All promises cancelled: The Soni Gold speaks from Nigeria Column

The current ruling political party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the most
dubious in the country’s long checkered history.
The APC ascended the throne in Aso Rock on a wave of populist chant CHANGE in 2015. All
over the country the chant of sai baba rent the air, from the North west, North east, North
central and South west.
Only the South east and South south had large supporters of the former president Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan and even that was not without formidable opposition from the governors of
Rivers and Imo State, Rotimi Amaechi and Rochas Okorocha. You may also add the
maverick Catholic priest Rev Father Mbaka to the fray. He made a viral video in support of
Buhari in 2015 that swayed many neutral voters in the region.
The social media was a powerful tool for the then “progressives” to expose, ridicule, malign and
sometimes spread outright falsehoods against the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (
PDP).
Notable names behind the propaganda machine of the APC in that era include Lai Mohammed,
Kayode Ogundamisi, Japheth Omojuwa, Bashir El-Rufai and many others.
Let me confess that I am one of those that campaigned for and donated my widow’s mite to
Buhari’s coffers in 2015. I did so in good conscience believing he meant well for the country
and that he was running on the platform of the common people in Nigeria. It was all carefully
packed scam.
APC came with so many promises. I will highlight the many promises in the coming weeks and
months. Five years after in the saddle, it is obvious even to the apolitical mind that APC
connotes All Promises Cancelled. Every shred of deception left was torn and exposed by the
#EndSARS protests.
It was a protest about a notorious department in the Nigerian police force that for many years
terrorised the youths especially and in many cases allegedly extra judicially murdered hundreds
of thousands with impunity. They were never held to account neither by their superiors nor the
government.
In truth #EndSARS was a metaphor for many ills plaguing the geographical expression called
Nigeria. Beginning in Chatham House on February 26, 2015 Buhari stood before the
international audience to give hope to a troubled nation and her allies. “ So before you is a
former military ruler and a converted democrat  who is ready to operate under democratic norms
and is subjecting himself to the rigors of democratic elections for the fourth time.”

Buhari said he regretted the past saying:” I cannot change the past. But I can change the present
and the future.” Indeed Buhari is changing-destroying the present and the future of Nigeria and
Nigerians but that was not what many citizens trooped out to vote for in those heady months of
#feBuhari and #March4Buhari in 2015.
Buhari assured Nigerians that: “ dictatorship goes with military ruler….”, we applauded at the
time. They must have had a hearty laugh at our expense.
He praised the virtues of democracy saying: “ On a personal note , the phased end of the USSR
was a turning point for me. It convinced me that change can be brought about without firing a
single shot.”
Today, our president and “converted democrat” stands accused of making peaceful change
“without firing a single shot “  impossible. Youths and older citizens across the country in their
hundreds of millions walked the streets in peaceful protests demanding that their right to life be
enforced by government and the killer squad be disbanded.
The government responded with their usual deception announcing after a week of protests that
SARS has been disbanded. The next day the police announced the formation of a new outfit
called Special Weapons And Tactics unit (SWAT). It was obvious to the discerning mind that
this was a case of “old poisonous wine” in new bottle. The youths refused to back down.
The government called for negotiations demanding that the youths elect leaders as their
representatives but wise to the willy methods of government in such circumstances where they
“buy the representatives” and render them ineffectual as is the case with the Nigerian Labour
Congress, the youths elected not to send any representatives. They demanded instead that
government as a show of commitment to change, should ask the Inspector General of Police to
step down, arrest and prosecute officers who have been found culpable in torture and extra
judicial murder of citizens.
In countries where the law is supreme these were plausible demands but in Nigeria accustomed
to years of lawlessness and impunity it was “testing the might” of government. Also the
government was wary and scared of the innovative, brilliant and hardworking minds behind the
protests typified by the Feminist Coalition.
They provided firm structure , security, feeding, legal aids, healthcare and more during the
protests. They were compassionate, an old woman hawking groundnuts at the Lekki protest
ground was supported with five hundred thousand Naira ($1,200) and advised to give up the
dreary work. Another Nigerian youth, Nonso Ejemba used his twitter handle @aprokodoctor
to raise over seven million,five hundred thousand Naira to procure prosthetic legs for two
protesters and meet the needs of other Nigerians.
They were accountable, they were united and in two weeks the country was a-wash with tales
that pointed at the rebirth of a strong , viral , united Nigeria where Christians stood guard on
Friday while their Muslim compatriots observed Jumat prayers.

Many gave support to the protests offline and online, even members of “opposition “ political
party joined so as not to left out in the “ movement”. In the north pockets of protesters walked
the streets demanding for an end to banditry.
For a government full of guile and bereft of vision or desire to move the country forward the
protesters represented a threat that must be met with “necessary force”. So government agents
hired hoodlums to attack protesters across the country. When that didn’t stop the protests , the
police moved in with brute force , many youths were killed and others brutalized. As at October
12, one week into the protest Amnesty International reported that police killed at least 10
people across the country.
On October 20, the hoodlums went on rampage clashing with police in Lagos and other cities
across the country, leading to more bloodshed. The governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-
Olu imposed a curfew beginning at 1600hrs.
Many protesters and others who could not access their homes gathered at the Lekki tollgate.  At
about 1800hrs soldiers arrived Lekki tollgate. The protesters were singing the national anthem
and waving the flag. Soon the power supply at the tollgate was cut and in the darkness that
ensued, soldiers opened fire on the protesters. Clips of the shooting was soon viewed around the
world. The quivering voices of the protesters as they sang the anthem while the soldiers took aim
was the stuff for nightmares.
At home many could not sleep as the country descended into anarchy. Soon the light at the
tollgate was restored but the soldiers had fled the scene of their crime and shortly after it
emerged that thes Lagos State government moved the time of the curfew to 2100hrs.
At the same hour the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), in a press release announced
that media houses should be careful when featuring user generated content in their news report.
Police stayed behind at the tollgate to polish off what the soldiers left behind. The onslaught
against the citizens was complete.
Sadly, it was not the first time Buhari would show utter disdain for the life of Nigerian youths.
In April 1985, three Nigerian youths Batholomew Azubike Owoh, 26, Lawal Akanni
Ojulolape, 30, Bernard Ogedengbe, 29, were shot to death for drug related offences after
Buhari, then Head of State promulgated and backdated decree 20.
It’s difficult to put a figure on the number of people that died at the Lekki tollgate or across the
country. There is palpable fear in the land and many families have chosen to bury their dead and
mourn in secret as the government continues to do everything to cover its tracks even as the
blood of those cut down dodge their footsteps.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of www.aroundtheregions.com)
About the Author

I am Soni Gold, a student of history and lover of humanity.
I am passionate about the Nigerian project that seeks to birth a nation where every Nigerian is
equal before the law and the vast resources of the country are available and accessible to all.
It’s this desire to put my voice and pen where my heart is that led me to the London School of
Journalism.
In the coming weeks and months, you will be reading factual, undiluted accounts of the heart
wrenching Nigerian narrative.
History unlearned they say is history repeated. It is my candid hope that this effort and those of
several other patriotic Nigerians will galvanize my compatriots everywhere around the world to
say: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.