTNB

Fighting to ensure that the generation of their children would not be beaten, teargassed, arrested or shot at by the police or soldiers as they were, was what sent the likes of Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana... #SOTNB

...Shehu Sani, Yinka Odumakin, Chief Frank Kokori, the late Beko Ransome-Kuti, the late Chima Ubani, and many other pro-democracy activists to the torturous jail cells of a cruel military junta. #SOTNB

As I have had to explain to my children, fighting to bequeath to them and their generation a better nation than the one I met, was what exposed me to the harassments, defamation of character, arrests and threats to life that my children witnessed their dad being subjected to.

It is obvious that the fight of my generation and the older generation has not yielded the Nigeria that you, the youth of our nation, can be proud of. #SOTNB

In 2002, at Grand Slam, an event that hosted a gathering of young Nigerians from across the six geopolitical zones in the country, I preached a message titled ‘Nigeria: A Land Filled with Crimes of Blood.’ #SOTNB

It breaks my heart that, eighteen years later, this still holds true. The Nigerian landscape is filled to the brim with the blood of its citizens. By its brutal repression of unarmed protesters, the Nigerian state has blood on its hands. #SOTNB

That agents of the Nigerian state would resort to using live ammunition to silence fellow citizens, fellow human beings, is heart-rending. Their blood will yet speak, as truly as there is a God. #SOTNB

In this time of great despair, we are united in pain with all who have suffered, in grief with all the families who are hoarse with sorrow, and in a sense of shared loss with those whose hard-earned livelihoods have been damaged or burnt. #SOTNB

May God console all who mourn in Nigeria, and give us beauty for our ashes. Amen. #SOTNB

We should be encouraged by the fact that every battle won is a step taken in the direction of a better nation. The fight is a progressive one, and every generation must contribute its victories. #SOTNB

The battles won by the generation of your fathers and mothers has become the launchpad for you to fight and win this battle for the recognition and preservation of the dignity of the human being. But the fight is also a collaborative one. #SOTNB

The laudable creative expressions of the protests were being threatened by descent into anarchy even if stage-managed as alleged. The protests had also begun to infringe on the rights of law-abiding Nigerians. #SOTNB

It was clear that a change of strategy was required to avert loss of lives, to safeguard the credibility of the movement, and to strengthen the gains made. #SOTNB

Our past experience with organising protests had shown that there comes a time when strategies are re-evaluated. #SOTNB

In 2010, when we marched to the National Assembly to protest power hijack, after registering our demands, we left the complex early enough to avoid the counter-protesters who trailed us. #SOTNB

Subsequently, when we marched to the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, we registered our demands, handed a letter to the governor, and left the arena. #SOTNB

When we marched to Aso Rock some weeks later, we presented a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and left thereafter. Similar protests held across the globe. #SOTNB

The cumulative effect of these protests forced the National Assembly to invoke the Doctrine of Necessity by which President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan became acting president and later, president. #SOTNB

In 2012, when we needed to gather to protest against a patently corrupt fuel subsidy regime, we converged at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, a venue that was unobstructive to vehicular movement. Our rallying cry was ‘Kill Corruption, Not Nigerians!’ #SOTNB

For five days, we brought the nation to a standstill through the massive gathering of Nigerians. However, when, by the fifth day of the protest, we caught wind that the Goodluck Jonathan government would deploy armed soldiers in the early hours of the morning... #SOTNB

...to dismantle our installations and potentially engineer a bloodbath, we deliberated and decided that our desire to see change was not worth the blood of any Nigerian. #SOTNB

At the risk of being misunderstood and maligned, we called off the protests and channelled our collective energy in a more sustainable direction. #SOTNB

Our change of strategies from the oppositional to the propositional gave us access to the Jonathan administration to influence policy changes in a range of areas. #SOTNB

Our proximity allowed us to protest to the president directly when the national interest demanded it. All the subsequent impact we made was due to a timely decision to change strategies to avert bloodshed. This is why I am heartbroken by the current events. #SOTNB

