WEEKLY SPECIAL WORD FOR THE WEEK

Piss On The Grave (Word For The Week)

A piss on the grave is a conscious decision, mindset, and attempt to disrespect someone or their memory.
This is the situation the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Lagos State Government finds itself in.

It is less than six months after the massacre of innocent Lagosians at the Lekki toll-gate during the #EndSARS protest. The act ended with members of the security and armed forces burning down the toll.
For those still questioning who was responsible for the arson, remember that people being shot at have little time to try to escape, get incendiaries, run back towards the hailstorm of gunfire, set multiple tolls on fire, then escape.

At the same time, the army that was already there to disperse them won’t sit back and watch them set fire to the tolls.
There is also the little matter of antecedent. Through the late eighties and nineties, the army was renowned for quelling protests and riots with extreme force, then setting things ablaze before leaving.

Whatever your original position regarding the Lekki massacre, eventually the army and the governor confirmed that something detestable happened there. The president meanwhile was more interested in telling CNN and the international press to keep his name out of their mouths.

A judicial panel of inquiry was set up, while the Central Bank decided to freeze the accounts of key figures in the protest.
Apparently, protesters are more dangerous and should be clamped down on faster than terrorists and kidnappers, who still use our banking system.
Less than six months after that gruesome massacre, the Lagos State Government is desperately in a hurry to move on.

A vote was recently held at the inquiry panel to decide if the toll-gate should be reopened.
The fact that the vote was held at all is a piss on the grave of those who were murdered at the protest ground. It is the utmost disrespect by the government on the life and memory of its citizens.

Why was this up for debate? Who thought this was a good idea? Is Lagos State so desperate for money that they need to reopen the tolls?
Why is that concession still in place? Does no one in the government think it is a smarter idea to buy back the concession and let the road remain free to use for years to come?
This singular act will cost APC the Lagos State governorship seat in 2023 if they proceed with it.

After the initial show off to the press, we are yet to see anything about SWAT. No move has been made to immortalize those who lost their lives.
I was expecting the toll to be remade into a memorial containing names and pictures of those who lost their lives.

Maybe I expected too much of a self-serving, heartless, and out of touch government.
This piss on the grave must not be allowed to continue. The government of Lagos should not give Lagosians one more reason to hate them.

Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator, and Creative Writer.
Follow him on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. @IJOSWIL