On October 18, 2020, #EndSARS protesters launched an online radio station named "Soro Soke" to amplify their demands and ensure their voices were heard during the nationwide protest. The station helped to coordinate protests and disseminate real-time information on missing and found protesters.
It generally helped them to keep their colleagues and the world abreast of happenings during the protest, including reporting how the authorities and the security agencies were clamping down on the protesters in a bid to frustrate the protest. Broadcasts also featured songs demanding for a reformed Nigeria Police Force, an end to police extortions, stopping extrajudicial killings among other demands.
The name "Soro Soke," which means "Speak Up" in Yoruba, became a popular slogan for protesters and symbolised the wider demand for an end to police brutality and bad governance in Nigeria. Protesters first used the ''Soro Soke'' in response to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State when he addressed them.
They used it to demand that he should also speak up for them and in support of #EndSARS movement. To support the radio, its Twitter handle, @Sorosoke247, also provided continuous updates to support the demand for a better Nigeria.
Other key events on this day
1. Over 1000 people killed by a devastating fire from pipeline explosion in Jesse Delta State, which continued to rage for five days - 1998
2. U.S. formally took possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia - 1867
3. Thomas Edison made electricity available for household use - 1878
4. Hitler ordered allied commandos to be killed - 1942
5. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) formed - 1922
6. Prolific inventor, Thomas Edison died - 1931
7. Czechoslovakia declared independence from Austro-Hungarian Empire - 1918.
Comments