In October 2020, the streets of Nigeria erupted with a voice that had been silenced for too long. The #EndSARS protests weren’t just about police brutality. They were about pain. About exhaustion. About a generation tired of watching their country fail them — again and again.

I didn’t join the movement because it was trending. I joined because it was personal.

I’ve been harassed. I’ve been extorted. I’ve seen friends brutalized. And in 2021, I was arrested, beaten, and humiliated for daring to raise my voice. For asking the same question millions of young Nigerians were asking: Why are we treated like criminals in our own country?

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a symptom. But the disease runs deeper — unchecked power, lack of accountability, and the widening gap between government and people. When we said End SARS, we were calling for a complete overhaul of a system that sees young, expressive Nigerians as threats instead of assets.

That’s why I continue to speak up.

Because the movement didn’t end when the hashtags stopped trending. It didn’t end when the police stations were emptied or the toll gate was reopened. It certainly didn’t end when they tried to silence us with force.

If anything, that moment marked a beginning. The beginning of a new kind of citizen — informed, fearless, and unwilling to be ignored. We may not yet have the justice we seek. We may not have the reforms we deserve. But we have awakened something powerful in ourselves.

And once a people find their voice, there’s no going back.

So no, #EndSARS wasn’t a trend.

It was a turning point.

And the story isn’t over yet.