When soldiers go to war, they usually leave room for an escape…basically a road or path they can take if they are driven back by the other army of soldiers and need to escape the battleground in a hurry. This is known as a line of retreat.
The last few months have indeed been a battle for everyone of us and you all have been gallant soldiers every step of the way. So THANK YOU! In times like this it’s almost easier to stay silent. But you didn’t. Thank you for lending your voice, your money, your ‘connect’ and you yourself to this cause.
In this battle, we have marched. We have cried. We have screamed. We have fought for our lives. We stood our ground in a gunfight where the only weapon we had was our voice. We fought until the only option left was to use our line of retreat. Here’s the thing though – Retreat is not always surrender. Many times, you use your line of retreat so you can go back, regroup and restrategize with your battalion and come back in fuller force.
Jane Lindskold once said “There is no shame in strategic retreat if it lets you remain strong enough to go after the enemy later.” This is a strategic retreat. We will regroup and we will come back stronger.
“A tactical retreat is not a bad response to a surprise assault, you know. First you survive. Then you choose your own ground. Then you counterattack.” – Lois McMaster #EndSARS
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So I’m writing this to encourage you. I know that you feel tired, helpless or hopeless. Maybe you even feel like everything we did made absolutely no difference. I want you to know that it did. Your voice made a difference. We made impact. While we may not see the results right now, just know that with what we did, we have set something in motion.
A popular French writer in the 90s, Anais Nin, said “I am like a snake who has already bitten. I retreat from a direct battle while knowing the slow effect of the poison.” We have already bitten…and slowly but surely, we’ll see bad governance weaken and crumble under the effect of the venom.
Don’t stop using your voice and any other means you have to amplify the #EndSARS cause. After we end SARS, we move on to #EndAllFormsOfPoliceBrutalityInNigeria, #EndBadGovernance and #BirthANewNigeria. IT IS POSSIBLE! And it only takes one voice at the right pitch to start an avalanche. DO NOT STAY SILENT! Remember – “Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward.”
There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for—YOU.” – Shannon Alder #EndSARS
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TOMI OF LAGOS. 