The Value of Women in Protest Conflicts: The Nigerian Feminist Coalition (FEMCO) of #Endsars

2020 social media in Nigeria will always remember the #EndSARS protests of October, where young Nigerians across the globe massively called for the end to police brutality on young Nigerians within Nigeria. The brutality included the extortion and killing of young men as well as physical assault on young women. The protest which started online, on Twitter, eventually snowballed into huge physical matches and occupations of major government buildings, so as to attract the presidential dissolution of the police unit that committed such brutality. Alongside it, young people also demanded an end to all round bad governance in the country. The protest went so viral that it is said to have over 25 million online mentions. It also involved the participation of (international) celebrities including then Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey. An important aspect of the protest was that it was voluntary, and young people gave freely of themselves, time, and resources. In view of this, the Nigerian Feminist Coalition (FEMCO) volunteered themselves for fundraising, welfare and legal support of arrested protesters. They raised $385,000 (mostly via Bitcoins) through (online) crowdfunding. They eventually became the financial backbone of the protest. At the end of the protests, however, they were heavily accused and condemned of/for siphoning funds, mostly by Nigerian Twitter Men and acclaimed Bitcoin experts. In the face of this allegation, they had their reputation dented, and their praise worthy works, defaced, even till recently (from time to time, on Twitter, now X). With the FEMCO example, alongside secondary research reviews, this study firstly recognises the impact of women in progressing national causes, and secondly questions the undervalue of women in recognising their impacts after such causes are (not) achieved.