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Afrobeats star Burna Boy has released a new song in memory of the victims killed during the peaceful protests against police brutality in Nigeria.
Appropriately titled 20-10-2020, the song focuses on the events at the Lekki toll gate, the epicenter of peaceful protesters in the upscale Lekki area of Lagos.
On 20 October, the protesters were forcibly dispersed by army men and Amnesty International has said it has evidence that more than 10 people died at the scene.
The Nigerian army denied killing protesters at the scene.
The lyrics, sung in the Nigerian Pidgin language, is a reflection of the anger expressed by many of the country’s youth during the protests.
Burna talks about the demonstrations against police brutality and also about the bad government in the country:
We give them many opportunities Dem [them] FAIL my people
And when we cry out for justice they kill my people
Walahi ALL OF YOU
Their lives are in you
We won’t forget all the young wey [that] die for TOLLGATE
Burna Boy was criticized by fans for not speaking out early enough about the protests.
But, like many Nigerian celebrities, he finally made himself heard: he rented billboards to promote the #EndSars campaign and also established a fund for victims.
His team announced that the proceeds from the song will be used to support the families of the victims and those suffering grief as a result of the Lekki shooting.
“May the heavens open and celebrate all of our fallen heroes who have died for this movement from the beginning. Rest in peace for all the beautiful lives lost,” a statement said.
The protests in Nigeria were against the now-disbanded Sars police unit, a hated division within the police command accused of targeting youth.
But the protesters also demonstrated against police brutality and bad governance in the country.
Many of the country’s 36 states have established judicial panels to investigate the activities of the division, which was one of the protesters’ demands.
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