The Nation Newspaper

Tag: menace

  • Curtailing herdsmen’s menace

    Curtailing herdsmen’s menace

    Herdsmen have been killing people across the country. Opinions are divided on the way out. Some have suggested a National Grazing Bill to solve the problem. But, Oyo  State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and others, including lawyers, have opposed the bill because it is against the Land Use Act. JOSEPH JIBUEZE writes. 

    From their simple nomadic life, they seem to have transformed to killers. Herdsmen kill, maim, torch and loot communities. The latest of such attacks was their invasion last Monday of the Ukpabi-Nimbo community in Enugu State. Forty-eight persons were killed, 56 others injured and 60 houses torched.

    The nation was outraged by the incident. Many blamed the government for what they described as its lukewarm approach to the issue. They accused President Muhammadu Buhari of keeping mum in the face of the herdsmen’s threat to national security. What is the way out?

     

    Grazing Bill

     

    Some have suggested that a grazing Bill will address the menace. It proposes the creation of grazing reserves accross the country for herdsmen. The Senate has denied that such bill is before it. But the bill is before the House of Representatives, which moved to consolidate two similar bills.

    The first is a Bill for an Act to establish the National Grazing Route and Reserve Commission. The Bill provides that the commission will establish and control Grazing Routes and Reserves in all parts of Nigeria. It is said to be sponsored by Karimi Steve Sunday, PDP, Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopamuro Federal Constituency, Kogi State.

    The second is a Bill for an Act to create a Department of Cattle Ranches under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture or any such Ministry overseeing the production and rearing of cattle. It was reportedly sponsored by Dickson Tarkighir (Makurdi/Guma Federal Consti-tuency, Benue State).

    According to a notice paper of the House of Representatives for the week March 14 to March 18, consolidation of both bills was scheduled for March 15.

    The Grazing Bill designates some land as possible National Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes, such as land at the disposal of the Federal Government; any land in respect of which it appears to the commission that grazing on such land should be practiced, and any land acquired by the commission through purchase, assignment, gift or otherwise howsoever.

    The bill also provides that the commission shall pay compensation on any land acquired; it has power to negotiate with holders of statutory or customary rights of occupancy for the purpose of assignment of land to the commission.

    The commission may take over the ownership, control and management of any existing grazing reserve and stock routes from any state on agreed terms with the state concerned.

    The bill says the commission shall pay compensation on any land it acquires, while any disputes over claim for compensation shall be referred to the Land Use Allocation Committee of the state concerned.

    Sections 20, 21, and 22 of the bill, empowers the grazing commission to only give notice to a governor of a state whose land is intended to be acquired, among others.

     

    Bill rejected

     

    The bill has been criticised for having no provision for the governor’s consent. Oyo State governor Abiola Ajimobi, has warned against any proposal to seize or allocate land across Nigeria for use as grazing reserves.

    To him, such plan would be ill-advised and against the spirit of overriding public interest, and would not be allowed in his state.

    “This is the time to call a spade a spade,” Ajimobi said at the launch of “AgricOyo”, the state’s agriculture initiative. “Those clamouring for creation of grazing zones across the country should have a rethink. It is against the Land Use Act; it is against the law of natural justice to seize people’s land to cater for someone’s cattle.

    “Grazing zones could be created for those who are traditional cattle rearers in their areas. I’m not against that. But, you cannot come here and tell me you want to occupy our land for grazing zones. The land exists in our respective states and as such the rightful owners should decide what to do with them.

    “Anybody outside this zone willing to rear cattle here will need to approach the state to buy the land and we offer what is available with rules. There is no free land for grazing zones. We need to take this firm position. It won’t happen.”

    A lawyer, Clement Udegbe, said: “Consent of the state concerned ought to be obtained to avoid conflicts, disputes and trouble. Consent should be in a written form with the signatures of the community heads, traditional rulers, the House of Assembly, and the governor.

    “An aggrieved community must have the right to seek redress in court. Any law like this bill that seeks dexterously to kill or muffle the right of redress in court is unconstitutional, and must not be allowed. The omission of consent from ancestral or traditional land owners betrays the manipulative intentions of this bill.”

