Living on the Edge Everyday

I just completed my year of national service about two weeks ago, and where I served in Rivers State is definitely a place that I know I cannot settle in. There's a lot there that I am not compatible with, and I cannot wait to get out of the area because I will still be here for a few more hours or days until I return home. What's most appalling here is the poor level of security and how it somehow affects their lifestyle.

The first night I spent here, I was advised to try not to be outside after 7 p.m., and even if I really needed to, I shouldn't take anything valuable along. My phone is valuable, and so I would have to leave it behind. Why? Well, there were talks about people being robbed on the streets at night. You could be ambushed with a machete or a gun, be forced to hand over your valuables, and probably get hurt along the way.

Months or weeks later, the Divisional Police Office (DPO) of our area was killed by some "troublesome people." It was very surprising, and it was then that I realised that security here is pretty much zero. And so my head's been down ever since, but the sad thing about it all is that this insecurity issue is a whole lot more prevalent, especially on highways.

Travelling between here and Ogun State, where I am from, takes between eight and twelve hours by road. Along the road, there are so many police checkpoints, although they reduce in frequency as you get closer and closer to the south-west region. The south-south region appears to have a lot of police checkpoints on their roads, based on my travels between Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta.

One would think that having many police checkpoints on the roads is a really good thing since it means more security. Sadly, that isn't the exact reality of it all. I mean, it is at least great to have people with arms able to come to aid when there are road crimes, but the focus of these men is on something else.

When I am in a commercial vehicle travelling along these roads, I see these drivers hand policemen money at every checkpoint. I never really understood why this was so. It doesn't look okay to me, but the point is that they aren't actually protecting them at these checkpoints. Rather, they are exploiting. Would it be worse if they were not there at all? I don't know, but it sure doesn't feel very safe either.

It can be worse with these security forces in some places. Over in Lagos, policemen target youths to exploit them and even harm them in the process sometimes. How ironic to have security that isn't secure and makes one feel unsafe. No, we don't want to see "police is your friend" on their uniforms or whatever because, quite frankly, many of them aren't.

You see, I had my heart in my mouth when I was travelling on Biafra Day. I already got the memo before then that people mustn't be seen on the roads on that day; otherwise, they'd be killed, but I forgot and travelled on that day. Apparently, that's how they chose to honour the lost lives in the Biafran War.

_{Biafra Day is the day to honour the lives lost for the cause of Biafra, a region in southeastern Nigeria that declared independence in 1967, leading to the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War. This conflict resulted in significant loss of life and suffering, particularly due to famine. Biafra Day is observed by many to remember the victims and to reflect on the struggle for self-determination, resilience, and the hope for a peaceful future for the Igbo people and other ethnic groups in the region. It serves as a sombre reminder of the past and a call for recognition of historical grievances and the pursuit of justice and equity. ~ ChatGPT}

I managed to get to my destination after some detours by the driver to avoid "being killed," but it makes me wonder the level of security that we have if they were able to pull off some of the killings and even shut down some roads.

On my way back, we were delayed for over an hour by the police at one of their checkpoints. Why? Well, they wanted a bribe for the expired vehicle documents the driver had. And we're talking about security.

I'll be honest and say that I shrug when I see people in the force who are unfit. How can you be in the military or paramilitary and not be fit? Clearly, when you're not in great shape, you can't defend as well as you should, even for yourself. Even worse, many of them are often ill-equipped. No helmet or bulletproof vest sometimes. Their vehicles may need a visit to the mechanic, and may not even be bulletproof. I'm not even sure their guns are usually loaded, but I'm not interested in finding out either.

Security over here...pfff. It's only God knows how we have been managing all these decades.