By Professor Chris Imafidon – The hashtag generation speak a totally different language, which is difficult to understand if you don’t know the power of a mobile phone. This ignorance tragically gave birth to the fundamentally flawed response that led to the shooting of innocent, unarmed, defenceless and flag waving youths in Lekki, a wealthy suburb in Nigeria’s financial capital Lagos.
The longest night of my entire life was Tuesday, 20th October 2020. As a parent, teacher, mentor and someone who has invested so much of my life into the discovery, development and deployment of the genius in every youth, it was particularly heart rending. This is informed by the simple but proven fact that #EveryChidIsAGenius, thanks to the genius formula. As part of the Independence Day on October 1st, (less than three weeks earlier). I was privileged to be part of the anniversary panel discussion via zoom for Nigerian youths in the diaspora. The day was saturated with depressing analysis of the last sixty years but I was singular in disagreeing with everyone and offering hope. Then I was asked a question about my optimism for the future of Nigeria and I defended my position by citing the demographic dividend of the population and the availability of technology as the twin reasons why Nigeria, and indeed Africa will lead the rest of the world. Some days, later one of my mentees who works for a high tech global giant, Microsoft brought #EndSars campaign to my attention. It was trending all over social media, therefore, it was a thing of joy because it was one of the strongest evidence so far that African democracy was maturing and accommodating protests as part of the process.
However, on Tuesday, 20th October, I was shocked and saddened beyond words when I saw sporadic gun shots directed at unarmed and defenceless and innocent youths who were peacefully protesting against corruption in the police and other aspects of life in their native country. My sleep simply evaporated as more video footages flowed in from every single social media outlet. I tried to put a call through to a mentee who recently flew into Lagos from London, and calls were not getting through. Meanwhile, I was receiving a flood of messages from colleagues in the UK, EU and USA, they all ended with “What is happening in Nigeria, did you see the shooting?” It was doubly traumatising and distressing.
By dawn there was such a mountain of evidence that one could not attend the normal teaching and mentoring classes/sessions the following morning, Wednesday 21st October because of the shock of the shooting. One had to put out an urgent message initially apologising for late cancellation of all scheduled appointments and activities. But some of my students and proteges saw my Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn posts and wonder what they could do to assist me. They recalled my pre-existing passion for African developments and the scholarships we offer to blacks particularly Nigerians. Three of them independently asked me to give them any “marching orders”, as if to diffuse a very tense conversation. Then after a few phone calls, I told them that a “Prayer Walk” of solidarity and support for the Lekki victims in Westminster will be a starting point. At the entrance of the Palace of Westminster, a group of UK pro-Brexit journalists and parliamentarians ran towards us to sympathize and more importantly ask us for updates. It was difficult to even know where to begin.
It was very moving. So many questions from everyone. It was deeply moving. How can one stay in Europe and helplessly watch state-sponsored brutality against YOUNG people who depend on them for protection? It is one thing to destroy properties or items that can be replaced, but how can we take innocent lives? Is there any country on earth that will shoot its youth with live bullets? How can one stay in the UK while one’s fatherland MOST important asset, the children are being KILLED. This is worse than vandalism? The whole world saw how the power of the pandemic and associated fear of death was set aside because of the brutal murder of a black man because a crazy policeman (in a severely warped justice system) placed his knee on the neck. Sane human beings quickly calculated and re-calibrated their personal risk of infection of covid19 and spontaneously defied the laws of lockdown, social distancing and marched against the American justice system. Citizens who did not know Minneapolis, USA left their homes in Lusaka, London, Lisbon, Lima and risk death to protest in the largest movement of its kind #BlackLivesMatter. The endless protest taught the generation a new lesson and most leaders learnt a thing or two about the power of protests. So, this is the post-George Floyd era. This is a new generation manifesting in a whole new dispensation. Whoever fired the shots in Lekki must have been in deep sleep during the height of #BlackLivesMatter. So, London police now see marching, protest, and prayer walk as routine activities of anyone with an unheard message. So we moved to Downing Street, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office and then to the Nigeria High Commission where we met other people who had the same spontaneous response.