Citizens of our great nation, to build the Nigeria of our dreams is a collaborative responsibility. We must not pitch one generation against another. Generational integration, rather than generational shift, should be our strategy of choice. #SOTNB

As I have said in times past, the hindsight of the older generation must propel the foresight of the younger generation. The dreams of the fathers and mothers must be the backdrop of the visions of the sons and daughters. #SOTNB

The wisdom of the elders must guide the knowledge of the youth as we build the Nigeria of our dreams. Where there are no patriarchs and matriarchs, there will be no offspring. #SOTNB

Nation-building is a continuum; there must be a unity of purpose across generations and across regions. #SOTNB

This unity of purpose means we choose to see the plight of the almajiris and their inability to access quality education, not as a Northern problem, but as a Nigerian problem. #SOTNB

Because we are a nation of human connection, we choose to see the murder of seventeen-year-old Tina Ezekwe by a trigger-happy policeman in Lagos, not as a Southern problem, but as a Nigerian problem. #SOTNB

That is why every heart, young or old, male or female, in the East, West, North and South of Nigeria, must beat with one rhythm. This is why every Nigerian voice must declare with one accord: ‘End SARS! End the State-Aided Robbery Squad!’ #SOTNB

End the brutalisation and murder of the Nigerian people by reckless police operatives and soldiers. End the oppression and subjugation of the Nigerian people by those who ought to protect and serve them. #EndSARS #SOTNB

End the diversion of funds earmarked for the provision of quality education and healthcare for our people. End the inflation of contracts and give the Nigerian people quality roads and efficient transportation networks. #EndSARS #SOTNB

End the corruption that has denied our people access to steady electricity supply. End political banditry and the looting of the treasury to build political war chests. End vote-buying, electoral fraud and the killing of innocent Nigerians just to win elections. #EndSARS #SOTNB

End legislative brigandage, budget padding, backdoor allowances, and the siphoning of funds through perennially uncompleted constituency projects. End judicial rascality and the merchandising of justice to the highest bidder. #EndSARS #SOTNB

End the State-Aided Robbery Squad. End SARS! End SARS!! End SARS!!! End SARS so the Nigerian people can have access to every resource required to actualise the Nigerian dream. #SOTNB

The Nigerian dream is the hope in the heart of every Nigerian who desires a better nation. #SOTNB

The Nigerian dream is the fuel that has fanned the flames of those young Nigerians on the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Ibadan, Owerri, Jos, Makurdi... #SOTNB

...and cities across the Nigerian landscape and the diaspora, as well as on various social media platforms, all chanting the rallying cry for freedom: End SARS! #SOTNB

The Nigerian dream is that mental portrait of the Nigeria of our earnest hopes, the New Nigeria, a nation that is possible. #SOTNB

A nation we must come together to create, a Nigeria where the right to life is sacred and no one is brutalised or extrajudicially murdered; where no one goes to bed hungry and no child is left without access to quality education #SOTNB

Where our homes, schools, streets, villages, highways and cities are safe and secure, and Nigerians can work, play or travel with their minds at rest, and go to bed with their hearts at peace. #SOTNB

A Nigeria where our hospitals are life-saving institutions and every Nigerian has access to quality healthcare; where no youth is unemployed and our young men and women are job creators. #SOTNB

Where businesses thrive on innovation and made-in-Nigeria goods can compete anywhere in the world; where homes and businesses have access to uninterrupted power supply, and ideas are facilitated by functional infrastructure and cutting-edge technology. #SOTNB

Where no part of our nation – North, South, East or West – has a reason to feel marginalised, and where every Nigerian is proud to say, ‘I am a Nigerian.’ #SOTNB

A Nigeria that is a model for Africa and a beacon of hope to the world – that is the Nigeria of our dreams; the Nigeria we must come together to build. #SOTNB

