Omo, when it comes to atrocities that seem to be sponsored by the government, I fear that Nigeria can be considered as one of the top contenders. Mine is a country that is rife with corruption, insecurity, and all forms of violence, making life extremely difficult for the common man. Everything that is happening has led to the worsening economic problems, leading also to the stagnant growth and development of infrastructure.
And then, even worse, many times, they refuse to address issues like these simply because of political ambitions and nothing else. We have leaders who won’t lift a finger to alleviate the sufferings of the people unless they would gain something from it politically. If not, then you can forget it. They would never do anything at all.
One glaring example of this is police Brutality in Nigeria, something that sparked off the #ENDSARS protest of 2020 that subsequently led to the death of a number of young Nigerians. But still, today we have police officers who target young men, extort money from them, and subject them to all forms of inhumane treatment. Any offence can be levied against you just to get you to give them your money.
If you’ve experienced it, you’ll know how traumatic it can be, it’s something that can never be forgotten. And the annoying thing is that a single policy can fix it. An agency created strictly to enforce the policy would keep the officers on their toes. It won’t be difficult at all. But no, everything is being said, but nothing is done. And these guys keep harming and killing young guys.
Sadly, you’d think this is the worst part. But it isn’t, because we still have to deal with bandits and insurgency that is ravaging parts of our country. In the north and the South-West, bandits are ravaging villages, and the Army does next to nothing about it. There are saboteurs who tip off the bandits, causing them to ambush the soldiers, other times, there will be orders that they don’t even do anything at all.
Even worse, when these bandits get arrested, they’re released back into society, and some are even given positions in the Army. Like, in what universe will a government allow the army to be infiltrated by the very organization that fights them? And that’s how it goes. Round and round we go. These guys are using people’s lives to play politics. All that is needed is one coordinated trip to wipe them all out, but no, every day, deaths are being announced in hundreds, but they don’t care about any of that.
Should I also talk about the unknown gunmen in the southeast? There, people are just losing their lives, and for what? What exactly is the reason that, as a person, you would be so scared to travel to your village just because of violence that has nothing to do with you? You’ve never killed someone before, you’re not related to a killer, yet, when you travel, you are terrified because you could become past tense in the blink of an eye. It’s so crazy.
But it’s all good. I just hope that Nigerians see everything that is unfolding and realize that politicians are all the same, they work well with each other and don’t care about their differences. But we, the electorate, the ones actually suffering the brunt of bad leadership, will divide ourselves over religion and tribe.
Maybe now that every tribe and religion has collected premium gbasgbos from this government, maybe when the next election rolls around, we’ll execute our rights more logically, not biased.
I guess only time will tell.
