Yinka Odumakin, speaks during his appearance on Channels
Television’s Sunrise Daily on November 5, 2020.
Mr Yinka Odumakin believes lack of federalism in the
country is one of the major factors that triggered the recent
protest by youths against harassment by operatives of the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) – a unit of the police that has been
disbanded.
The spokesperson for the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation –
Afenifere, stated this on Thursday when he appeared on Channels
Television’s Sunrise Daily.
He said, “What SARS does is mostly profiling – you are wearing
earrings, this is how you are cutting your hair, you are a yahoo
boy; all those profiling are for youths from a particular section
of the country and in that context, it is the lack of
federalism.”
Although he noted that some youths were engaging in fraudulent
activities, Odumakin insisted that there were several others who
were successful entrepreneurs but were victims of SARS because of
their appearance.
He explained that the #EndSARS protest enjoyed the participation
of many young Nigerians in the South than those who took part in
the North because they were the most victims.
20, 2020, #EndSARS protesters defy the curfew in Lagos State and
form a human shield against attack on the police around the
Governor’s Office in Alausa. Photo: Dare Idowu.
The Afenifere spokesman also faulted the National Broadcasting
Commission (NBC) for being quick to fine Channels
Television and some media outfits for their coverage of the
protest, whereas the government has yet to confirm if anyone was
killed in the Lekking shooting on October 20.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
“The whole #EndSARS thing, like we said, is a reflection of so
many things. If northern youths are not participating in this
#EndSARS protest, they are not mostly the victims of SARS.
“We saw the footage, even some of the television stations that
have the audacity to use the footage have been fined, but nobody
has declared that they killed people,” he said.
Returning To The Protectorates?
Odumakin also faulted the recent meeting by northern leaders on
the recent events and accused the government at the centre of being
biased.
According to him, it is clear that the nation lacks leadership
that understands what the citizens want.
The Afenifere spokesman argued that the country would be
returning to the era of the protectorates should the southern
leaders hold a similar meeting, especially at a time when everyone
must stay united.
He, therefore, proposed a national consultation that would
involve all segments of the country to tackle the various
challenges in the country.
Odumakin said, “We have said it for five years that this
government is behaving as if they are on a conquest agenda.
“We have always believed that we should not take Nigeria back to
the 1953 era … it is so clear that today, the government that we
have does not pretend that it is a northern government.”