Nigerians Sign Petition Against German Writer Who Claimed ‘Soro Soke’

Nigerians have signed a petition against German author, Trish Lorenz, who claimed that she coined the phrase, “Soro Soke generation”, to describe Nigerian youths.

The author, who wrote a book titled, ‘Soro Soke’, had said in an interview that, “This cohort exhibits a confident outspokenness and a tendency for creative disruption, leading me to name them the Soro Soke generation.”

But over 4000 Nigerians have signed a petition for the author to remove ‘Soro Soke’ from her publication, stating that she had no right to claim ownership of the phrase, which meant “Speak up” in Yoruba language.

The petition is titled, ‘Recall ‘Soro Soke’ from Publication- Author cannot CO-OPT and steal a Nigerian Movement!’

It partly read, “Soro Soke means Speak Up/ Do not be Silent in the Yoruba language of West Africa. It was a cry, a battle chant, a movement used in the #EndSARS campaign by Nigerian protesters fighting against police brutality from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in October of 2020.

“The phrase indicated that the Nigerian people would no longer put up with bad governance and they would speak out boldly. Protests and community gatherings were held to “Soro Soke” (Speak out)

“Unfortunately, in the course of the protests, the authorities responded with the military and over 50 Nigerians’ lives were lost. Many protesters and activists are still in jail, some in exile. Nigerians have not recovered from the aftermath.

“In all of this, Trish Lorenz, a white woman from Germany, decides to expropriate and abuse the name of the struggle reminiscent of the actions of her ancestors in the Berlin Conference of 1884/5.”

The petition describes Lorenz’s book as an “intellectual property theft and gross disrespect to Nigerians,” thereby calling for the end to its publishing processes.

Signees of the petition also demanded a public and written apology to Nigerians from the author, as they also asked that the platform where she conducted the interview, Crassh, take down their story or retract the author’s false statements.