Daniel

It is yet another remembrance, and somehow, words still fail me. Perhaps it is because the older I get, the more I see clearly how performative people can be. How easily we turn other people's pain into a trending topic, how loudly we mourn when the world is watching, and how quickly we return to our comfortable silence when the noise dies down. 6 years ago today, I watched in horror as human lives were taken. 6 years later, I still wish things had happened differently. The anger I feel is because of the pain I witnessed. What hurts even more is watching how easily we forget. We remember when it is convenient. We post when it is trending. We write our tributes, shed our public tears, and promise never to forget. Yet, when it is time to stand up for the living, when speaking up becomes uncomfortable, when demanding accountability requires courage, so many people suddenly find their voices too expensive to use. And I wonder what exactly we are remembering if we refuse to learn? What does it mean to mourn those who stood for justice if we are unwilling to stand for justice ourselves? To everyone who lost someone during #EndSARS, I pray that the world has been kinder to your hearts than it has been to your grief. I pray that, in the quiet moments when the rest of us have moved on, you find the strength to keep going. And to those we lost, I am sorry. I am sorry that your lives became the price of a demand that should never have been so costly. I am sorry that 6 years later, so many of us are still struggling to find you justice. I am sorry that you all have become nothing more than hashtags we resurrect once a year. 6 years later, I am still so sorry. Rest in peace to all those we lost during #EndSARS and at the Lekki Toll Gate. May your memories remain a wound on the conscience of a nation that must never be allowed to forget. And @jidesanwoolu @officialABAT this is to remind you of your murderous government. #EndSARS #LekkiMassacre #NeverForget