I escaped being victim of armed robbery by the whiskers last Sunday. Time was 12.33am when I left office with Akeem Adesola, one of my graphic artists after putting Sunday Sun to bed. We had a smooth ride to Agege from Kirikiri, Lagos. He got off in front of his house and I proceeded to Sango, Ogun State. Once in a while, my wife called on phone. Her last call was when I had got home and was driving into the compound. My community watchmen flashed the torchlight from their watch-post down the street, while I parked the car to open my gate. It was a familiar gesture. They knew me as a latecomer. Sometimes, the watchmen walk to my frontage as I alight to open the gate and we exchange pleasantries and I also appreciate them. My wife welcomed me and stood by the room door as I was changing my clothes. Suddenly, we heard a loud gunshot. Few seconds later, another shot rang out followed by some noises. Then there was silence. My wife made to go into the living room to find out what was happening. I instantly queried the move and she came back almost immediately and we continued chatting and later went to sleep. Later in the day, some officials of my community development association came to my premises. It was then I knew I had had a close shave with trouble.

I drove into my street at the time a robbery operation was going on in the next street, which separated my community from another CDA. There are no guards in that community, which I drive through before getting to mine and robbery incidents are becoming a regular feature there with last Sunday’s being the third within three months. The hoodlums break into houses, hold residents hostage and cart away cash, phones, laptops, jewelry and other valuables at gunpoint.

The house they were robbing is a few blocks away from the junction leading to my street and my own house is just about two minutes walk into my street. The robbers saw me turn into my street from the other end of the road. And one of them decided to pursue and attack me. I was lucky to have entered into my flat before he got to the gate. He dropped some stolen items by the gate and scaled the fence. As he was still inside my compound, he heard the voice of one of the watchmen who routinely walked up to my frontage and saw the strange items by the gate. The guard immediately turned back and was rushing to their watch-post to alert his colleagues. At that point, the robber opened my gate from inside and fired a shot at him. The poor guy was slightly hit in the hand by pellets, but he quickly recovered and fired back. That encounter chased the robbers away. I was very lucky to have escaped. Three routes lead to my street and I take any to get home. I was particularly happy that I did not drive through that which could have brought me directly in front of the house the robbers were operating. I thank God for keeping my family and I safe. I also give kudos to the watchmen and my CDA executives who organize our security.

For people like us who could only afford to build and live in suburbs, we would keep relying on God and ourselves for our security.

A police division is just about a kilometre away from my home and a police armoured tank is permanently stationed under the Sango-Ota Bridge, but I am under no illusion that the police can and are protecting me. The police station is where you go to report after you have been robbed just for formality. Our encounter with the police everyday is on the road and what do they ask for, almost as a routine? Driver’s licence, vehicle particulars and tinted glass permit. And if you present the correct documents, the policeman who has pulled your car over at gunpoint would turn a beggar, asking for ‘something’ to keep body and soul together. I don’t know if there are policemen in any part of the world as beggarly as Nigerian policemen.    

I am by no means saying policemen are not working or that there are no hard working policemen. But a police force that cannot keep citizens safe in their homes in the daytime and at night is ineffective and inefficient. It is needless to say that we, the residents, pay monthly security levy to engage the nightwatchmen to protect us. This is the practice in most communities in several parts of the country. My neighbouring community, which has not effectively managed its security system has been having visitations by robbers since late last year. The challenges of living are quite daunting in our country and chief among these is insecurity. In Nigeria, the giant of Africa, neighbourhood security is in the hands of watchmen who keep residents safe from harm even when no law establishes their operation; when no law entitles them to carry arms, which they bear for protection and when they have no training for the dangerous task. Yet some Nigerians are against state and community police. Anyway, kudos to our nightwatchmen!


Re: Breastfeeding corruption

You made my Sunday Abakiliki rice rich yet again! It’s our value system that is breastfeeding corruption. Those caught are a tip of the iceberg; check out the lifestyle of many public office holders. Nigeria can afford to pay stipends monthly to the unemployed, but our politicians are selfish. See how they killed the civil service and open the eyes of civil servants. What do you want someone who will retire without gratuity and pension to do, pray and fast for heaven without meeting his obligations on earth? Until we have a real revolution in Nigeria, we are scratching the surface and pretending.

–Tony Enyinta, Isuikwuato, Abia State

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Sir, I just want to add my voice to your topic, ‘Breastfeeding corruption’. Federal Government is the major promoter of that. My reason for saying this is let that 2014 confab report be implemented today and states start to control their resources and Dr Yakubu will not see such money to loot. Now, since 2015 PMB took over power and made himself oil minister, all the crude oil that has been exported is not accounted for. Why?

–Longinus O. lhedinihu.

Abdulfatah, prevention they say, is better than cure. The reason there is so much corruption in the land is the over centralized federal system we operate, which is more unitary than federal, giving rise to the type of political structure that makes the states mere appendages of the center instead of federating units in the real sense. As long as the federal government continues to collect all the revenue belonging to the nation and decides where in Nigeria a primary health center or maternity should be built or where a water borehole should be sunk, the problem of corruption will continue to pose a challenge. For me the best and surest way to reduce the monster is to go back to fiscal federalism, with six or eight regions as the federating units. This takes most of the powers at present wielded unnecessarily by the center to the regions and makes accountability possible as each region measures its progress by comparing its achievements with those of the other regions. At present, the center earns too much revenue and wields too much influence. Thanks.

–Emma Okoukwu

Abdulfatah, there is no justification to doubt your position and conclusion in “Breastfeeding Corruption”. Your submissions are sound but contestable if placed side by side with “two sides to a coin” principle, which formed the natural base of creation; exemplified in man and then woman by God. Human inklings are so variant that even when a man is provided with all it takes to live without stealing, environmental demands and in few cases, desires to help the poor and needy, based on religious sermonisation of ‘help to the needy’, being one qualifying channel of securing the better side of heaven on the day of judgement, might make him steal. Do not be stunned, by the claim of some looters, that their emergence into public offices is “God’s intentional act”. Some beneficiaries of looters’ benevolence are honest people before millions of others. Some of such benefactors are religious and traditional leaders who, in some cases are part of those condemning the caught looters. Even now, with hypes on intent to abolish the endemic corruption and its dramatics, looters are designing other means of protecting their loots in future as stated in your piece. So, corruption is the other side of honesty to complete the two-side principle of creation. The whistle blower system put in place takes the closeness of the informant to the suspect. His compensation by government for job done is in itself a corrupt act. He who shares from a wrongdoing is a wrongdoer too, since his inducement agent also is culpable of corrupt practice. Corruption is everywhere in the world. The caught is the thief while the uncaught is a saint. Buhari should do what he could but forget eradication of corruption, which is a base of human relationship.

If the current “saints” are subjected to scrutiny, they will be found to be worse in corrupt practices. If there was anything that would solve Nigeria’s problem, it is your recommendation of fiscal federalism. The current system is corrupt, insensitive, inhuman and therefore unacceptable. If Buhari really means to save Nigeria, he should adopt the recommendations of 2014 National Conference report now.

May God save Nigeria.

–Lai Ashadele.