In the midst of public outrage over the brutal repression of protesters by the Nigerian government, with the nation in a state of emergency, it would appear that now is not the right time to talk about building the Nigeria of our dreams. #SOTNB

However, I believe that the ultimate resolution of the current challenges we are confronted with as a nation lies in our ability to embrace a compelling picture of our desired future. #SOTNB

I am confident that this ground-zero state of our nation can become the foundational launchpad for the building of a great nation. As history shows us, great nations are built, not on beds of roses, but on the rocky grounds of adversity. #SOTNB

That was the story of Israel, a model nation that was forged out of four centuries of slavery and four decades of wandering in a desolate wilderness. #SOTNB

It was the story of the United States of America, a global power founded by immigrants who fled Europe to the New World and advanced westward against an intolerable wilderness. #SOTNB

It was the story of Japan, a war-torn country which emerged from the devastation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings to achieve one of the fastest economic recoveries of the 20th century. #SOTNB

It is the story of Dubai, a once sandy desert that has transformed the world’s skylines and become one of the most visited cities in the world. #SOTNB

It is the unfolding story of Rwanda, a landlocked country which emerged from a gruesome genocide to become Africa’s pacesetter in innovation and economic growth. It is why I believe this is the best time to rebuild Nigeria. #SOTNB

The pathway from the present state of our nation to the Nigeria of our dreams is paved with transformational landmarks in four dimensions, namely: Culture, Structure, Infrastructure and Intra-Structure. #SOTNB

These are the four strong pillars around which the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC) is built as a governmental, authoritative, powerful institution, generating solutions, influencing policy, and providing clarity. #SOTNB

The first landmark in the journey from the status quo to the Nigeria of our dreams is the birth of a New Nigerian culture. The cultural dimension of nation-building is the value system or value superstructure upon which the nation must be built. #SOTNB

It brings to focus what I call the 4 ‘IDs’ of our nationhood, namely the Nigerian Identity, the Nigerian Idiosyncrasy, the Nigerian Idiocy, and the Nigerian Ideal. #SOTNB

To address the current issues plaguing our nation and to make meaningful progress towards the Nigeria of our dreams, we must resolve certain unanswered questions that border on the Nigerian Identity. #SOTNB

Who is a Nigerian? What is the irreducible minimum standard of decency below which no Nigerian must fall? #SOTNB

To find answers to this question, I recommend revisiting the Nigerian Charter for National Reconciliation and Integration which was unanimously passed by delegates to the 2014 National Conference. #SOTNB

We must then deconstruct the Nigerian Idiosyncrasy – those modes of behaviour that have defined us over time for better or for worse – our exuberance, our ostentation, our love of pleasure, our aversion to risk... #SOTNB

...our resilient tolerance of adversity, our inclination to ethnic identities, and our religiosity that encourages us to ‘leave am for God.’ #SOTNB

We must tell ourselves home truths as to how these modes of behaviour have contributed to our current state and how they could be geared towards unleashing our collective potential and building the Nigeria of our dreams. #SOTNB

Upon further reflection, we will discover that, by not positively harnessing our idiosyncrasy, we continue to court what I call the Nigerian Idiocy. #SOTNB

This is what is at play when politicians corner the nation’s resources through the politics of banditry while citizens remain spectators, cheering looters on. #SOTNB

It is what is at play when we defend the corrupt because they are our kinsmen and we sell our votes for a loaf of bread and a bag of rice. #SOTNB

The antidote to the Nigerian Idiocy is the Nigerian Ideal. The Nigerian ideal is a quest; the quest to redefine ourselves by our most noble qualities and aspirations. #SOTNB

It is the quest for a Nigeria where no citizen is subjected to living below an irreducible minimum standard of decency. It is the quest for a new Nigerian culture, one in which the people are bound by common hopes & common dreams irrespective of ethnic and religious differences.