    A Lagos lawyer, Ucheakolam Adim, said: “A bill that empowers a commission to take away any land it deems fit for the purpose of grazing reserves or stock routes is obviously not protecting any individual because every individual in Nigeria would then live in the fear of their land being taken away.

    “It suffices to say that this bill seeks to create an unchallengeable leviathan. The bill also provides that compensation would be given to any individual whose land is taken away by the commission. However, the bill fails to define the compensation payable and what would suffice as a reasonable compensation in any circumstance,” she said.

     

    Olanipekun, Ofuokwu suggest way out

     

    Analysts say the herdsmen’s attacks bring to the fore the futility of continuing with the current policing system. They say it offers a compelling reason for state police.

    Some have suggested military action, as the danger posed by the herdsmen seems to have assumed terrorist proportions.

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said the National Grazing Bill is not the solution.

    “Initiation of a bill establishing a National Grazing Reserve and Development Commission in a supposed federal system of government like Nigeria, is uncalled for and should not even be toyed with for several reasons.

    “Nigeria is not a unitary state, although unitarism is being foisted on us and we are unfortunately acquiescing. Such a bill would be unconstitutional and illegal, as well as unreasonable and provocative.

    “Section 1 of the Land Use Act vests all land within the territory of a state in the governor of the state and not in the President.

    “The contents of the bill appear to me, to be a direct call on the herdsmen to invade and conquer everywhere/state where the grazing reserve passes through and, by extension, all the states of the federation,” Olanipekun said.

    Besides, he said, the bill is “one-sided” as it does not provide requisite punishment for any herdsman who trespasses from the designated reserve routes to another person’s land or house.

    “The bill only punishes the ‘landlords’ and leaves the ‘tenants’ unchecked. The bill cannot be a solution to the random killings, rape, abduction and violent crimes presently associated with herdsmen who are armed with AK-47 rifles while tending their flock.

    “If the government is minded to push such a bill through, by parity of reasoning and logic, then it must also create, by statutory fiat, a similar canopy of corresponding routes for the average cocoa farmers in some states to transport, warehouse and market their cocoa products across Nigeria.

    “The statutory cover should also extend to every other profession, trade and vocation. On a serious note, introduction of such a bill is outrightly ill-advised and ill-conceived.

    “The Federal Government should muster courage to decisively deal with any herdsman who goes on rampage to kill, maim, capture, rape and destroy,” Olanipekun said.

    A constitutional lawyer, Ike Ofuokwu, believes the bill, if passed, will exacerbate rather than solve the problem.

    “The proposed National Grazing Reserve Bill, to me is simply irresponsible and a calculated and deliberate attempt to legalise economic criminality of grabbing someone’s land to cater for the economic and business interest of another, that is to say robbing Peter to pay Paul.

    “The proposed bill, if allowed to scale through, would be a recipe for violence and civil disorder which will do this country no good. More so, it will run contrary to the spirit and intent of the Land Use Act and the customary means of land holding,” he said.

    According to him, the herdsmen are private business men, adding that if they desired a grazing reserve anywhere, they should pool resources to acquire land for it from any community or persons willing to sell land. Ofuokwu said it should not be a national issue.

    “The question that we need to ask is why, all of a sudden, this hitherto peaceful nomadic people, who over the years go about doing their cattle businesses without any molestation and were never hostile to their host communities, decided to jettison their traditional sticks, cutlasses, bows and arrows for the modern AK47 rifles?”

    Ofuokwu expects the government to go tough on the killer-herdsmen. “What was done to those that carried out the genocide in Agatu and other communities before the Enugu massacre? Could this be Boko Haram disguising as herdsmen?

    “Permit me to say that they have sponsors who acquire these arms for them and who own the cattle. So, even if they were given the grazing reserves, it will not take away the AK47 from them.

    “Hence, we need to disarm them first. Failure to do so could put this country in disarray,” he said.

     

    Will the attacks end?

