The evening of October 20, 2020, at the Lekki toll gate plaza, Lagos, is a gory moment which will be written in the sands of time, notwithstanding how far the government goes to abridge that history. Building up to that moment had been protests against police brutality in the country. Almost all states of the country have been enveloped by protests and demonstrations by youth.
Before the surge of the protests, many youth had, in a heartrending manner, took to social media to express varying degrees of injustice in the hands of security agents who were supposed to protect life and property.
With the help of social media tools such as live streaming of events and reporting, thousands of Nigerians saw how Nigerian security operatives opened fire on peacefully organised protesters.
There has been no specific death toll but scores of lives were definitely lost and it is a moment which portrays the desperate measures to end the peaceful protests by the handlers of the armed forces.
In a society which claims to practise democracy, the #LekkiMassacre is a betrayal of everything democratic. As such, it is up to storytellers to ensure that such events are not buried or washed away by the sands of time. Generations coming after should learn of how the millennial youth and Generation Z, contrary to assumptions, took an organised stand against brutality but were met with ferocity.
Popular actor, storyteller and filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, following prompting on Twitter, revealed that the #LekkiMassacre event is one story which must be told and that he is working towards it.
It is a must told story. Script development in progress.#Godsavenigeria
— Kunleafolayan (@kunleafolayan) October 22, 2020
With the much anticipated speech from the president failing to acknowledge the gruesome loss of lives in the hands of the people sworn to protect them, it is up to our storytellers to ensure that the history is documented to be learnt from and not suppressed with silence.
Kunle Afolayan has led the way. Other creatives should take a cue from this.
Kola Muhammed has imprint across local and international media. He is passionate about trends in the domains of culture, communication and technology.
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