|
Of public officials and bullet proof shields By New York, United States The security and safety of Nigeria's many public officials is of paramount importance, this is because, their public offices, confer on them, extraordinary worth, of national security magnitude, essentially, because, they are our representatives and our symbols of self-government and democracy and nation… And if these public officials are truly worth the public trust reposed in them, they in turn ought to place very high premium on the worthiness of the lives of the average Nigerian citizens, to whom, the public officials ought to be in the service of; I have here used the word, ought, thoughtfully and advisedly.
Having said that, it is confounding, that some of Nigeria's public officials, are resorting to siege mentality and fortifications, of themselves, instead of, addressing the fundamental nature and causes of the escalating insecurity in present day Nigeria; There are two main reasons for the present spate of violent crimes in Nigeria, the first and most important cause, is hopelessness in the economic prospects and the attendant continued desperation engendered by chronic unemployment, that has endured for decades.
The second cause of the rising wave of violent crimes, is intolerance, there is an increased rate of intolerance in our society, be it political, religious or ethnic, the competition for limited resources and opportunities, have been eliciting the animal and primordial instinct from some competitors, who have resorted to criminal short cuts, by indulging in the physical elimination of their opponent/competitor, instead of relying on free and fair competitions, based on the fine rules of democracy, procedural and substantive due process, including the fine tenets of the rule of law.
It is palpably shameful, that in the face of these facts, and the precarious predicament of insecurity faced by the average Nigerians, our public officials are, exhibiting Darwinian survival of the fittest mantra, the fittest here, means, the officials who are using public treasury funds to buy bullet proof cars, instead seeking and eliminating the root causes of insecurity nationwide, which of course, would be a wiser use of taxpayer funds.
It is more beneficial to get to the root causes of insecurity, than to have this haphazard responses, than to have this burying your head in the sand ostrich reactions, which amounts to putting a bandage onto a gaping wound or sore. Nigeria is in dire need of reforms, economic, legal, social, political and ethical reforms! When fair competition is established and the certainty of reward or punishment are enshrined, there would be few reasons for some people, to want to cut corners or to resort to the unsavory do-or-die attitudes and methods of operation, when order is enthroned, the economy will thrive, an improved economy, that would create employment opportunities, while eliminating desperation and pervading hopelessness in the land.
Nigerian public office holders must eschew self-interests, in the search of safety and security; Every efforts must be geared towards reversing the present milieu, such efforts must be far-reaching and beyond self-preservation measures of bullet-proof cars, the root causes of violent crimes in Nigeria, particularly, the current upsurge, must be thoroughly examined and addressed! The different levels of government in Nigeria must consider this a national priority, there should be a National Council of States meeting devoted solely and entirely to Nigeria's national safety and security issue; President Obasanjo must immediately convene a national emergency meeting of former heads of state of Nigeria, with all state governors, business leaders, traditional and religious leaders etc to stress the importance of this safety and security as a national survival issue.
Nigeria cannot afford or resort to the provision of bulletproof vests to 130 million Nigeria citizens, which is the logical extension of the current rush by some public officials to purchase bulletproof cars etc for themselves! What happens to the average Nigerian citizen who cannot afford bullet-proof-anything? Are we now to have bulletproof roads? Bulletproof homes? Where does it end?
There must be a realization, by the leadership in Nigeria, that there will be no hiding place for anyone, bullet-proof and all, it is infinitely better to address and resolve the source of these evils, instead of seeking self-preservation, as is currently being pursued, by and for a few individual public office holders. If violent crimes continue to grow, sooner or later, these bulletproofed public officials can run, but won't be able to hide anywhere, anyway or anyhow. The time to examine upsurge and spiraling levels of violent crimes is now, we must not indulge in the delusion of bulletproof cars, we must eliminate the national malaise, which is the source of these economically and politically motivated violent crimes.
The leadership elite in Nigeria must realize that the current national anxiety over safety and security, is a matter of our collective survival as Nigerians, if Nigeria fails, all Nigerians would have failed, it would not be the failure of just the president, the governors, regardless of political party affiliations, would have failed as well! Nigerian leaders must cease and desist from finger pointing and knee-jerk reactions, or ad hoc measures and shortsighted problem-solving methods to our national challenges or crises.