     

    For years, suspected Fulani herdsmen have been in the news for the wrong reasons. In February, 10 Agatu communities were razed and hundreds reportedly massacred by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Former Senate president David Mark’s convoy was ambushed in Agatu when he went to assess what he described as genocide.

    Herdsmen’s attacks did not start today. Reports say 30 people were killed in Galadima Village and another 200  in Zamfara State last April. Ninety-seven persons were reportedly killed last June in Motokun Village in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State and in Ninji and Ropp villages in Plateau State.

    Last September, three persons were said to have been killed in Ndokwa West in Delta State.  A middle-aged woman was raped and killed in Edo State. Last November, 22 men and women were reportedly killed in Ojeh in Dekina, Kogi State.

    On April 9, Fulani herdsmen and youths clashed in Edo. It was gathered the youths were on a revenge attack following the killing of a 64-year- old farmer, Alex Idemitin, whose neck was sliced.

    Last November 8, Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed Chinwuba Ekwueme in Egede in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. Chairman of the Egede Neighbourhood Watch Mr. Donatus Otie said Ekwueme died from gunshot wounds after herdsmen fired at his group.

    On January 24, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Vunokilang Police Station in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State was among 30 people killed in an attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen on a Sunday morning.

     

    Our cattle were attacked

     

    From a group of stick-wielding pastoralists, living essentially a nomadic life, the Fulani herdsmen have transformed into an arms-bearing fighting force, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

    According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, which classifies the herdsmen as a militants, only Iraq and Afghanistan suffered worse terror attacks than Nigeria in 2014.

    Of the 20 deadliest terror attacks globally in 2014, nine occurred in Nigeria, with Boko Haram, which overtook the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as the deadliest terror group, taking credit for eight.

    The ninth, an attack in Galadima, which claimed over 200 lives, was attributed to Fulani herdsmen. While Boko Haram attacks claimed 6,644 lives, Fulani herdsmen, named as the fourth deadliest in the world, were responsible for 1,229 lives, the report said.

    The Army is said to be holding 92 Fulani herdsmen arrested with arms at a military checkpoint between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State.

    Assistant Director, Army Public Relations of the Guards Brigade Capt. Bashir Jajira said 36 of the suspects claimed that they were on a mission to recover their stolen cows.

    He said the 56 others were arrested by the soldiers at a military checkpoint at Dantata on the Abuja Airport Road.

    He said the troops recovered “one pump action gun, 19 cartridge dane guns, 118 cartridge ammo, 28 cutlasses, three jack knives, 14 sticks, seven torch lights, certificate of occupancy, assorted charms and hard drugs.”

    The Fulani community in Benue accused Agatu natives of killing 10,000 cattle belonging to its members.

    Ado Boderi, a Fulani community leader, during a meeting involving Agatu community, Fulani community and Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase, said criminal elements from both sides escalated the crisis. He described Fulani herdsmen as peace-loving people whose main concern was the problem of cattle rustling.

    Prior to last Monday’s attack in the Enugu community, some criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for not condemning the herdsmen activities. But, last Wednesday, he vowed that his administration would continue to ensure the safety of Nigerians in all parts of the country.

    President Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “The armed forces and police have clear instructions to take all necessary action to stop the carnage.”

     

    Can the police cope?

     

    Arase said the 305,000 -strong police is not enough to guarantee security to the country.

    The IGP, while delivering a lecture at the University of Jos (UNIJOS), said policing in Nigeria is particularly difficult because of inadequate logistic and resources (especially transportation, telecommunication, arms and ammunition and accommodation).

    “The challenges notwithstanding, citizens also have a responsibility towards the police. The police will be ineffective if the citizens constantly disrespect, distrust, assault, insult and antagonise the police. Chapter 2 of the Constitution obliges citizens to assist the law enforcement agencies as civic responsibility. Unfortunately, most citizens are either unaware of this obligation or chose to ignore it,” he said.

     

    Prosecute suspects

     

    The Senate has raised a six-man ad-hoc panel to conduct a public hearing this week on the killings by herdsmen. The decision was taken after debate on last Monday’s killings in the Enugu community. They also called for the prosecution of suspects.

    Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka also lashed out at the presidency for its seeming inability to rein in herdsmen.

    His words: “I have yet to hear this government articulate a firm policy of non-tolerance for the serial massacres that have become the nation’s identification stamp.

    “I have not heard an order given that any cattle herders caught with sophisticated firearms be instantly disarmed, arrested, placed on trial, and his cattle confiscated. The nation is treated to an 18-month optimistic plan which, to make matters worse, smacks of abject appeasement and encouragement of violence on innocents.

    “Let me repeat, and of course I only ask to be corrected if wrong: I have yet to encounter a terse, rigorous, soldierly and uncompromising language from this leadership, one that threatens a response to this unconscionable blood-letting that would make even Boko Haram repudiate its founding clerics.”

     

  • Menace of poor goods

    Menace of poor goods

    •Influx of sub-standard products is worrisome

    CONCERNS over the quality of Chinese goods in the Nigerian market have heightened in recent times. The Nigerian public has been exposed to inferior products, with no form of consumer protection. This is dangerous and requires urgent attention by relevant government agencies.

    A survey showed that many African countries have been turned to dumping ground for sub-standard goods rejected by other countries. It is even more insulting that the products, mainly electronic and electrical appliances, and fashion products, are threatening to take over the Nigerian market. In recent years, the volume of bilateral trade per annum has soared from $2 billion in 2002 to $40 billion last year.

    It is unflattering that the economic counsellor in the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria not only confirmed the trend but indicted Nigerian traders and the relevant authorities saddled with regulating import standards. She said her country would step up efforts to check the trend, but a lot must be done at the Nigerian end.

    The status of Chinese economy as the fastest growing cannot be denied. The country, the most populous in the world, has made such steady progress that even the United States of America, as the most industrialised country, has had to introduce protection of local firms to avoid being overrun by Chinese goods. In the USA and Europe, Chinese products are known to be of high standards and durable.

    In Nigeria today, there are Chinese markets known as ‘China towns’ in major cities, but the goods there are so poor and fragile that they fail all tests.  In developed countries, there are specifications for all manufactured goods, whether produced by local or foreign firms. Standards are strictly enforced. But, the Chinese and some other countries from the Far East find Nigeria and other African countries easy to penetrate because of prevailing poverty and poor regulatory framework.

    We therefore call on the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Nigerian Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Investment to ensure that the trend is reversed. Nigerians may be poor, and desire cheap goods, but, in the final analysis, the so-called cheap goods end up being the most expensive.

    We recall the difficulty faced by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) under the leadership of the late Professor Dora Akunyili in combating the fake drug syndrome. It was revealed, as the Chinese economic counsellor said, that unscrupulous Nigerian traders colluded with manufacturers from China and Eastern Europe in subverting our national laws and standards then. The SON should wake up to its responsibility in fighting the current trend.

    The National Assembly and law enforcement agencies also have roles to play in restoring value to the manufacturing process. Outdated laws should be reviewed to deter prospective offenders. We call on the police to realise that national pride is at stake and rise to the occasion.

    Local manufacturing outfits should step up quality that price may no longer be a major attraction for consumers to patronise inferior goods. At a time, Nigerians had disdain for locally produced electric cables. But, people in the construction industry have come to accept that cables made in the country rank among the best in the world. SON should, therefore, ensure that standards of Nigerian goods meet with specifications. In some cases, this could save lives.

    A Federal Government voted into office on the expectation that it would promote quality and change should ensure improved standard of goods and services.

     

  • Menace of child-hawkers 

    SIR: Presently in Lagos, at places such as Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Ikoyi-Obalende, Ojuelegba-Stadium, Oyingbo, Carter Bridge, Idumota, Oshodi, Ketu, Mile 12, Third Mainland Bridge, Cele, Iyana-Ipaja, Agbado, Oke-Odo, Ikeja among others, it is not uncommon to see children ranging from 9-13 years hawking various goods on the roads. Some even take up the hazardous task of bus conductors.

