#EndSARS: My Six Takeaways from the Protest Toks Oguntuga

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Oluwatomi Otuyemi

#EndSARS

1 – Leadership is everything. Everything rises and falls on leadership so says Dr Maxwell. Never buy the lie you don’t need a leader or a group of leaders in any venture especially when it is an agitation. It’s a lie from the pit of hell. Even Boko Haram has a leader.

2 – Know when to stop. Sun Tzu said “there is no instance of a nation benefiting from a prolonged warfare”. Sergeant Padawale is better than General Kusogun. The former can re-inforce and return to the battle front but the latter can’t. No retreat no surrender is a movie title, at best a kamikaze slogan.

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3 – In any agitation, the more support you can court the better. Don’t create schisms. Every support will be beneficial. The coinage “Gbenudake generation” was unnecessary and a put off for partners who could have come to the table with some experience to help the protests.

Also Read: #EndSARS: The Youth Will Become a Powerful Electoral Force: Abiola Gbemisola, Investment Analyst

4 – Learn to take small wins. Ask the most profitable traders at Wall Street, the Colonel who leads a battalion to the battle front. Going the long haul at times can be counter productive. After govt acceded to the requests of the protesters,they should have stood down, accept the initial win…retreat and wait to see if govt is sincere.

5 – Be strategic. Always look at the bigger picture. Look beyond the immediate. There is a reason someone came up with a SWOT analysis. A good understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and “threats” of your actions and weighing them against your ultimate goal can help you make better decisions.

6 – Your attitude after a defeat is very important to your opponents and bystanders. To your opponents, the more dejected and distraugt you appear, the more emboldened they become. To the bystanders, the less you are taken serious or supported when next you want to start another agitation. Defeat is not total. George Woodberry says defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. This is the time to restrategize and plan to fight back soon with a renewed vigour. Not the time to give up.

Also Read: #EndSARS: Open the Floodgates of Reform: Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, Stakeholder Management Specialist

#EndSARS remains unprecedented moment in Nigerian history. How can we ALL build on it in transforming Nigeria into a country that works for ALL of us and not only for a few of them?

Arbiterz will like to hear from you too. Send your opinion -300/400 words-to info@arbiterz.com & arbiterz.ads@gmail.com. You MAY include a picture of yourself, which may be from the #EndSARS battleline where you are helping to push the old Nigeria into the abyss.

Oluwatomi Otuyemi

Oluwatomi Otuyemi, a Geology graduate from Crawford University, has 5 years experience in corporate corporate communications. He has a passion for storytelling, and investigative reporting.