Looking at what has been happening in Africa in these past weeks, you can’t help but wonder what exactly is happening to Africa. Some weeks ago, the government of Mali was toppled by revolution, and now, Nigeria and Namibia have been caught in the throes of civil protests.

In the past four days, Nigeria has been rocked by civil unrest, with thousands of Nigerians from different parts of the country trooping out enmass into the streets to demand that SARS be scrapped. The protests are a culmination of the long period of frustrations unleashed on young Nigerians by the men of this special unit. In the past years, dozens of Nigerians have had their lives cut short in their prime by the same people that were employed to protect them.

Photos of some protesters:

In Nigeria, being a successful youth has become a crime, as they are immediately tagged yahoo boys once they are seen dressing well, carrying an expensive phone or driving a nice car. The youth now live in constant fear and horror, not sure of what the next moment portends. The tales of brutality and bloodshed left behind by this heartless special unit of the police force has left a sour taste in the mouth of Nigerians.

It is a good thing that just a few days into the protests, the attention of the international community has been drawn to the protests. Yesterday, the endSARS hashtag made it to the number one spot on Twitter trending list in the US and the UK, with Nigerians in the diaspora also making arrangements to join in the protests, there seems to be hope that these protests might yield positive results at the end of the day.

So let it be known that while we are battling with our monster called SARS, Namibians are also battling with theirs too. But theirs is not against police brutality, but it’s against another terrible monster.

On October 7th, Namibians began a protest against the rising cases of sexual and gender-based violence and femicide in the country. In Namibia, violence against women has become a sort of pandemic, with women reported missing, raped, or murdered on regular basis. Women in the country live with the constant fear of who is next in line to be violated and killed.

Photos of the protest in Namibia:

In the past years, there have been several reports of women who have died in similar ways, but the one that triggered the protests was the death of a 22-year-old young lady called Shannon Wasserfall.

Photos of Shannon Wasserfall:

Shannon was reported missing on April 10th, 2020, and on Tuesday October 6th, human remains suspected to be those of Shannon were discovered at a place called Walvis Bay.

The shocking discovery pushed nearly a thousand Namibian youth into protest. The protesters marched around the city, then marched to Windhoek Central Police Station, then to the Ministry of Justice, then proceeded to outside the Parliament of Namibia where they held a rally, but the police threw tear gas at them to stop them from entering the Parliament building.

Photos of the protesters being dispersed with tear gas:

Traffic was blocked, and placards raised. Some of the inscriptions on their placards were “Am I Next?” “One is Moeg” which means “No More”. The protesters are demanding for radical change to combat sexual and gender-based violence particularly against women and children, and also for justice for Shannon and dozens of other Namibian women killed in a similar fashion.

The rate of violence against women in Namibia is quite alarming. The statistics are frightening, it is not a surprise that the masses have taken to the streets to say that they can’t take it anymore. Look at these:

See more photos of the protesters:

Even though we are saddled with our challenges here at home, we can’t overlook the one that our African sisters are going through over there in Namibia. While SARS is killing our young men over here, rapists and perverts are killing their young ladies over there. It makes me wonder what exactly is happening to Africa. Do we blame all these on poor leadership or is it something deeper than that?

Do you think all these are evidence of poor leadership in Africa, and it is something more than that? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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