We cannot be silenced

This is not the time to cry, we will mourn the dead with victory. We need to stand on the shoulders of our fallen comrades and look in the eyes of oppressors. As a former student union leader, ignoring the #EndSARS protest was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. I did ignore as many times in the past Nigerians will start agitations only to back down when the heat is turned up against them. Today, I wept for my country as unarmed protesters were sacrificed on the altar of freedom by the blood thirsty beneficiaries of oligarchy.

First, we need to forget this idea of the protest has no leader, we have to plan, organize & defeat them once and for all. The govt & its cronies are organized & can coordinate resources at their disposal. It should not be any different for us.

The protest also needs leaders so that key actors do not get overwhelmed or intimidated into backing down. Leadership in this case isn't ownership. This struggle belongs to all Nigerians. But, we need to be much more purposeful and optimize the exertion of the resources and people at our disposal.

So I propose that leadership can be in a council of up to 20 - 45 people at national level and as many as possible at state level. With different people responsible for things like Legal, health & rescue, crowd control, states liaison, security, transport and mobility, fund raising, diaspora mobilization, propaganda, media & content, finance & disbursement, tactics & strategy, tech support, food & refreshment, etc

Legal - Lawyers and legal support for the arrested & imprisoned across the country.

Health & Rescue - Co-ordinating health/hospital services for the sick & injured across the nation. Also, train all protesters on how to administer first aid in different scenarios.

States Liaison - Co-ordinating, supporting and mobilizing the guys in the different states to ensure the pressure is applied uniformly.

Fundraising - Securing monetary contributions locally and internationally for this cause through appeals or reaching out directly to individuals or organisations.

Diaspora Mobilization - Co-ordinating with Nigerian across the world to apply support financially & pressure through official channels in their countries of residence. They will also be important when there is a need to mobilize goods and supplies from outside Nigeria.

Transportation and Mobility - Working with relevant organisations to secure the required vehicles for use by protesters and protest leaders as this will eventually culminate in Abuja.

PR - Aggressively countering all information released by govt officials and known allies. Compilations of all damning videos of their atrocities.

Media and Content - Liaise with supporting media outfits and creating emotionally appealing content that supports this cause to be distributed on social media especially Whatsapp. Video and photography coverage of all protests

Crowd control - Work with CDAs, Community leaders etc to mobilize people and maintain watchful eyes activities not derail. Also responsible for working the crowd through speeches and conscientization activities. Distribution of meals and water

Security - Mostly to avoid the protest being hijacked by thugs and miscreants. Protection of cars and valuables. People should bring dogs and use pepper spray.

Tech support - These guys will have to ensure that protesters and its leaders have access to all the tech resources needed to get victory.

Finance & Disbursement - Record keeping, allocation & distribution of finance to appropriate persons

Food and refreshment - Coordinate all catering and refreshment services.

Sanitation - The clean up crew. Procurement & supervision of toilet facilities and stand in or sit in points.

Celebrities & VIP co-ordination - As the past days have proven, these people can be very useful in driving this cause or they can take wind away from your sails. This team will be responsible for ensuring they get as many of them onboard as possible. Importantly, coordinate with them to stay true to the communication of the protest.

Strategy and Tactics - These are the chess players, they need to anticipate the next 10 moves of the govt and its cronies at every point and proffer counter tactics that will be deployed.

Other necessary sectors can be included as deemed necessary.

Important rules, tips and strategy - In no particular order

• Do not collect money or gifts or support from any politician or their known allies. They will come back to tell the world.
• Nobody should meet with any politician behind closed doors or any corner. The meeting should be outside in front of all protesters.
• Always have two people co-ordinating one position in case one of them is arrested the other will continue.
• Make sure that all security forces around are under video surveillance & coverage. Stand-ins and sit-ins should be covered too. Always plan coverage from vantage point especially during confrontations with security agents.
• Stop providing rice and party food. Make food that can keep people going for longer periods, Eg bread and beans, fufu, yam, garri, etc
• All caterers must be vetted to avoid food poisoning - make them eat it before they start serving others. But, do not centralize food production also.
• Take control - either voluntarily or involuntarily - of drinking water production facilities for support of protesters.
• People should start reaching out to guys they know that are in the army, navy, air force, civil defence, etc through their family members, friends, pastors, etc. Let their loved ones convince them to either join us or stay out of our way.
• Everybody should call their religious leaders - Pastors and Imams, they must take action and mobilize people.
• Demystify the force being used as a very limited weapon that can be overcome.
• We need trucks, trailers, buses, heavy duty vehicles - For transportation and obstruction of movement for security vehicles.
• Once you get to a Stand-ins and sit-ins point let the truck barricade vantage points where security forces can easily mobilize from. Eg. Use the truck to block from Police formations or Military formations.
• Conscientize protesters regularly about why they need to keep at the struggle, share stories of protesters that have been successful in other countries, let them know the whole world is watching. This will be helpful as faith comes by hearing.
• Keep sourcing for interviews and mentions with international media. Chase after world leaders through petitions and mentions on social media.
• If the international media stories are not good enough, buy ad space in international media e.g. WSJ, New York Post, Fox Network, etc. Use shock value in the ads to get the attention of the world.
• Ask people to bring dogs. There are videos on youtube on how to make pepper spray. These are for protection against miscreants and disruptors.
• Have standing deals with hospitals with regards to acceptance and treatment of victims.
• Protesters need to wear athletic shoes or boots. Wear jeans pants for protection against sharp objects and falls, if you have a jacket take it along so when it gets cold at night.
• Get googles and where possible gas mask or use baking powder solution against tear gas.
• When shots are being fired - lay flat on the ground from a safe distance, or hide behind the tires of a car, or its engine block.

Anybody should feel free to add or take away from this. This is my own quota for now.

He that dares to struggle, is already daring to win. Victoria Ascerta!