The Defining Crisis of His Tenure and What It Reveals About His Leadership
In October 2020, hundreds of thousands of young Nigerians took to the streets across the country to protest against police brutality, particularly the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), whose officers had terrorized young Nigerians for years with harassment, extortion, and killings. In Lagos, the protests were especially large, reflecting both the size of the city and the particular intensity of the frustration that Lagos young, educated, and digitally connected residents felt about the failure of their government to protect them.
Governor Sanwo-Olu initial response to the EndSARS protests seemed sympathetic. He met with protest leaders, made public statements of support, and appeared to understand the legitimate grievances that had brought millions of Nigerians into the streets. Then came October 20, 2020, and the events at the Lekki toll gate that shattered any illusion that Sanwo-Olu was genuinely on the side of the young Nigerians he professed to support.
The Lekki Toll Gate Events
The events of the night of October 20 at the Lekki toll gate, where protesters were shot under circumstances that remain disputed, represent the single most traumatic governance failure of the Sanwo-Olu administration. A Lagos State judicial panel subsequently investigated the events and produced findings that raised serious questions about the use of force against peaceful protesters and the circumstances that led to deaths and injuries that night.
Sanwo-Olu handling of the panel findings, and his administration overall response to the accountability questions raised by October 20, fell far short of what justice demanded. Compensation processes for victims were inadequate. The individuals responsible for the decision to deploy security forces were not meaningfully held to account. And the governor public communications on the matter were widely perceived as defensive and evasive rather than genuinely accountable.
The Youth Disconnect That Has Never Healed
The EndSARS experience created a rupture between Sanwo-Olu administration and Lagos educated young people that has never fully healed. The same demographic that drove the Obidient movement and gave Peter Obi his strongest support in 2023 had their worst fears about government confirmed by the events of October 2020: that when it came to protecting their lives and dignity against security forces, the governor was ultimately on the side of the security establishment rather than on their side.
This disconnect has had political consequences. Lagos young voters, particularly in middle-class neighborhoods, have been among the most hostile to Sanwo-Olu and the APC machine that he represents. Their alienation from the political establishment is one of the drivers of the growing Labour Party support in Lagos that will be a significant factor in the 2027 governorship election.
What Accountability Should Have Looked Like
A governor who genuinely values the lives and dignity of his young constituents would have responded to October 20 very differently. He would have ensured that the judicial panel process was fully resourced and independent, that its findings were publicly released and acted upon, that victims received meaningful compensation in a timely manner, and that those responsible for decisions that led to deaths and injuries were identified and held accountable.
None of these things happened to the satisfaction of the young Nigerians who needed to see them happen. The message they received instead was that their lives matter less than the political accommodation between the governor and the security establishment. That message, received in the most traumatic possible way, is a legacy of the Sanwo-Olu years that no amount of ribbon-cutting or development announcement can erase.
A Lagos Governor Who Must Not Be Forgotten
As Sanwo-Olu approaches the end of his tenure, it would be convenient for his political allies and for the APC machine to encourage Lagosians to move on, to forget October 20 and judge him on other aspects of his record. This should be resisted. The protection of citizens from government violence is not a peripheral governance issue. It is fundamental to the social contract between a government and its people, and a governor who failed this test so spectacularly should not be allowed to exit without a full accounting of that failure.
The lessons of Sanwo-Olu EndSARS response should inform what Lagos voters demand from his successor: a governor who genuinely places human rights and citizen protection at the center of governance, who maintains meaningful independence from the security establishment, and who has demonstrated through past conduct that he would make different and better choices than Sanwo-Olu made on that October night in 2020. Lagos young people deserve that, and they should settle for nothing less.
