Sanwo-Olu: White Paper more than walk in the park

 

 Sanwo-Olu: White Paper more than walk in the park

 

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has been in the news all week long. He is currently front and centre of a discourse that traverses the length and breadth of the country; the #EndSARS protest of October 2020.  On that day, a little over a year ago, the country experienced one of its largest protests in history as youths and other aggrieved Nigerians rose in unison against the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the force in particular and police brutality in general.

Before the widespread protest, SARS operatives had become renowned for high handedness, massive human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings. Thus, majority of Nigerians nodded in agreement with the protest when it started on a peaceful note.

Sadly, it was to end on a bloody note on the evening of October 20, 2020, when military men marched on the Lekki toll gate to enforce a curfew ordered by the Lagos State government following the breakdown of law and order in some parts of the state after it appeared the peaceful protest had been hijacked by hoodlums and other undesirable elements.

 

From that point, reports of alleged shooting and killing of some of the protesters by the soldiers stoked tensions, leading to a night of unparalled violence visited on public assets.

Sanwoolu had earlier visited the same Lekki toll gate to express solidarity with the protest.

Amidst the controversy generated by the allegation of a massacre at Lekki toll gate, the governor displayed his willingness to allow for constructive criticism and debate when he instituted a judicial panel of inquiry to, among other things, unravel what transpired on the night of October 20, 2020 in Lagos.

The panel under the leadership of retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, after more than a year of sitting, last week submitted its report to the governor. Sanwoolu commended the panel and immediately set up a four-man committee to produce the White Paper of the report for the state to act on.

 

This committee chaired by Moyosore Onigbanjo, the state’s Commissioner for Justice, got a 14-day deadline to conclude its assignment.

But if Sanwoolu expected a solemn wait for the White Paper by all and sundry, he was soon disappointed as it turned out that the panel’s report had been leaked and soon those supporting the claims of a massacre and those in opposition were up in arms against each other.

The report had through its declarations and recommendations, according to the leaked report, confirmed that a massacre did occur at Lekki last year and the pro-massacre group was feeling justified and vindicated. They spared no one in the vitriolic attacks and name calling that ensued afterwards.

Of course, Sanwoolu, the man who instituted the panel, was the most vilified. Not to be outdone, the anti-massacre group was reacting with almost the same venom too. They had gone through the leaked report and were convinced the discrepancies and contradictions therein were enough to prove that the panel did a shoddy job.

And as the wait for the White Paper continued, there were fears that the fierce exchanges could ignite a fresh fire in Lagos. But in the midst of it all, the governor kept his calm and when it was even insinuated that he had no plans to come up with a White Paper, he emerged to once again promise to allow for justice and reconciliation as far as the matter being discussed is concerned.

Soon, November 29, 2021, the end of the 14 days deadline came and Onigbanjo submitted the document on behalf of his committee. The governor had kept to his word.

But the government would reject some key recommendations of the panel’s report, especially the one that bordered on shootings at Lekki Tollgate by security agents.

Rather than end the discourse, a fresh round of controversy erupted. Again, Sanwoolu was at the centre of the crossfire. While some legal practitioners and Civil Society Organisations, faulted the state government’s White Paper, saying it was insensitive, others threw their weight behind the same document and praised the government for seeking genuine justice and reconciliation in its approach to the matter.

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, (SAN), a member of the Lagos EndSARS Panel, said it was full of inaccuracies, cover-ups and inconsistencies. “For the records, the Panel relied upon the evidence of witnesses, documents tendered before it and the goodwill of the people of Nigeria, throughout its assignment. It is painful for me and the Panel that the government is creating the wrong impression of financial impropriety as a tool of distraction when the Panel had a Secretariat that managed all its funds, through the Ministry of Justice. At the appropriate time, we will respond to all the inaccuracies, the cover-ups and the inconsistencies contained in the White Papers released by the government,” he said.

Also speaking, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George said: “Governor Sanwo-Olu’s White Paper on the report of the EndSARS Panel is outlandish, defeatist, insensitive, lacking the basic tenet of accountability and decency which ought to have guided such sensitive issue as the Lekki tragedy. His response is without justice or fairness. It is at best plastic and gestural, devoid of genuine human concern and sincere leadership. The Lagos state government stands indicted for the unfortunate incident.

But Onigbanjo insisted that there were many contradictions in the report of the judicial panel saying the white paper addressed such issues. Also throwing his weight behind the White Paper, counsel to Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko praised the White paper saying it mitigated the weakness of the original report. Owonikoko said: “The White Paper cannot but be controversial even with the obvious pain taken by the government to provide context to it. It is, however, noteworthy that only one recommendation out of the 32 in the JPI report was rejected outrightly. It is unprecedented in many respects; starting from public acceptance of the independence and non-interference in the work of the panel.

Similarly, the Federal Government threw its weight behind the white paper, promising to take further actions. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, (SAN), said: “It all depends on the perspective you look at it and the prevailing laws that are in contexts. When you talk about laws that are exclusively applicable to the federation and context of the actual situation, it is not out of place to arrive at a conclusion. What you make out of it is a function of the applicable laws. What I am saying is not a general statement but about the factual situation of applicability and enforceability.”

Undeterred by the harsh criticisms hauled at him by those who disagreed with the White Paper, the governor called for peace and announced his desire to have the people of Lagos walk with him for peace. He called on some of his harshest critics, naming them one by one in a state address and pleaded with them to join him in the walk meant to headline his call for peace.

But his olive branch was not only rejected by some of these celebrities. He was mocked by them as they vowed to ensure that he ‘walks alone’ in his quest for peace.

Again Sanwoolu was called names and dragged by those who will not agree with his handling of the panel’s report. Musician Folarin Falana (Falz) and comedian Debo Adebayo (Mr. Marcaroni) among others rejected the invitation to a peace walk for “the healing of Lagos.”

Mr. Marcaroni said genuine peacemaking should begin by first implementing the recommendations of the panel.  Falz, on his part, described the ‘walk of peace’ as a joke and a very disrespectful one at that.

But Sanwoolu’s supporters and other Lagosians, rose to his defence and groups after groups pledged to join him in his walk for peace. Segun Awosanya popularly known as Segalink said Sanwo-Olu has shown leadership with his mature response to the current controversy. He opted to join the walk for peace.

Students across the state also vowed to support the governor’s peace initiative by partaking in the walk. Youths across the state, under the auspice of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, (NYCN) will also be participating in the walk. Several other organizations and groups have signed in to be part of the walk and it is now looking as if Sanwoolu will have the last laugh after all.

While his government’s handling of the October 20, 2020 protest and its aftermath continue to generate mixed reactions, one thing his friends and foes appear to be in agreement over is that Sanwo-Olu has exhibited immense maturity, calmness and gentlemanliness in the midst of all the storms he waded through since that fateful day a year ago.

However, it is left to be seen how much peace his planned walk will fetch the state as the debate over the matter remains heated up till now.