Much has been written about the role of social media and offline community-building in sustaining the #EndSARs protests. However, the role of music during the protests needs more attention.
‘My God, policeman go see white E go tell you say, I say that thing na red Tell me something I don't know’. (African China, 2006)
One of the affirmations of the #EndSARS protests was that everyone has a story to tell. For many years now, young Nigerians have been grappling with the socio-political realities of their country and if anything reflects the pains, agitations and plights of the youth, it is our music. During the most recent wave of #EndSARS protests, music played a critical role in enabling young Nigerians to express their frustrations and, at the same time, their hopes for a new Nigeria. #EndSARS has been widely written about but less discussed is how music played an important role in helping the protesters to express Nigeria’s history of police brutality and social injustice. The music at protest grounds reiterated not only the social consciousness of the youth but also the roles that artists, musicians specifically, can play in demanding a better Nigeria. Music has always been instrumental in fuelling Nigerian politics but music has also served as a foremost instrument of social and political criticism. As such, the political significance of music even going by #EndSARS alone, is one Nigerians must aptly recognize.
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