Burna Boy: My thoughts on EndSARS don’t matter… nothing will ever change

Burna Boy has expressed his seeming pessimism about the impact of the EndSARS movement.

The singer, in an interview, said he doubts that any meaningful change will ever come out of the civilian protests.

In October 2020, young Nigerians took to the streets to protest against police brutality, demanding the disbandment of the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) among other reforms involving the police force.

The protesters sought mental evaluation and retraining of SARS officers before their redeployment.

The youth also demanded justice for all who died of police brutality and an adequate increase in the salaries for officers of the Nigerian police.

This was as many other Nigerians seized the opportunity to demand better governance from the political class.

SARS is since defunct but conversations about coercive measures by the police still resurface at intervals.

Burna Boy said he would no longer encourage young Nigerians to lose their lives in such protests.

“My thoughts don’t matter around that. Nothing is going to change. It just is what is,” he was quoted as saying.

“I’m not going to encourage any young people to lose their lives senselessly anymore, d’you understand? When something is ready to happen, it will happen.

“I understand that now. You can’t jump into something that you don’t fully understand, even with our country. With understanding comes readiness for action.”