It is impossible for anyone to ignore the fact that it is criminal to use live ammunition on unarmed youths. There are verifiable videos and pictures that clearly show the atrocities. What is more, these youths are NOT making a radical, earth-shattering demand. The young people are asking for very basic things, good roads, hospitals, decent working conditions and schools. They did NOT ask for FREE internet connection, or a golden elephant or anything selfish. That is not rocket science.
It is the height of irresponsible behaviour for any politician to read ethnic or tribal meaning to protests or associated activities. Such people need to see the footage from previous protests because it included youths of all shades, heights, sizes, backgrounds, tribes, classes and religions etc. Most protests were more like festival. Today, the world does NOT recognise any little tribal distractions and divisions. We truly live in ONE GLOBAL village thanks to technology and scientific developments.
LOOTINGS AND LOOTERS
Looting is criminal, therefore the law should apply equally, it should not matter if its government treasury looting or supermarket looting. So, when some mischievous individuals show pictures of looting to distract from this mass shooting, one wonders if they have forgotten the immortal words of former British leader Rt Hon David Cameron when he said, “Nigeria is fantastically corrupt”. He concluded, with a vital comparison that “If the amount of money stolen from Nigeria in the last 30 years was stolen from the UK, the UK would cease to exist”. So, those that want to show photographs of those criminals looting the stores and and covid-19 palliatives warehouses (in search of food) must equally give us the details of the real looters who effortlessly loot the treasury, and commonwealth of the nation. The US, UK, EU and Chinese governments have the best set of photographs, and a more comprehensive list of looters, their bank accounts, businesses, visa numbers and passport numbers.
The initial denial of ZERO number of deaths was doubly worrying and erode any faith in any internal investigation. How could anyone who saw the shooting of live bullets on unarmed youths, can conclude that nobody got killed. The world is a true global village Nigeria included.
MOST POWERFUL TOOL, NOT WEAPON – MOST EMPOWERED GENERATION
In informatics, it is clear that the present generation has more powerful tools in their hands which is the mobile phone loaded with easily downloadable apps than the old-fashioned guns loaded with bullets. Anyone in any government, who understands the power of mobile phones, will literarily take the guns from the hands of soldiers and give them mobile phones. Please do not take my words for it, check the pages of the latest edition of the book “MATHEMATICS MANUAL – For students by students” written by the Imafidon kids, you will see that the phone in the #EndSars protester’s pocket, (this has been calculated and verified) to be 4,398,046,511,104 bits! This means that, ONE phone is seven million times more powerful than the computer that landed man on the moon. Therefore, ONLY one phone with the appropriate app, in the hands of an @EIEprogramme trained teenager can operate or control 120,000,000 different spacecraft to the moon, all at the same time! Ask the pioneering informaticians in Boston who designed the Apollo 11’s computer if in any doubt.
This generation of children are going to change Nigeria and a new Nigeria will emerge. Wisdom is bigger than wealth because wisdom is the principal thing, according to the writers of ancient texts.
If the truth about these shootings are suppressed, or there is evidence of human rights violations, the influential diaspora community will be forced to make representations to the international community to deploy pre-existing legislations that will lead to the freezing of all assets, personal bank accounts and revocation of Visas, and Passports of all corrupt and complicit politicians. This quiet movement is particularly growing in the UK, EU, USA and their allies. Finally, which country would kill its future by shooting its youths without asking questions, or finding out the truth.
[The multiple world record holding pioneering and world renowned adviser to monarchs, governments, presidents and corporate leaders, Professor Chris Imafidon [Head of Britain’s brainiest family & world’s most mathematical family] calls on all elected and appointed politicians in Nigeria to ensure that the truth about the events of what led to the Lekki shootings is established]
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