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What did you hear about the killing of EndSARSers at the toll gate in Lekki, Lagos State? There have been several ‘tales’ about that nasty episode in the story of Lagos State under the care of Babajide Sanwo-Olu. What you heard may be different from what I have heard and continue to hear. You may call it conspiracy theory and you would be right. But I like conspiracy theories. Somehow, they help ease tension by stating alternative and unverified ‘facts’. Some of those ‘facts’ often become leads to the actual fact of the matter. So, let me tell you what I heard.
Some of those whom I interacted with on the actual reason there had to be military action at Lekki toll gate and not at Alausa, the seat of the Lagos State government in Ikeja, ‘gossiped’ into my ears that it was about protecting business interest. Recall that Alausa was equally ‘barricaded’ by the EndSARSers. They impeded movement in and out of the seat of the state government. But there was no military action there as there was at the toll gate in Lekki. That alone tends to justify the ‘conspiracy theory’ of specific business interest being the motivating factor behind the invitation to the army to show force.
Certain pre-shooting action laid credence to this ‘conspiracy theory’. First, The Punch reported that the blockade of the toll gate, prior to the military action, cost Lagos State government some N234m in losses as a consequence of the takeover of the gate by the EndSARSers. According to the report, no less than 80,000 cars access the tollgate daily. This accounts for an income of about N234m from the daily tolls at the gate. In the report, The Punch quoted an unnamed commissioner in the state government as telling it that “at least 80,000 cars use the toll gates every day. The figure could be higher or lower, depending on the day of the week. However, since the protest stated, the Lekki toll gate has been completely shut, while the Ikoyi one has been left permanently open for people to use without payment.”
From calculations made by The Punch, the Lekki link bridge was expected to generate a daily income of N10m or about N300m monthly, while the main toll gate close to Admiralty Way, also in Lekki, was expected to generate a daily income of N16.6m with a projected monthly gross of about N500m. This income is shared between the Lagos State government and the Lekki Concession Company (LCC), which is the core investor in the road and bridge infrastructure in the axis. Prior to this report, the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said the Nigerian economy had lost about N700b to the protest in 12 days. This loss was mostly from the near shutdown of Lagos by the protest. This disclosure was made by the LCCI president, Mrs. Toke Mabugunje. The loss also affects income to the state from taxes and other charges.
For the conspiracy theorists, these losses were too much to bear thus the invitation from the Lagos State government to the military to deploy troops to free the toll gate of the EndSARSers and possibly arrest the losses and restore income.
The second conspiracy theory was that the #EndSARS protest was a metaphor for many living on the Lekki peninsula and beyond to protest their chastisement by the Lagos State government through the tolling of the only road that leads even to their native homes. Beyond residents of estates in the Lekki axis, there are also Lagosians who must access the toll gates daily to reach their ancestral homes and villages. For instance, people of Lagos who are from Ajah, Badore, Epe, Sangotedo, etc., who are not tenants in estates but occupants of their ancestral homes, are forced by development to pay tolls, to and from, their villages. This creates a sense of injustice in many minds. Those affected by this development wonder why they are ‘punished’ by payment of daily tolls, while their counterparts in other parts of the state do not pay tolls to get home.
As planned, there are supposed to be three toll gates on the Lekki-Epe expressway. So far, two are ready. Those who access these tollgates must pay for each passage. And where there are alternative routes for those who do not want to pay, they are inadequate. Those who question this taxation have genuine cause to worry. For them, the #EndSARS protest offered an opportunity to draw attention to the ‘sin’ they committed for being permanent residents of villages off that road. And they are justified. Logically, there is no argument that explains why permanent residents of ancestral homes off the Lekki-Epe expressway must pay several tolls to access their homes while those of equal residential status off the Lagos-Badagry, or Lagos-Ikorodu, or Lagos-Ibadan, or Lagos-Abeokuta don’t pay.
Those who ask these questions demand answers. However, none is forthcoming. This perhaps feeds the conspiracy theorists with plenty of material to argue that the military action at Lekki toll gate was a systematic and deliberate attempt to quell a possible uprising that may demand the dismantling of the toll gates on the grounds of injustice and systematic state-sponsored discrimination against some bonafide indigenes and residents of the state.
But like Ernest Okonkwo of blessed memory would comment, ‘danger not yet averted’. Those who have been silenced by the rhythm of the soldier’s rifle retreat to fight another day. On this score, the ‘victory’ may be momentary. When it rebounds, as it most likely would, the fury could be more ferocious. Perhaps, the windo has presented itself for the state government to strategically engage the youth population of parts of the state affected by the toll gates. Their concerns, which filter out as conspiracy theory, need some listening to. This is because behind the conspiracy theories is the ‘understanding’ that the LCC and all the tollgates on the Lekki-Epe expressway, including that connecting Lekki and Victoria Island, serve the business interest of one man, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, though denied.
Finally, the #EndSARS protest was spontaneous. It has called attention to the atrocities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the need to reform and remodel the Nigeria Police and, indeed, the entire governmental system in Nigeria. However, wild flowers grow the way they like. Leaders of the protest allowed it to degenerate. They did this when they refused to see that they had reached the point of compromise. Once you reach the point of compromise, in any struggle, you retreat to allow room for implementation or further consultation. By accepting the five demands of the EndSARSers, government opened the window for compromise. Inability to see and take advantage of that window created room for a most dangerous conspiracy theory to the effect that the protests were aimed at forcing a regime change in Nigeria. Sadly, this is the position of governors of states in the northern part of our country.
Those who developed the conspiracy theory had reason to let their brains work that way. For if actually all the demands had been accepted, what was the continued protest for? That was a question no one answered and that was a window that allowed conspiracy theorists to work out their mind and seek to forcefully break the protests. Perhaps, lessons have been learnt. A youth rage, like we’ve seen, is good to shake-up the system. It answers to the invitation by Prince Tony Momoh to “stone us if we fail after two years” (The Guardian: April 3, 2016) and to Rotimi Amaechi’s charge on youths to “stone” politicians for stealing (Vanguard: December 5, 2013). “You have stoned nobody that is why we are stealing.”
Responses to these charges may have been long in coming but, like they say, better late than never. They are, to my mind, not specifically against Buhari, but against the systemic failure of governance since 1999. I will return to this next week.
