Protests Across the Globe: The Birth Pains of Democracy

By Abraham Favour Olohigbe

 

 

We watch as the world turns its face to the sun

Glancing back to see if we’ll follow.

In this moment

We remember why we were born

And why we would die for this – unknown

The foundations of democracy shake and crack as politicians loot and corrupt the system. They care little for the citizens' plight as they take more than they can chew, forgetting that if a man is oppressed for too long, he will fight back. This can be seen in the issues of slavery in the past, where slaves led revolts like the Haitian Revolution, though some slaves ran away. Corruption can cause the people of a nation to flee, as seen in the ‘japa’ syndrome in Nigeria, Venezuela, Eritrea, and many other countries.

Nations can be heard crying out in birth pains as the democracy that was supposed to save their people keeps killing their mortal bodies, with hopes for a better tomorrow, and big dreams of greatness. This has led to the uproar of protests in different nations. Those who have no way of fleeing are making the government know that it is enough; future greatness must be birthed, the children of the nations need to smile again, and dreams should have better grounds for blooming.

Youth are actively on the streets, some even with the notion that if they die, it doesn’t matter since people have long been dead with their hopes and dreams. Youth in Bangladesh started with a protest against the nationwide curfew, which led to them demanding the resignation of their Prime Minister. As they filled the streets, you probably wouldn't see spaces amongst them. Even with the loss of more than a hundred lives and over a hundred injured due to police brutality, they continued their long march to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, until their Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled and resigned.

Youth in Nigeria can also be vividly seen in the EndSARS protests as they protested against police brutality at first, then later added an end to bad governance to their demands. It could be seen that the youth cared for their future and the lives of their counterparts were lost due to police brutality. This protest was abruptly cut short as security forces opened fire on the protesters at night. Videos circulated as they knelt and sang the national anthem, but many were still shot. The youth went into mourning, and the protest stopped. They kept quiet for about three years, then took to the streets again to end bad governance. The turnout might seem low, but it is visible that the people are against what they’re going through.

On the same day, Nigerian youth went out to protest, protests also occurred in Ghana as youth protested against economic hardship however, the high court prohibited them from demonstrating in the nation's capital.

 

For how long will the people remain silent and still? If the government thinks protests will die out after a few tussles, that will be a great mistake. Protests don’t die out; they are in the bones of the oppressed, the poor, the ones whose hopes have been shattered, the nursing mother who hopes for a better future for her child, and the people who have fled and are waiting for their country’s foundation to be fixed so they can return. Man has always been seen to revolt when they’ve been exploited for too long, and the painful thing is that most times, lives will be lost. The lives lost are where the term “heroes past” will arise again as countries are birthed anew, and the faces and dreams of the people will shine again.