The nonchalant attitude of our leaders towards the injustice Nigerians suffer in the hands of the police is appalling, particularly since many lives have been lost since the #EndSARS protest began.

One would have expected the government to be proactive in addressing the issue. But it is rather unfortunate that they kept mute while the rights of countless Nigerians were violated every day.

Concerned Nigerians slammed President Muhammadu Buhari’s slow response in addressing the issue which came days after police officers had killed some protesters.

Another problematic issue was the long silence of Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, which kept Nigerians pondering on the insensitivity of our government to the plight of the youths.

On Friday, however, Osinbanjo finally broke his silence and tendered an apology to Nigerians on his Twitter page. He added that the government was walking towards reforming the police force and getting justice for victims whose rights had been violated by operatives of the now-defunct SARS unit.

His tweet reads:

We also understand that the issues that you’re raising are bigger than just SARS. They’re deep and systemic and we’re undertaking comprehensive measures that will revamp the police by addressing issues of welfare, service conditions and training.

— Prof Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) October 16, 2020

We will continue to update and engage with you all on these action steps and the ones to come, in the spirit of transparency, so that you can hold us accountable. We are, after all, here to serve you and we owe you a duty to win back your trust.

Keep safe. God bless you. – YO pic.twitter.com/jOYmh1i6wJ

— Prof Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) October 16, 2020

Breaking his silence is one thing, but fixing the rot in the system that has pushed Nigerians into the streets to demand good governance is a different thing entirely. It seems almost unachievable considering how often the government fails to deliver their basic responsibilities to the masses.

Nigerians have lost faith in the government’s ability to proffer any meaningful solution to the issue on ground, and this is understandable. Still, the power to enact change is still in their hands, and we might want to give them the benefit of the doubt one more time; hoping that there will be genuine efforts to reform the police and attain justice for the victims of the atrocities of SARS operatives.

Uroupa Kiakubu