Our leaders, must instead, immediately commence actions reminiscent of good doctors, good doctors would treat the source of disease and secondary infections, and not waste time and resources on mere symptoms of disease; which is what bullet proofs in vests or in cars are! Barrister Bola Ige, Chief Marshal Harry, Chief Dikibbo, Chief Olurunipa and others, were all killed in the sanctity and "safety" of their bedrooms, what ought to be their safe haven, the privacy of their homes and inner sanctum of their bedrooms! These prominent and high profile Nigerians, including many unsung average Nigerians, that have been victims of politically motivated violence or plain old armed robberies, have met their violent deaths, at unholy or wee hours of the mornings, and in their homes! What could a bulletproof vest or bulletproof car do for their safety in the circumstances?
Are Nigerians public officials about to be sleeping in their bulletproof cars or vest now? I personally feel that our leadership is doing with violent crimes, what it has done with fighting malaria for years, but without results; The useless efforts in trying to cure people of malaria, by wasting billions of Naira on trying to kill individual mosquitoes, rather than spend much less money, toward public enlightenment and better public hygiene, or spend money on cleaning our gutters, ponds and marshes or other places and crevices where stagnant waters can be found in our communities, Nigerians all know, for a fact, that wherever water percolate stagnantly, are the maternity wards or delivery and nurseries and breeding grounds for our public health nuisance number one, mosquitoes, the harbinger of malaria and the malarial diseases that they invariably pollinate us, with.
If Nigeria get rid of these mosquitoes’ breeding grounds, the infested gutters, ponds, marshes (the labor or maternity wards of mosquitoes) then, mosquitoes, malaria disease, the man-hour lost due to sick Nigerian citizens, and the endless expense, that malaria disease is to individuals in Nigeria, and the expense to Nigeria our country, would come to an end, the present futile efforts at fighting malaria would end.
Similarly, the current crime wave, can be brought to an end, with a thorough examination of the root causes; Chronic unemployment must be curbed, this can be accomplished by economic reforms, and with the creation of a fairer and more equitable society in Nigeria, the rush to buy bulletproof cars and or bulletproof vests, would only be an illusion and mirage, albeit, even a very temporary and tenuous illusion and mirage, at that.
Burglar proofs, iron gates and all the other false sense of security that have dominated the Nigerian landscape in the past, has not prevented serious or determined burglars, just as all the quinine, chloroquines and other malarial medications have not stopped malaria in Nigeria, mosquitoes and malaria have now, mutated and developed resistances to all these futile and useless efforts in the past, more reasons, to always dig deeper.
Clearly, public officials in Nigeria, the president, the governors down, must do better jobs of problem-solving, instead of, always appearing to be very paralyzed in all situations, instead of always appearing to be panic-stricken in their utterances and reactions, instead of always engaging, in platitudes, ah hoc and child-like actions, that always completely ignores long-term solutions, that are always preferable, solutions that are always so obvious.
The real solutions to the current exceedingly high levels of violent crimes in Nigeria, is reform, fundamental societal reforms. It is futile efforts on the part of the president, for him to continue to classify murders as armed robberies, what does it matter, are frequent robberies a good thing for Nigeria and Nigerians? The president must concentrate on solving past murders, whether these are as a result of armed robberies or politically motivated murders, the president must stop being defensive, as in defending himself against his political opponents, who appear to ascribe political motives to every new murders.
The president must realize that he cannot be wishing away these violent crime waves, it should be clear to all by now, the futility in finger-pointing by political opponents, who appear only interested in seeking to make political mileage, take advantage of present anxieties or perhaps, some are, even acting as saboteurs? And perhaps, they are vultures waiting for our seemingly eventual? collective national demise, but the truth is plain, the truth must be plain to all those who love Nigeria, the truth is, if Nigeria’s current spate of violent crimes continues, we will devolve into anarchy and we will all lose. Let us not.
March 2004 |