The sudden turn of events in regards to the protest against the Special Anti-robbery Squad in Nigeria known as SARS for short is a thing expected due to the way the men of the unit who are supposed to be protecting lives and properties have usurped power for selfish gains. It is no news that corruption is endemic in the polity of a nation referred to as the giant of Africa with a boisterous economy and a population of more than 200million people. The love for power, material gain and oppressing the weak has become a nutrition or diet which most security operatives in the country cannot afford to give up so easily. This way of life has long been in existence while those in the realm of power or at the mantle of leadership have turned blind eye to due to one benefit or the other being derived from it.
Nigeria is a country filled with intelligent youths most of whom if given the opportunity to earn a good living will definitely channel their energy to being more productive, but the political atmosphere operated was designed to create a vacuum to make most people hopeless and jobless for the whims of greedy politicians who see the youths as tools for chaos and sabotage of a porous economic system. Over the years, the country is bedeviled with the problems of terrorism, one unleashed by the dreaded Boko Haram in faraway North and the series of kidnappings and extortions are yet to abate. Lives and properties have been lost and dreams have been cut short as a result of these societal menace that has caught up with us as a nation.
The rate of crime and other social vices have increased in leaps and bound due to the economic hardship being witnessed and the pandemic that hit the world recently while most able bodied workers have been thrown out of their jobs. While other countries of the world have designed ways to solve the problem, mischievous politicians see this as a way to cash out and further impoverish the masses. This mischief was revealed in public glare during the National Assembly Investigating Committee’s investigation of the financial misappropriation in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in which billions of naira were misappropriated by the Acting director Daniel Pondei including the Minister for the Niger Delta Godswill Akpabio who were being accused at the panel sitting for avoiding due process in awarding of contracts.
The continuous squandering of the nation’s resources by a selected few will only continue to sink the country into poverty and anarchy and continuous hardship on the people of the country. While some leaders at the top are busy syphoning public funds with their cronies, some mischievous youths have fashioned a way out for themselves in the name of financial crimes most of which are being perpetrated online. The various security operatives have also seen this as an avenue to extort money from criminals and also threaten those who are willing to dance to their tune. The sudden emergence of road blocks by security operatives on the highways extorting money from commercial vehicles, the sudden stop and search by men in muftis in the name of special anti-robbery squad scavenging for fraudsters also knows as “yahoo boys” became a part of our daily culture. We should also not forget the spate of robbery and gangsterism as well as cultism which are menaces we are yet to deal with, while security operatives have only surfaced to help kindle the burning flame of insecurity. It has become a crime to have a laptop of your choice or have a good working phone. Having those have become a crime for which you must face police brutality in a country like ours where we proclaim to be civil.
The Nigerian security operatives can be more efficient if those in charge of the recruitment process carry out their duties diligently. It was reported that criminals are being recruited into the force; those who see the police force as a means to an end to extort people and also oppress the vulnerable ones. It is no news that we have youths who are hell bent in committing crime and other social vices, the rate of fraud and illicit activities among the youths are problems that need to be addressed and addressing this must be in a proper way while reducing or avoiding casualties in the process of arrest. The Nigerian police force needs to undergo a serious reform, one of which is to ensure that the right people are responsible for recruiting, technology is fully embedded in its operations and police officers are given the required first class training on ways to curb crime and other forms of insecurity within our immediate environment. Also, erring police officers must be punished and made to face the wrath of the law.
Despite the agitations to end the anti-robbery squad unit of the Nigerian police force, there is a need to also find a way to restructure the security system so as not to create a vacuum for miscreants as they may see this as an opportunity to have a way at the system to further unleash mayhem. A new security framework needs to be designed and old officers that are due for retirement should be shown the way out. Also, new laws and policies must be formulated to check the operations of the various security personnel within the country and IQ test should be conducted in the selection process of those who are to be responsible for protecting the lives and properties of the citizens of Nigeria while individuals aiming for financial gains in the cause of service should be exposed, shamed and punished adequately.
