Thread by @segalink

For the right thinking citizens wondering what the agonizing mob is all about trying to impugn my integrity and those of others, it is simple. #EndSARS #ReformPoliceNG established by @SIAF_NG successfully as a common ground on national security has brought Nigerians together.

This was the first of its kind in years since independence. Nigerians haven’t quite succeeded in agreeing on anything nationally due to political suspicion & our diversity which leaders have mismanaged due to selfish political influence. All these were considered before we began.

Between 2015/16 thereabout we engaged young Nigerians on their concerns on the culture of impunity and specifically police brutality which cost many lives of young people across Nigeria. No one dared to ask questions & forced disappearance was common in cases involving the police

As at October 2017 we had gathered over 30,000 signatures confirming our fears about the rogue unit of the police causing havoc in our society and I wrote a petition and met with the National Assembly via Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara & then later HE Bukola Saraki the Senate President.

This was when #EndSARS was born long before we introduced it online. In 2017 to encourage swift reportage of police crimes and follow up. The birth of the Advocacy created a bridge upon which the institution of state could actually deliver on set mandate to the people.

Fast forward to 2020, we’ve successfully & intentionally facilitated the necessary bills in collaboration with members of civil society organizations & house committee on Police Affairs & the Presidency on a new policy to reposition the Police for effective service delivery.

All of which were done transparently and accountably even under an administration we criticized daily. The cooperation of the current Rt Hon Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila also made the amendments work till we got the assent of the President on Police Trust Fund 2019 & Police Act 2020

You cannot change anything institutionally in any country without changing the laws and to change laws you must engage the Legislatives at both Red and Green Chambers and well as carry the Executive & Judiciary along. This is no easy task & it requires the understanding of Govt.

While we were busy with the engagement since 2017 at personal cost, we were also running parallel interventions to protect the public from victimization in collaboration with several law firms as coordinated by @SIAF_NG. Also, it was my intention never to paint any wrong notion…

…that you have to be such and such to contribute to Nation Building. We acted in our legal names and our faces were out there. With several public events held and articles written to ensure the message is not contaminated as defined around the objective (EndSARS) & End Goal…

(ReformPoliceNG). So it was defined in purpose and wasn’t an happenstance as some may have deemed it to be. We made it simpler on socialmedia for ease of adoption and reportage of incidents which was highly impressive for our data.

All these were done before the Protest.

Of course people were hopeful knowing that they are no longer a prey to Police without consequences. In order not to make this about persons we strengthened the @PoliceNG effort with @PoliceNG_CRU by ensuring we involved them on ALL cases being monitored in collaboration.

The synergy worked and today the gap between the police and the people has been bridged effectively which is part of our objectives as an organization under my leadership.

Since impunity wasn’t a switch that could be turned off by fiat but an institutional decadence of decades

…there were still pockets of skirmishes with the police and the youth. So around October I received a call from Falz notifying me of a protest in response to an incident in Delta state which sparked an outrage on social media and I agreed to support & participate.

This was borne out of the genuine concern of the youth on the prevalence of the brutality despite the efforts of years and their need to register their discontent to expedite action on the outright ban of SARS and other rogue units, which Govt was actually phasing.

I faulted the lack of national orientation on the successes thus far and the lack of speedy implementation. The protest was indeed peaceful for the few days until other interests started emerging seeking to deploy the platform for their own agenda which will threaten the peace.

This was the divergent point that kept replaying itself each time the #EndSARS idea is deployed for selfish purposes of politics or group identity. This is where the youth are often mislead into thinking going against the agenda of aggressors is betraying their interest.

The Advocacy is NOT the protest. The protest was an event but the ADVOCACY is a going concern as pre-programmed to monitor the implementation of the laws and evaluate its effectiveness with recommendations on amendments as should be across sectors by patriotic active citizens.

So the initial problem was with groups seeking to convert the effort of years into the enforcement of gay rights & endorsement of same sex marriage by FEMCO which was resisted. The beneficiaries of FEMCOs bitcoin blood money never forgave me for this & have now found a new base

Of course I can’t forget the IPOB group who started just like you’re seeing today years back & was cautioned but took it as an attack on the Igbo but now everything has played out as warned. The warnings are most often misinterpreted as an attack by interests until it’s too late

Also in 2015, the BMC were on my case because of all the things I said in 2014/15 about the Buhari Admin which played out exactly as projected. They too (now mostly out of job) never forgot and held a grudge. So you can see I was right to say most of the Hate Groups are under…

…the “Obidient” movement against the interest of the actual respectful supporters of the Peter Obi campaign blighting and corrupting it from within with their grudges and campaign of calumny and coercion. The idea is to convert the common ground to a political initiative.

And to effectively do that they believe they need to either get SEGA buy-in “by force by fire” or try to impugn his integrity by using every and anything to damage his name. But ladies and gentlemen, you can undo what you didn’t establish. I wasn’t man made but Grace Made.

So those justifying hate campaign by known enemies of the progress and peace of Nigeria are part of the problem. You should be concerned that your campaign has been hijacked by forces with contrary agenda and made possible by the negligence of the campaign itself to define…

…the parameters. Justifying evil with reference to the actions of those that have done it before is unintelligent and reeks of foolishness. How can we solve a problem with the same mindset that created it? Why are we justifying human rights infringement as once condemned?

Claiming that anyone who supported #EndSARS must automatically be a disciple of a Politician is ridiculous and condemnable. Nigerians have the rights to choose any of the 18 options available and must not be condemned or harassed for their position. Your patriotism is not…

…judged based on the political party you support or your candidate of choice. Identity politics of hate divides the country and no ethical or sane Advocate of progress would convert his national position to a political one for fringe benefits. This is corruption & condemnable.

This is the reason behind the coordinated attacks and mudslinging by known enemies of our unity who never built anything but fond of corrupting everything to come across with hate, belligerence, blackmail and division. I can’t be bullied & they’re revealing themselves.

The authorities are monitoring the development and soon necessary actions will be taken in the sundry petitions against arrow heads of this hate campaign and threats against our nascent democracy. No one in their right senses will fan the flame of violence at this time in Nigeria

Citizens are advised to avoid being plunged into matters they least understand. Things are never what they seemed & you need to think your actions through as you will be judged by them. I am an ordinary citizen contributing my quota & won’t be conscripted into any hate group. 🚔

The common ground thus established is yielding fruit across Nigeria and politicizing such will NOT happen on my watch. Build your own advocacy and engage Government and execute the terms as pleased instead of seeking to force your way on others. This is a CRIME! #ShunExtremism 🚔