FROM Benue to Imo, to Anambra, Kogi, Kaduna, Niger, Ondo and almost every other part of Nigeria, unknown gunmen appear to have taken over the scene and are freely unleashing a reign of terror. They have left the security agencies and the populace wondering what is going on and sadly, there is scarcely anywhere sacred enough for them. They attack churches, storm mosques, invade banks and seize train passengers. The highways have become their playground.
It is obvious the security agencies are overwhelmed, not because of lack of trying but because of the sheer prevalence and spread of the cankerworm. Government looks exasperated; and each time the gunmen strike, a development which has become routine, the government at the centre and that of the states affected would blow hot air, while the bad guys drill down and enjoy their reign.
The phenomenon is not just a sudden jerk; it started small over a long period, and has become a monster. Nigerians cannot completely absolve themselves from this menace that has become a Frankenstein Monster. The people cultivated it, nurtured it and have become victims of the very sentimental constructions they indulged in. Some of those who have become criminals of whatever hue today are products of irresponsible parenthood, a broken society, tribal and religious dispositions and laxity along the country’s borders with neighboring countries. Some of them started as spoilt brats, petty thieves, religious fanatics, ethnic militias, political thugs, drug addicts and touts.
The society found one reason or the other for their existence and blamed the authorities for negligence and not providing social safety nets. Fanciful names were attached to criminality to distinguish one from the other in a bid to justify why some should be allowed and others extinguished. Civil Society groups justified uprisings and termed them freedoms; and lawyers felt obligated to fight for and rescue criminals who should have been taken out of the society for piece to reign.
Even community and religious leaders, who have evidently failed in their responsibility of moulding the moral components of society, incite members at the slightest perception of threat to their relevance. The totality of these indulgences coupled with the activities of economic saboteurs, neo-colonial tendencies and upheavals in neighboring countries have resulted in the fearful society that we now live in.
The situation is compounded by the careless disposition of the society itself that lays every responsibility on the feet of government; and blames it for every untoward situation. Everyone is now pointing accusing fingers. The people find very convenient excuses for not doing something to either assist the authorities or safeguard themselves. Criminals live among the people, in communities, and some of them well known, but either indulged or feared until something terrible happens.
The same people who would fight their neighbours and kinsmen for intruding on their lands now sit pretty and yell as bandits take over their forests. No matter the fire power of criminal elements, if criminals know they are not likely to have safe passage, it is unlikely they will operate in such areas. The assumption of rights without responsibilities has now become the nemesis of the people.
That does no remove the responsibility of the various tiers of governments for the safety of lives and property under their watch. It is the primary reason why governments exist. Those who have responsibility for the safety of the people have a duty to discharge it without excuses. The routine occurrence of the deadly activities of criminal elements have left the people with the thinking that government at all levels have abandoned their primary reason for existence.
Government might be constrained, but it is not a good enough excuse for the field day that criminal elements, no matter the nomenclature, are currently enjoying across the country. The situation is becoming unbecoming of a responsible government. No matter what it takes, government has a fundamental responsibility to halt the mindless abductions and killings and deal with matters arising after.
Some days ago, these gun-wielding men were in Sokoto where they killed 11 people in the Ghandi District of Rabah Local Government Area. They reportedly stormed the community at about mid-day and after a shooting spree left with eight farmers who were working on their farms. Although three others were shot dead, further havoc was prevented when vigilantes arrived the scene and sent them scampering.
Twenty-two farmers were abducted from their farms at Rafin Daji, in a suburb lying between the Federal Capital Territory, and Niger State on June 24. A Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Kaduna, Reverend Father Vitus Borough, was killed at the Nigerian Prison Farm in Kujama along the Kaduna-Kachia Road in Chikun Local Government Area of the state. The same thing happened on Sunday June 26, in Edo State where Rev. Father Christopher Odia was abducted and killed in Ikabigho Community in Etsako West local government area. Just like in the case of the Ghandi District in Sokoto, the youths of Ikabigho community mobilised and chased the kidnappers and apprehended one of them.
In another incident, two policemen were killed along the Makurdi-Lafia road recently and in Kogi, gun men bombed a Police Area Command office at Eika-Ohizenyi in Okehi Local Government Area, killing an Inspector on duty. Attack on policemen and police stations have become a regular affair in Imo and Anambra States. Ondo State recently buried scores killed during a Sunday service in a Catholic Church in Owo, the hometown of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. In Benue State, it has become a routine story.
The Kaduna train abduction saga is still a trending story; and many captives are still languishing in the bushes, held down by their captors. The list is long and seemingly unending. The Owo incident and many more threats by criminals in the state have compelled the governor to put out an Executive Order on compulsory installation and use of the close circuit television (CCTV) device in all public and private institutions in the state.
Another potent danger of the evolving scenario is that the country, which is already overburdened with inflation, will slip into an era of famine as criminal elements have scared people away from the farms and the high seas. There is a looming spectre of extreme food scarcity which will further compound the poverty situation of the people and parlous state of the country’s economy. Both the people and the government must be weary of the looming situation and wake up to their responsibilities instead of wallowing in blame games and excuses.
Given the threatening scenario, continued indulgence of these gun-toting criminals who have turned themselves into an alternative government is not in the interest of anyone. We cannot afford to continue like this. Government must go beyond rhetorics. It is more evident now than ever before that the issue of community policing should be urgently revisited and emplaced. Government needs all the help it can get; and getting the people at the lowest level to be part of the country’s security architecture is one sure way to go.
It is time the people themselves drop unhelpful sentiments and see criminals for what they are. Agitators should seek other means of pursuing their demands as resorting to violent protests would only create more platforms and cover for the festering of criminal elements. Those who wield the gun outside recognised state apparatus must be seen as criminals, no matter their disposition.
The most fundamental means of stemming criminal activities is when crime is punished decisively, no matter the reason behind it. Criminality must be made unattractive, even if it means adopting the severest approach. It is time this madness is halted!
