Anthony Joshua said he thought the # EndSARs protests which rocked Nigeria in October was a fight against a virus Severe acute respiratory syndrome which also has the SARS acronym.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Joshua said because he had never been a victim of police brutality while in Nigeria , he had never heard of the Special Anti – Robbery Squad.
Joshua joined global stars in supporting the # EndSARS movement after Nigerians had gone to the streets to protest against the activities of SARS whose officers were accused of extrajudicial killings , unlawful detentions, torture, extortion and various forms of abuses .
The boxer said it was after his uncle called his attention to the protests in Nigeria that he had to read more about SARS and Nigeria’ s history.
“I never knew what SARS was during my time in Nigeria ; I never encountered SARS, so , when the movement started happening , I thought SARS was maybe like a virus , I didn’ t know SARS.
One day after training , my uncle called me and this was just before the issue of the Lekki toll gate, about five hours before it , he called me and told me about the situation on the ground .
He told me the people of Nigeria loved me and wanted to hear my voice on it , ” Joshua told
.
“I told him I didn’ t know enough about it to talk about it and he said I should just lend my voice and bring awareness .
So , I said if it ’ s what I can do for now , let me just lend my voice and bring my attention to it because I have a big platform.
So , I just said it ’ s important to find a common ground because you can ’ t overthrow the government in a minute , but we need to find a common solution that will benefit the people .
“So I thought it was important for me to send out a positive message and shortly after that , about four hours later , people had been murdered at the toll gate.
So , I said this wasn ’ t only about finding a common ground , this had to stop. But I didn’ t want to go back on my message , I had sent a message out and I had done a lot more research about the # EndSARS movement .
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“I also started learning about the colonial history, the structure of the political powers , the Hausa, the Yoruba , the Igbo .
I learnt about the Biafra war , I learnt about Lady Lugard , I learnt about why Nigeria is called Nigeria – because of the River Niger and the area .
“So , I started doing a lot of research on the country and I found out that the country has so much potential , it is a country where people are thriving to be better and with the leaders, they need to put more into the people , and that is what the # EndSARS is about . It is not just about the police , it is about good government looking after the people , and that is what the people want and I am with the people , I am a man of the people , so I support what they say .
“And from that # EndSARS movement , it educated me what SARS was , it educated me about the issues in Nigeria , it gave me more .
I felt proud to be a Nigerian because I learnt more about the country’ s heritage after the #EndSARS
movement , ” he added .
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