EndSARS: Just four demands by David Agu

You know, when Igbos agitate for Biafra or some Yorubas contemplate Oduduwa Republic, it’s not because of deep unfettered love for the idea of a new nation, but much more because of deep-rooted disappointment, agony and loss of hope in Nigeria as a (non)nation.

And it was easy, and justifiably so, to have emphatically concluded that Nigeria will never be better. But, you see, no force in the world can stop a revolution whose time has come.

So, here’s my suggestion on how we can utilize this rare opportunity of the ongoing #EndSARS movement to finally take back our country. After we’ve achieved a clear end to the SARS horror, let us take a couple of months break to re-energize, restrategize, and regroup for a total shut down of this country, once and for all, till we fully recover our country from the stranglehold of these old villainous vipers called Nigerian political leaders. And this time, our demand would be #ReformNigeria. And to achieve this #takebackourcountry agenda, there are just two simple but fundamental instruments of state we should aim for: the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

Below is my suggested rundown of this renewed demand.

1. Amendment of the constitutional provision which enshrines the rights of eligible citizens to vote and be voted. Here we’ll focus on right to be voted for (i.e eligibility for an elective office). Under this first arm of the demands, we’ll insist that an amendment be made banning anyone who currently holds or has ever held an elective political office at any of the 3-tier levels of governments since the 2nd republic of 1979, from being eligible to contest for any elective office again for 30 years commencing from the date the amendments come into effect (which must be before 2023). And this amendment shall include a clause covering those that ruined our lives under military administrations, too.
2. An amendment to the relevant sections of both the constitution and the Electoral Act making it ineligible for anyone above the age of 60 years to contest for an elective political office in Nigeria, commencing from the date the amendment comes into force.
3. A constitutionally-enshrined drastic slash in salaries and allowances of political office holders. In this aspect, it should be provided that no political office holder’s salary and allowances should exceed that of the highest-ranking civil servant in the given tier of government the politician serves. In other words, neither the President’s nor Senator’s salaries and allowances can be higher than that of a Federal Civil Servant on Grade Level 17 (whatever amount that is per time, which at the current scale may not exceed N1million per month for the highest ranking Federal civil servant). And same should go for states and local governments political office holders. Basically, here we’ll demand that political office holders’ salaries should be modeled after the scales already set by the templates of Federal Civil Service Commission and States Civil Service Commissions, afterall they’re public servants too and not CEO’s of Shell Corporation or GTBank. And whoever wants to make the big bucks should go and found and innovative startup and run it efficiently for a chance to cash in billions, like the smart guys at Paystack just did, mbok.
4. And finally, amendment of the Electoral Act to provide for a hybrid voting system that makes voting digitally right from your phone or other device and from the comfort of your your home or office, using BVN or NIN and proof of age, as possible as going out to queue up at the physical voting booths. Basically, giving every eligible citizen a suitable option to ensure systematic disenfranchisement of the more digital-enclined young Nigerians does not continue anymore, and electoral victories can now be based on practical ideas and proven innovative experience, rather than cups of rice, salt, and 2k inside over-sized brown envelopes.

So, you see, just 4-points demand. We won’t be asking for too much after all. But, dear fellow young Nigerians, unless we re-energize to re-emerge to insist and succeed at getting these 4 simple demands (or similar variations of them) granted, young Nigerians will never get a chance to lead this country with modern ideas and digital execution even in the next 50 years, and the old, frail and backward-thinking worst of us will still continue to lead the young, energetic, innovative and futuristic best of us for a very very long time.

Ordinarily, the first thing that comes to mind is to ask all current governments to step down, since they’ve all clearly failed incredibly. But we can do better than that and still avoid throwing the country into chaos. We can use them as instruments to disqualify and ban themselves starting from at least 2023. We can endure 3 more years of this excruciating bad governance, but what we can’t endure is 50 more years of it.

So, dear fellow young Nigerians, this is the kind of reform we must now get ready to press for. This is the kind of revolution that will help us take back our country. And this is the kind of revolution I’m ready for.

Please share this until it becomes part of the new conversation.

_By David Agu Esq.

EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutalityIn #ReformNigeria #Davidagu