Renowned journalist David Hundeyin recently shared a thought-provoking critique on Twitter regarding the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Hundeyin argued that the initial momentum and direction of the protests were misguided due to the influence of celebrities and social media figures.

“The reason we ‘ran back home’ was that most of us didn’t seem to understand why we were on the street in the first place,” Hundeyin began. He emphasized that the choice of Lekki Toll Plaza as the protest’s focal point in Lagos was a fundamental error. “Nothing typified this more than the initial choice of Lekki Toll Plaza as a Lagos protest centre – a place that was neither a seat of government nor somewhere of any kind of significance.”

According to Hundeyin, this choice was driven by celebrities and social media influencers, which set a tone that turned the protests into what he described as “a series of street carnivals.” He lamented that this approach turned the movement into a spectacle rather than a serious political statement. “If EndSARS had started organically instead of being midwifed by a group of celebrities and celebrity-adjacent cool kids, everyone out on the street would have been driven by a purpose for being outside that bullets alone couldn’t have stopped,” he wrote, drawing a comparison to more purpose-driven protests in other countries like Kenya.

Hundeyin further criticized the influence of “popular music artists, Ikoyi rich kids, and the Feminist Mean Girls,” claiming their involvement turned the protests into a superficial event. He argued that this diluted the original intent of the movement, overshadowing its roots and core issues. “Their sheer loudness unfortunately overshadowed what EndSARS should have been about in the first place, hence why nobody remembers that EndSARS actually started in Ughelli and not Lagos,” he noted.

Reflecting on the aftermath, Hundeyin pointed out that once the celebrities and influencers withdrew, the movement lost its direction and momentum. “Most of us were blind mice following the celebs and cool kids from Twitter, which is why once those ones pulled out after their parents yanked their leashes, everything imploded behind them.”

Concluding his thread, Hundeyin remarked, “Of course, some of us SAID ALL OF THIS BACK THEN AND PREDICTED EXACTLY HOW IT WOULD END, but apparently we were just hating because we weren’t as cool as the Pied Pipers who ended up leading all the youthful mice in Lagos to the middle of nowhere only to abandon them. Lessons.”

The reason we "ran back home" was that (as I kept saying that time), most of us didn't seem to understand why we were on the street in the first place.

Nothing typified this more than the initial choice of Lekki Toll Plaza as a Lagos protest centre – a place that was neither a… https://t.co/yu0deLVFXR

— David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) July 2, 2024