In the spirit of the New Nigerian culture, government must jettison the leadership model of the biblical Pharaoh and Rehoboam who ruined their nations through obstinacy. #SOTNB

Leaders must begin to listen to the people and show empathy to their plight. We need leaders like Nehemiah who quelled a protest, not by the force of arms, but by the moral authority of exemplary, sacrificial leadership. #SOTNB

We need leaders like the late Nelson Mandela who converted institutions of division and oppression to symbols of unity and empathy. #SOTNB

We need sensitive leaders who are not ashamed to shed tears with the wounded and who can tell the broken, ‘Your pain is my pain, and I will do everything in my power to lift your burden.’ #SOTNB

The New Nigerian culture is what has ignited in the hearts and minds of our young people a new wave of patriotism, a rejection of the status quo and the demand for accountability among public servants. #SOTNB

The New Nigerian culture is not defined by antagonism as an end in itself, or looting and pillaging as a solution, but is shaped by a willingness to take responsibility,... #SOTNB

...to find new answers to old questions, to refuse to simply accept that this is the best we can do and be as a people. #SOTNB

To this end, rather than destroy, we must build; rather than revel in attacks on tangible and intangible infrastructure, from buses and police stations to palaces and state-owned cyber assets, we must protect our common patrimony. #SOTNB

Instead of accepting a status quo that appears to leave us no choice but to go through the backdoor, we must build enduring edifices of open governance using such bricks as the Freedom of Information Act. #SOTNB

Our conduct should at all times be moral, ethical and legal, moderated by the reality that there are no shortcuts in nation-building. #SOTNB

From protests to progress, we must now proceed to the next phase of citizen engagement. We must organise ourselves like the nation-builders who teamed up with Nehemiah to build the wall of the city. #SOTNB

With one hand they built the wall, and with the other, they held a sword to defend themselves. In like manner, when this battle is won, we must defend our gains. #SOTNB

Some of us must join civil society groups to continue to hold government to account; some of us must become entrepreneurs creating jobs that will build our economy; some of us must become public servants, making and implementing policies that can facilitate and sustain growth.

Some of us must step into politics to ensure that the best of us lead the rest of us. Whichever path we take, every one of us must be ready at all times to defend our freedom so that never again will our people be subjected to such indignity. #SOTNB

Our National Structure - Upon the foundation of a New Nigerian culture, we must revisit conversations around the structure of Nigeria. #SOTNB

The End SARS protests have once again brought to the fore the diversity of the challenges and aspirations of the Nigerian people across geopolitical zones. #SOTNB

Let me at this juncture address those young people, particularly in the North, who have taken a different position and called for reforms, rather than the outright disbandment of SARS. #SOTNB

First of all, I say to these young Nigerians, you have the right to air your views, no matter how unpopular they may be. We hear you, too, because you are also Nigerians. #SOTNB

We do not desire a nation that is intolerant of seemingly contrarian opinions, nor a nation where one cap must fit all. Instead, we desire a nation where policy ideas are debated at the policy round-table... #SOTNB

...where facts are separated from fiction, and where the best ideas are implemented for the benefit of all, bearing the realities and opportunities of each geopolitical zone in mind. #SOTNB

We desire a nation where policy is based on evidence and where governance decisions are preceded by thorough strategic analysis. It has become clear that an excessively centralised government cannot sustain a culture of responsive leadership and responsible citizenship. #SOTNB

As Nigerians begin to exercise the powers of the Distinguished Office of the Citizen, we must demand a government that is close enough to facilitate our welfare and strong enough to provide security. #SOTNB

This is why I am confident that the current wave of people movement and individual responsibility will ultimately lead to the restructuring of our nation. #SOTNB

Our National Infrastructure - As ‘We the people’ begin to take responsibility to shape the New Nigerian culture, the government must facilitate the right kind of infrastructure that can channel that culture into productive ventures. #SOTNB

Our cities and communities must host affordable and decent housing units, functional education and health facilities, industrial facilities, sports and recreation facilities,... #SOTNB

