Insecurity is the biggest plague afflicting Nigeria right now. It is carried out principally by Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province insurgents; bandits or kidnappers, now designated as terrorists; herdsmen feeding their cattle on farm crops and attacking farmers who dare to protest; others, like ritualists, robbers and cultists.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), whose campaign promises included putting ending insecurity in Nigeria, has failed. Some people think that his ascension to power has provided more impetus to the perfidious agents of insecurity in Nigeria.
The Federal Government is unable to rescue many abducted Nigerians, that include a pregnant woman (abducted on the Abuja-Kaduna Railway line), who is now delivered of a baby while still remaining in captivity. Only those who are able to pay the ransom demanded by the bandits have a chance of reuniting with their families, friends and loved ones.
You’ll be scared to hear Osita Chidoka, former Corps Marshall of Federal Road Safety Commission and former Minister of Aviation, reveal that Divisional Police Offices are not adequately funded by the government: They get imprest that can only buy one litre of fuel per day!
Chidoka added that apart from making private arrangements to purchase their uniforms and boots, police officers attached to top government functionaries and other VIPs have to buy bullets for their guns in the open market in Lagos and Onitsha.
A few months ago, Tope Mark-Odigie, a co-host of “Your View,” an all-female talk show on Television Continental, posted a video report of her encounter with hoodlums who smashed her car and inflicted some lacerations on her body.
She was visibly agitated and must have thought that by reporting the incident on social media, she would be drawing the attention of the Lagos State Government and the security agencies to the terror she encountered on one of the dangerous roads of Lagos State.
There are two other videos swirling on social media that show two SUVs whose windows and windscreens were smashed by unhinged hoodlums in standstill traffic in some parts of the Lagos metropolis.
One of the victims lamented, “See my car? Traffic robbers… All those unexplainable (sic) people around traffic. I don’t care who you are… This is what you guys did to me yesterday. You messed up my car…”
Then he made a solemn promise, “Since the government cannot protect us, we’ll protect ourselves.” He must be aware of his right to self-protection as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and the lawbooks.
The other victim wondered aloud, “Is this the new style in Lagos? Maybe this is the new style in Lagos. “Eko o ni baje.” Meanwhile, these people (meaning insensitive politicians) want to come and rule Nigeria.”
One needs to admit that this rampaging terror is not a recent phenomenon. On one Sunday afternoon, sometime in 1996, under the General Sani Abacha military regime, hoodlums attacked and caused bodily harm to motorists on the ramp above Ikorodu Road, between Alapere and Old Lagos Tollgate.
It took one bold motorist, who came out of his car, to repel them. Thankfully, they didn’t kill anyone. But you can imagine the distress they caused the poor souls who were probably returning to their homes after Sunday church service.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, needs to urgently find a way to adequately secure Lagos State and free Lagosians from the violent ones who prey on citizens who can only rely on the government to secure their lives and properties.
The insecurity is totally unacceptable when you consider that Section 14 of Nigeria’s Constitution promises that security is the most fundamental responsibility of government. Lagosians should not have to be in panic mode whenever they leave their homes.
Of course, everyone knows that the powers of governors are restricted by Section 215(4) of the Constitution, which requires a State Commissioner of Police to obtain clearance from the president, in faraway Abuja, before complying with the instruction of a state governor on security matters.
Lagos State is a modern metropolitan tech hub with a population of nearly 25 million people, a Gross Domestic Product of $133 billion and monthly Internally Generated Revenue of N45 billion.
This state, the economic capital of Nigeria, which runs practically for 24 hours, seven days a week, is about 26.7 per cent of Nigeria’s economy. It would have been Africa’s 5th largest economy if it were a standalone country.
Such an economy deserves a vigilant 24-hour security system that monitors, deters, swiftly apprehends and punishes criminals. Governor Sanwo-Olu must up the game of Lagos State security architecture. He must pull an effective security chestnut out of the confusing constitutional fire of the Nigerian state.
Luckily, he has the financial backing of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, a collective of corporate organisations that pitch in funds to motivate personnel and procure equipment for the (Federal Government-owned Rapid Response Squad of the) Lagos State Police Command.
Even if he only gets grudging respect from the state police command, he could deploy the quasi-policing agencies of Lagos State, namely, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency and even Lagos State Traffic Management Agency.
But he should be able to wield some influence over the Lagos State Police Command that his government spends so much money on equipping. After all, the Yoruba have said that if you use your money to buy a fainting spell you should at least feel it a little bit.
Some think Lagos State should have launched its own “Amotekun” security network, at least as a symbolic gesture of agreement with other South-West states. You may have noticed that the existence of Amotekun seems to have reduced the rate of violent incursions into farms across the South-West zone.
Lagos State Government’s argument that LNSC, led by genial Adegboyega Bajulaiye, an attorney, is already doing exactly what Amotekun is doing in other parts of the South-West is reasonable. But the Amotekun moniker would have sent a clearer message of deterrence to the Lagos underworld.
Many constantly refer to the mixed multitude of unemployable youths, usually of no fixed address, from across Nigeria and the Sahel, spread all over especially Greater Lagos, as potential and immediate threats to the peace and security of the lives and properties of the people of Lagos.
Also, they think that there must be a mechanism for constant surveillance of these individuals and their activities. You may have seen trucks or busloads of uneducated and unskilled young men, intercepted by Amotekun agents as they approach some southern states.
Many think that these individuals, who are mainly unaccounted for, should not be allowed to freely roam around Lagos. You may recall that former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, once “deported” some undesirable vagrants out of Lagos, back to their presumed states of origin.
While some, including this writer, thought that was quite an extreme and harsh action at that time, the lesson is not lost on those who are genuinely concerned about the security of the people of Lagos State.
Governor Sanwo-Olu should live up to his oath “to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” which includes security and welfare of the people.
