Nigeria is a nation of jarring and confounding occurrences. The realities of the people are surreal, shaped by years of misgovernance and whipped into conformity by a culture that preaches obedience in the face of disrespect, intimidation and suppression and praises cowardice as self-restraint and respect. The actions of those tasked with managing the nation’s affairs defy logic and sensibility, leaving it somewhat permanently tethered to the dock of underdevelopment and stagnation.
Two key separate events that have dominated the news and public discourse on social media in the last week have underscored the problem of insecurity in Nigeria, which is one of the challenges that Nigeria has grappled with for years on end, resulting in many lives lost and properties destroyed. While the deepening security crisis and the sheer ruthlessness of the perverse elements perpetrating it are disturbing, it is the action or inaction of the government to find a lasting solution to the menace that is troubling many Nigerians.
Last week, the police stormed Ekpoma and arrested 52 students of Ambrose Alli University who were protesting incessant kidnapping and killings in the area. The protest follows the killing of a kidnapped student after the ransom demanded for his release was not paid. The area has also suffered persistent robbery attacks that have disrupted and shattered the lives of those living in the area. These violent attacks, abductions, and thefts that deprived the hapless residents of the town of their worldly possessions are not random acts of misfortune but a perennial act of terror and destabilisation that has become a key part of our national feature.
But instead of unleashing its full wrath and might on the perpetrators of these heinous and despicable crimes, the government decided to throw the books at the hapless and defenceless victims of insecurity while the orchestrators are left to continue their unconscionable deeds. Even more worrisome is the fact that the arrested students were arraigned before a court in the state where the judge remanded them to prison. The decision of the judge is stark evidence of how the Nigerian judiciary bludgeons the innocent and vulnerable with the gavel of justice.
While unarmed and peaceful protesters are languishing in prison for demanding an end to the cycle of violence and constant attacks, the Katsina state government released suspected bandits from prison. The two disconcerting scenarios reflect everything that is wrong with Nigeria. A nation that treats peaceful and constitutional public demonstrations and demands for a better country as unlawful and an act of terrorism while rampaging terrorists and violent bandits are treated with kid gloves. A nation that is brutal to peaceful and law-abiding citizens but becomes ineffective and timid when confronted by heartless criminals who have turned our country into an enclave of apprehension.
It boggles the mind and troubles the soul that students were yanked out of their hostel at night for protesting and treated as criminals while those who unleash terror on the people and wreak havoc on the country remain at large with little or no effort to make them face the consequences of their actions.
The reality here is that as long as this avoidable misfortune and calamity continue to befall Nigeria and the government continues to show disgraceful incompetence or indifference towards going after the people that engendered the misfortune, then these lawful and peaceful protests by the victims will continue. Meeting the logical and sensible demands of people for the government to act responsibly and secure their lives and properties of the people with highhandedness and brute force will not somehow make the issues that spur their demands go away especially when the people have seen how the government treats those who terrorise them.