...all linked by efficient multimodal transportation networks and broadband technology, protected by intelligent security architecture, and powered by sustainable energy solutions. #SOTNB

Such state-of-the-art infrastructure will facilitate the development of our young people, the incubation and growth of enterprise, and the drastic reduction in crime rates. #SOTNB

Within the construct of our national security infrastructure, let me use this opportunity to reiterate my call for a new approach to youth development in the context of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). #SOTNB

The NYSC provides an opportunity to achieve capacity building for economic development, to beef up our national security and defence infrastructure, as well as build the bridge of trust between the people and the armed forces. #SOTNB

At this juncture, I reiterate my recommendation that NYSC becomes an optional two-year programme with the first year spent on military training for our young people and the second year spent on agro-entrepreneurship. #SOTNB

In addition, I recommend that a minimum of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) obtained from a recognised polytechnic, or two years in a recognised university... #SOTNB

... with a cumulative grade point average not lower than a second-class lower division, be among the prerequisites for admission into the Nigeria Police Academy. #SOTNB

This will compel an upgrade of the Nigeria Police Academy to a degree-awarding tertiary institution affiliated with a Nigerian university, transform the Nigeria Police Force into a Nigeria Police Service, and further build the bridge between Nigerians and the Police. #SOTNB

Our National Intra-Structure - The intra-structure question is what, for years, has been referred to as the National Question. It is the quest for how best to coexist as a nation irrespective of our differences and diversities. #SOTNB

The intra-structure question has remained unanswered since the era of our founding fathers, and it explains the various conflicts that define our nation, including inter-ethnic, inter-religious, partisan, and, especially now, inter-generational conflicts. #SOTNB

Resolving the intra-structure question calls for a national redemption experience and an appropriate institutional framework. A national redemption experience is modelled in Revelation 5:8-10. #SOTNB

A national redemption experience entails forsaking a primordial attachment to ethnicity and tribalism and pledging allegiance to a higher national identity. #SOTNB

An appropriate institutional framework for such an experience would be the Presidential Commission for National Reconciliation, Reintegration and Rebirth which I have called for on various occasions. #SOTNB

This Commission must be charged with the mandate to address intra-structural issues, reconcile sectional interests, rebuild trust in the Nigerian State, and birth a truly integrated Nigeria. #SOTNB

Furthermore, this Commission can serve as a Truth and Reconciliation Commission where citizens can publicly narrate their ordeals with agents of the Nigerian State and find healing, compensation, justice, and reconciliation. #SOTNB

Above all, this commission can design and implement a Strategic Agenda for the Restructuring of our Federal System. By so doing, we can convert the current ugly narrative from a State-Aided Robbery Squad (SARS) to a Strategic Agenda for a Restructured State (SARS). #SOTNB

In conclusion, I appeal to the Nigerian youth whose patriotic spirits have been brutalised and traumatised by a repressive Nigerian state. I appeal to them not to lose hope in Nigeria. #SOTNB

I encourage them to keep hope alive because the Nigeria of their dreams, the New Nigeria, is within reach. I appeal to the older generation to speak up at this point in defence of our hard-earned freedom. This is not the nation our founding fathers lived and died for. #SOTNB

This is not the nation we fought for in the trenches of pro-democracy movements. This is not the nation we hope to bequeath to our children. We will build this nation, not upon the altar of the blood of our young people, but on their visions and aspirations. #SOTNB

I am confident that we can end the brutalisation of our people, put an end to the State-Aided Robbery Squad, and begin the process of nation-building. It is time to turn the stumbling blocks of our past into stepping stones to our future. #SOTNB

Let us, therefore, arise to build a great nation, that all who have died in the quest for a new nation will not have died in vain, and that the Nigerian dream will become the Nigerian reality. #SOTNB

Nigeria will be saved! Nigeria will be changed!! Nigeria will be great in our lifetime!!! Amen. Thank you. #SOTNB

God bless you, God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and God bless the continent of Africa.
#SOTNB