The consensus is that Nigeria is on the cusp of a revolution. And the actions of young people all over the country and in the diaspora agree. In the past one week, young people have come out in droves, lending out their voices against the inappropriate behaviour of a rogue unit of the Nigerian Police Force, SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad). For years, the lives of Nigerians have been at the mercy of officers of SARS. Many have been killed, extorted, harassed, raped, illegally imprisoned, beaten just because a SARS official thought they were deserving of it. Nigerians have finally had enough and are expressing it in multiple protests, marches, prayer walks, and agitations. The goal is to end this rogue unit, SARS, and ensure that every person who has been killed by members of this unit gets justice.
LGBTQ persons have not been spared from the horrendous activities of SARS, and as an extension, all the illegal actions of the Nigerian Police Force. If anything, we have received the shorter end of the stick. Many of us have stories of dehumanizing profiling, illegal detaining, harassment in the hands of SARS officials, many of them we can’t even share.
But our problem didn’t start with SARS, and it wouldn’t end with the disbandment of SARS. We — LGBT persons — are always one step away from being killed, being harassed, being assaulted, by family, by friends, by the police, by random people in the street, by neighbours, by colleagues, and the list goes on
Fellow LGBTQ+ persons, as this movement unfolds before our very eyes, let us be reminded that our own journey just begins. That our problem is the law, our problem is society, our problem is a culture that refuses to see our humanity. And our job is to, one after the other, dismantle these systems. Let’s remember this how we use these tools in mobilizing, demanding, advocating for the disbandment of SARS.
It’s okay to get tired. We are human. Take a break, take a day off, sleep. Remember that this is the fight of our own lives, and it is a marathon. It is important that we form a network of communities that provide strength, that nourish our spirits, that remind us of why we are here.
As we remember those who have lost their lives to assault by SARS, let’s also remember LGBTQ+ persons those who have been killed by state actors; our friends, colleagues who were murdered for being different. Let us remember the 57 innocent men who were unlawfully arrested by the Nigerian Police at a birthday party in Lagos two years ago who haven’t been acquitted, even with the lack of evidence.
There is a temptation to, again, centre the heterosexuals, centre being liked, to shrink yourselves in this revolution. No! Take up space wherever you are. Demand for justice. Speak up as much as you can. Our lives, as they are, have value, our relationships have value, and our demand for a government that sees this value is a legitimate one. We will also continue to tell our stories, not in relation to, or in comparison to heterosexual stories, but as full, whole stories that they are.
We salute the bravery of those who have joined in the protests stating clearly on their banners that Queer Lives Matter. History will be kind to you because of this.
This journey is a marathon. We will end SARS, but it is only the beginning
End Sars. End SWAT. Reform the Police Force.
