The previous part of this article strictly focused on the first of the three dimensions of the title of this article, that is, the new dawn of deaths. This concluding part seeks to interestingly relay two experiences that succinctly capture the security situation of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reverse SOS

Nigeria has reputation for a lot of reverses, for example, reverse compliments, reverse political personalities, reverse ideologies and recently, while in a discussion with one Departmental Police Officer (DPO) in Lagos, I heard of what could simply be described as a reverse SOS. This is a story akin to the cliché “when the bush meat catches the hunter”. In the first part, I wrote about how a once 24-hours state, where people could work through the clock is now beleaguered by immoralist and criminals.

The DPO was coming from work on a Friday after long hours of work at his work station around Egbeda or Iyana-Ipaja, he decided to park at a bus stop and cross over to the other side of the road at a popular beer joint to take a few bottles of beer; like one or two to cool off and clear his face. A social drinker will agree with me that this quantity is not dangerous save he would later drive. Having sipped the last beer in the cup, he rose up and approached his car to drive home. Suddenly, a motorcycle having a rider and two other men on it abruptly parked in front of his car, just like 150 meters away. He was not dressed in his police uniform. There was darkness, except when some “Pharagon” buses occasionally passed. Immediately, the motorcycle parked abruptly, they were given away, coupled with the fact that the senses of a person who takes one or two bottles must be sharp and alert to unfolding events. More so, being a police officer, he understood the modus operandi of bad boys. While two came down and approached him fast, the third was on stand-by on the motorcycle, constantly raising the throttle and making scary sound with the motorbike.

The ring leader shouted “you don die today” that is “you are dead already”. By the time they got so close enough, the police officer who had already “cocked” down his pistol (he told me that he usually leaves his pistol cocked down and ready) and had his hand close to it, but was only waiting to assess how dangerous the assailants were before deciding on what to do, saw the ring leader brought out a Dane gun while the other behind him like 30 meters was holding a plank. He concluded his analysis and quickly shot the one holding the Dane gun in the stomach. The gun fell from his hands and became too weak to move or recover the gun from the floor. The one at about 30 meters away heard the gun shot and started running away shouting “Ole! Ole! e gbami! Ole!”, that is, “Thief! Thief! save me! Thief!”. I guess he was shouting so that the man would not aim at him and fire. The motorcyclist, did not even wait for anyone. He ran away. On that day, the hunter became the hunted. The one shot died on the spot.

How cheap criminals are able to get guns to rob others and from whom must be of great concern to this administration. Don’t forget that at the beginning of the second paragraph, I made reference to the types of reverses that are in Nigeria, and I mentioned “reverse political personality or ideology”. This happens when a leader respected for being firm and intolerant of vices, for example, a General, is elected by the people believing that he would be able to mop-up the system of rogues, gets to power and begins to pursue policies in fields of his crass incompetence. Nigerians must demand from PMB as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria how he has used all that bogus powers to preserve and protect them against their assailants. By the way, SOS means save our soul. An urgent message that someone is in trouble and needs help.

The Great Escape

The third part of this article is a personal experience I had with a friend while escorting me to Iju Ishaga park around 6:30 am for a matter I was having at the Agbara Judicial Division (Idi Oke) of the High Court of Lagos State.

On that day, I had woken up as early as 3: 30 am to iron my complete suit, white band or bip, and well starched inner white shirt for one hour fifteen minutes. I also read the case-file briefly. I was confident, ready and sharp for a wonderful appearance. At about 6: 25 am or there about, I left the house in company with my friend. In what looked almost exactly like the incident relayed under “Reverse SOS”, a motorcycle suddenly stopped and two of the guys on it came down and shouted “e duro nibe”, that is, “everybody, stand still there”. One accosted me and held a tiny silver dagger with sharp pointed edges that was clearly visible even in that hour of the day between my neck and chest like he was bent on ripping me out. while the other accosted my friend with pistol pointed at him. The third didn’t come down from the motorcycle. In what appeared to me as beyond physical, my friend who was already running away and I who tried to run after him, having thrown down the big case-file I was carrying away, suddenly found each other on bare ground. Till, now I still don’t understand how two grown up men could fall almost at the same time while heading towards different directions without any one touching. I laid on the floor having dislocated a shoulder by reason of the great fall. The one who accosted me asked for my valuables and I told him I already dropped them . I had mistaken my friend’s phone which he dropped in order to divert his own assailant away from him to be mine. Meanwhile, I later got to know about an hour after the incident when I wanted to put the balance a driver gave me in the inner suit pocket that my phone was in my pocket. My friend’s phone of about 80,000 Naira was forcefully taken from him at gun point. By the time he retrieved his two lines after four days, his customers had left messages seeking to order a few products and services from him. He had lost the opportunity to supply two phones and a laptop that would have earned him profit of about 85,000 Naira.

Before our own incident, a secondary school boy was killed around Fagba Bus Stop, in Lagos over phone. Another was supposedly killed at Balogun Junction for suggesting to his assailants to allow him remove his sim card from the phone they were trying to rob from him. Our case could have been equally as terrible, if my friend had not thrown his phone, we had not been lucky and God had not protected us.

One has to be very objective to understand why PMB could also be held responsible for the general state of insecurity in all the parts of Nigeria. Nigeria operates a Federal System of Government which cedes and reserves so much powers to and for the center. For example, with regard to the Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Army, The Navy, The Air Force and The Police are listed under Exclusive list which only the National Assembly can legislate upon. That takes the security architecture of each state away from the Governor. A Police officer once defied the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwolu’s order, to his face when the Governor intervened in the Magodo Estate impasse commanding him to vacate the estate. He told the Governor his orders were so clear from the Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector General of Police. More so, is security in Abuja the Federal Capital Territory any better than that of Lagos State’s? The answer is NO.

This new dawn, if at all, requires the police architecture to be further delineated to allow stretches to the inner parts of Nigeria’s Cities, towns and streets. The current police structure is too far away from the people. Nigerians should demand the police that is at their beckoning.

Ebenezer Omotola

THE NEW DAWN OF DEATHS, REVERSE SOS AND THE GREAT ESCAPE (PART 2)

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