It has become a ritual for security agencies to give the impression that they are effectively in control of securing life and property of the people when in the real sense of it, many Nigerians now sleep with their two eyes open, especially farmers in the village.
It is the same in the towns and cities as marauding kidnappers and armed robbers have made life unbearable for residents. While petty thieves hang around our communities like anopheles mosquitoes, it is very worrisome that the police, whom the nation has invested much in and also put much trust upon, have almost failed the people despite the smokescreen operational activities. What we have going for the people being recorded as successes are the singular efforts of state commissioners of police alongside the commendable efforts of the police zonal commands. The situation is even more pathetic as directives from the force headquarters no longer carry any meaningful weight. The men on the roads and highways do whatever they like. Imagine a policeman demanding from a driver with passengers to show him the “police permit” that warranted him to carry passengers. (This was reported and aired on a radio station in Abuja).
Such situations have made the police force look like one that cannot be salvaged. It is this almost hopeless situation that has spurred the presence of military personnel on the highways , which, incidentally, has suddenly instilled sanity on the roads and confidence in the people.
The military intervention in addressing the internal insecurity of the country has further boosted the confidence of Nigerians in the military except that they (the military) have looked the other way, or is it that they deliberately shied away from handling the menace of the rampaging Fulani herdsmen around the country?
One would have expected that the military could have further taken the shine off the police had they vigorously tackled the menace of Fulani herdsmen the way the Boko Haram sect was handled by the military.
However, it was heart-warming when the police, towards the end of the year 2017, boastfully paraded dozens of kidnappers allegedly arrested in their den in the northern axis. One is, therefore, wondering why the police is not extending the same vigour it exhibits with kidnappers to the Fulani herdsmen. More questions than answers; no wonder in his long presidential New Year speech, President Muhammad Buhari completely shied away from touching the issue of Fulani herdsmen but mentioned the issue of kidnapping. It is such display of insensitivity that many are not happy about. Here is a set of cattle herders that has worn the gown of criminality; they go haywire with their dastardly bloodletting, yet the President of the nation finds it difficult to make any remark on their dastardly and heinous activities. No wonder, till date, the police has not been able to fish out even one of the Fulani herdsmen that is culpable in these criminal activities.
It beats one’s imagination that the President could shy away from openly condemning the activities of this set of people. Even if they are foreigners, as depicted by one of the highly respected northern emirs, should that not be a better reason for the President to openly castigate them and their activities in the country? At the last count, over 500 innocent Nigerians have lost their lives, with many more licking their wounds, yet the government of the APC has kept mute, as if it is not worth any public outcry. The same nonchalance has been displayed by the police headship, which has exhibited an arrogant and lackadaisical attitude to this obvious criminality of Fulani herdsmen.
More worrisome is the supposed body language of the President, which has waned since his return from medical treatment abroad. If not, the famed body language would have done the needed magic as was touted in the early days of the administration.
The truth is, until the scourge of killer Fulani herdsmen fades away like a cumulus, no one would believe this administration that it is not complicit in this regard. As for the recent parade of 16 kidnappers arrested in a forest along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, he should have asked the question, how many of such Fulani herdsmen have been paraded since 2015, when the Inspector-General of Police assumed office? It is also important to have a documented registration or serial numbers of every gun recovered from criminals. This is important so as to avoid the recycling of already displayed guns impounded from criminals. To avoid such temptation, crime journalists covering any police parade of criminals like armed robbers and kidnappers should demand for the serial numbers of firearms allegdly recovered from criminals for verification purposes. If the police can release he names of every criminal, it behoves on them to also release the serial number and make of such guns recovered from criminals during every operation. It is by so doing that members of the public can better trust the transparency of the police.
Security tips for children
1. Do not walk the street alone.
2. Do not answer or talk to strangers.
3. Don’t collect any food or sweets from strangers.
4. Don’t call every older person your uncle.