Read more about #EndSARS
Soro Soke – a Yoruba expression which simply translates to ‘Speak Up or Speak Louder’ – became the adopted slogan by a majority of Nigerians, irrespective of ethnicity or status, for rousing protestors at gatherings. It even crossed online onto social media for both serious and less serious discussions as a somewhat humorous addition in conversations. It is believed that the Soro Soke slogan began from a tale of a Danfo bus conductor shouting on a fidgety passenger who had lost his transport fare; and from there, it crossed into the world of football when a Twitter user trolled a losing Bayern Munich FC side with it. Nonetheless, a notable dimension of Soro Soke crossed over and snuck into political awareness when Lagos protesters demanded that the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwoolu, should instead act on his rhetoric of ending police brutality rather than mere lip service at the protest grounds in Lekki and Ikeja. As admonished in the scripture to ‘be your brother’s keeper’, another section in Proverbs 31:9 speaks of defending the rights of the poor and the voiceless:
“Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and the needy.”And so Nigerians seized the opportunity of the #EndSARS protests to speak for the voiceless masses who have been struggling to organise under a collective banner and voice their pain. The realities of the ordinary Nigerian has been much more pronounced since the economic recession started in 2016. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the entire nation to lockdown for too long also compounded the negative economic trends.
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The closing of the western wing of the Nigerian border from where a large number of food products and other items are imported from has also rendered the situation more desperate for the masses. Value chains (especially agricultural produce) were disrupted, the country went into a standstill and so many lost their jobs in an environment which was already unfriendly to the gigantic population of the poor. The effects of all these on food inflation and the earning capacity of the ordinary Nigerian became greatly diminished and many were only waiting for a trigger such as the #EndSARS burst. Ordinarily, for far too long, the bottom pyramid of Nigeria’s economic strata have always depended on Labour Unions, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and other pressure groups to speak for them and protect their interest. But none of that category of pressure groups was standing up for the masses all through their hurt until #EndSARS protest. The Soro Soke slogan, therefore, breezed in from the streets, then to the ranks of the middle class, and back to the streets again. That #SoroSoke became both an online and offline trend is a testament to the merging and unification of the goals of the masses and the middle class once again. Soro Soke is a reawakening of the sleeping Nigerian mind back into self-awareness and consciousness. Soro Soke has also become a rallying cry telling the politicians, who have always used divisive tactics on the masses to disorientate the demands of the 99% of Nigerians, to either speak up on our pain points or shut up entirely. Nigerians are done with the merry-go-round on their pains, which always comes up at election cycles. There is no more room for the incessant lies and deception deployed by the ruling class. Many are now patiently waiting to vote in the upcoming 2023 elections while others are not even waiting until then before they take their future into their own hands. The revolution is already upon us, but it is a soft and non-violent one. Featured Image Source: Quartz
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