Bayo  Fasunwon

The fire ebbs, and the smoke fades, but the ashes remain hot. That is the situation in many parts of Nigeria after #EndSars Aluta. Now Aluta means struggle, and it is a word that stands not on its own. The sentence from which it is culled states, ‘Aluta continua, Victoria acerta’. That means that the struggle continues and victory is certain. That statement fuelled our adrenalin in the days of yore, as youths, to continue in our struggle as undergraduates in the University. We matched boldly against military governments whom we perceived as tyrants and usurpers of power. On several occasions, we were faced by armed bearing anti riot policemen.
We got training on the field on how to reduce the effects of tear gas, dodge bullets and walk miles. Many songs of liberation and quotes of freedom fighters were learnt and recited without flaws. Our movements from UNILAG to several parts of Lagos were coordinated and strategic. Quite unfortunately, while marching under the leadership of Olusegun Mayegun, Bola Ilorin, Omoyele Sowore and Segun Erubami, the Police cells became habitations of pain, while some lost their lives. But the Aluta spirit never died. Were our aims achieved? Some materialized, years after and some are still lying in the refrigerators of hope and expectations. That is why aluta continues.
The spirit of aluta is often revived by government’s recalcitrant attitude and over bearing attitude that takes the citizens for granted. Burning issues are waved aside, and promises of change are treated like tissue papers. Therefore aluta is more often than not provoked by the government rather than by the people. When a government operates with the self delusion that people can be forced to remain silent under tyranny and violation of fundamental human rights, due to their possession of the legitimate use of coercion, then aluta shows up.
Those under the control of the spirit of death believe strongly that soldiers and police would kill resilient protesters until they can kill no more, then victory comes. Aluta spirit makes the weak stare death in the face and smile, holding the national flag with gusto while the bullets separate the soul from the exuberant body. Those who are often possessed by the aluta spirit are enlightened men and women. They are people who understand what they are protesting about. They seek measurable goals, and pursue it with vigour. Alutaites are not concerned with destruction, but transformation; they seek not demolition, but change; guided by principles they hold dear, personal life possessions have little meanings, but the general good of fellow men. Aluta is that outcry for constructive revolution, and not the incineration of their common heritage. Aluta is globally recognized as the inalienable right of the governed towards a government whose sensory organs have become insensitive to the legitimate deafening cries against oppression.
In the days when NANS were the custodians of the aluta spirit in the various ‘enlightened mechanized brigade divisions’, students marched against tyranny, while the frustrated in the society use the opportunity to vent their anger on perceived enemies in the society. More often than not, the enlightened alutaic forces were not the perpetrators of violence. The same scenario presented itself in the #EndSars protest that engulfed the nation in the last twelve days. The purported shooting of enlightened protesters gave the angery and opportunistic rascals the green light to steal, kill and destroy. The activities of the hoodlums during these past days are horrific, unprecedented and barbaric. From Aluta, the chants became ‘we are looting!’ The slogan became, ‘grab what you can grab, while it is hot’. So men in uniforms became grabbers too. Armed robbers saw the opportunity to rob in the daylight, as if operating under societal immunity.
Theories of gender marginalization were invalidated as men, women and children tried as much as they could to clinch the best looter awards. Many justified their looting of ‘COVID 19 STORES’ on the callousness of governments officials who withheld ‘corn’ from the people in the midst of hunger. All over the states, the hunt for ‘COVID 19 palliatives’ became another ‘Guilder Ultimate Search’. The people could be deterred by some Governor’s warning that most of the goods looted were poisonous. Men in power’s explanation that the palliatives were being kept for proper dissemination at appropriate times fell on deaf ears. Some did not just loot the palliatives; they removed roofing sheets, gates, and even signboards.
While the justification for the looting of palliatives continued, the outcry against other forms of carnage and looting seemed unanimous. Lagosians would be moaning their losses with the burning of close to three hundred BRT buses that were purchased to ease traffic cost and stress in the city. Same also happened in Okitipupa where the buses that ought to transport pupils freely from their homes to their various schools were also torched. From my perspective, those buses were not burnt by people who are aggrieved with the government. Rather, they were burnt by those who felt that their exploitation of their fellows was being eased by government. One would not be surprised therefore that members of transport unions were the arrow heads of such carnage.
Unfortunately too, they would have been supported by other ill informed miscreants who thought their anger was towards a particular beneficiary of the scheme. If only they knew that the burning of the buses would add to their pains and anguish, and also give governments the opportunity to impose more taxes, they would have thought better of their actions before taking it. My prediction is that fare hikes in Lagos would soar, and many would suffer the consequences of the irrational activities of this carnage. Destroying government owned property does not hurt government. Rather it hurts the people, and gives the people in power more opportunity to make wealth. Those who looted tractors and turned them to carcasses were not propelled by the spirit of aluta, but were looters that should be apprehended and prosecuted. Those who aided and hailed the destruction of ATM machines should be ready to face herculean tasks in getting urgently needed funds from their banks. My heart goes to private business owners, whose property were stolen under the guise of protests. I hope government comes to their aid. But the families of those who earned their living from these places have already been brought into contract with very hard times.
When Aluta, becomes ‘Are looting’, it is the people who suffer most in the long run. Various funds that could have been used for further developments would have to be channeled towards, ‘reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation’. Those who are looters have set the nation ten years backwards. When we shed tears, we should still be able to see. However, while the looting is condemned in strong terms, government should learn a great lesson, and prevent a re-occurrence of this sad phenomenon in the future. If government by actions and inactions do not stir the spirit of aluta, those who are looters would not have opportunity to ply their evil trade.