    These children who hawk by the roadsides usually suffer from fatigue, irregular attendance at school if enrolled at all, lack of comprehension and motivation, improper socialization, exposure to risk of sexual abuse, high likelihood of being involved in crime.

    Roadside trading, especially by children of school age, is a negation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and also not in accord with the Lagos State social protection services. However, there is a divergence of opinions on what should be the response of government to street trading.  Some are of the view that government should not enforce ban on street trading on the account that it is an integral part of African custom and tradition. Others see it as a manifestation of both poverty and underdevelopment while some others see it as a natural trend in every major city of the world. But I am strongly of the view that a phenomenon that promotes child trafficking, misuse of public open spaces, insecurity on the highways, traffic gridlock, environmental degradation and violation of human rights should not be allowed to thrive.

    It is, indeed, inhuman for anyone to engage a child in money making venture as seen every day on our roads with children running after moving buses and cars to hawk goods. Aside that, such children are denied basic education which is another important right of every child. Many children have sustained lifelong injuries through street trading and hawking. Moreover, children who engage in hawking or other forms of hard labour may physically wear away before they actually reach the productive age in the economy. Many have died as a result of hawking on the highways.

    With all the environmental menace and insecurity associated with street trading, it is quite obvious that it could birth other social and security problems. It should be stressed that Nigeria has enacted legislation concerning child labour within the Labour Act and has also adopted the Child Right Act (CRA) (2003). A key provision of the CRA is that using children for hawking is a punishable offence while Section 59 (b) of the Labour Act which prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 years in any work which is dangerous and injurious to their health.

    Lagos State government has the  responsibility to execute policies that conform to best practice, that can mitigate environmental nuisance and the security threat which street trading poses to its citizens. It is, therefore, essential for parents to desist from engaging their children as hawkers on the highways. It is good for us to know that death arising from such venture amounts to a loss for the nation. If it leads to permanent incapacitation, it could result to heavy treatment cost by poor parents, loss of educational opportunity to the child hawker and liability to the community and the nation as a whole. For this, our collective efforts should be geared towards securing a better future for our children.

    • Alao Diyaolu

    Agbado- Ijaiye, Lagos.

  • Curb this menace

    Curb this menace

    •The abduction of Chief Olu Falae, and threats of reprisals, call for
    prompt security measures nation-wide.

    The resurgence of kidnapping and other forms of insecurity show that Nigeria still has a long way to go, in making the country safe. In many parts of the country today, people have to keep glancing over their shoulders to keep safe.

    Whereas the terror grip of the North East is the worst form of insecurity in the land, others, including kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling and rape, have become so common place that it could be said that life, as Thomas Hobbes contended, has indeed become short, nasty and brutish.

    It is unfortunate that the state security agencies have failed to come up with measures and mechanisms to bring the situation under control. That is why we call on the Federal Government to come up with adequate security measures that would reassure the populace.

    In the South East, kidnapping, which was once the order of the day, is back, forcing the Anambra State government to embark on demolition of the houses of those believed to be the kingpins, as a deterrence. This is a desperate measure that might offend the sensibility underpinning a modern justice system.

    In the South South, too, prominent people are again being abducted as a means of getting rich quick. The recent abduction of Ms Donu Kogbara, a renowned journalist, called attention to the ever-present danger. Almost always, the distraught relations of the victims are left to seek accommodation with the abductors, with the Police feeling helpless.

    The release of Chief Olu Falae, a former secretary to the Federal Government under the Babangida military government, after four days in the kidnappers’ den, calls for concern and reflection. His age, non-flamboyant lifestyle and resort in retirement to farming made his case attract public sympathy. It drove home the fact that all Nigerians could really be walking in the shadow of death.

    Falae, snatched at his farm near Akure, the Ondo State capital, made President Muhammadu Buhari to order the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to secure the release, forthwith, of the elder citizen and leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    When, therefore, Chief Falae was released, only after four days in captivity, the police was quick in taking the credit. But the Afenifere chieftain has contested the police claim that his family paid no ransom. He insisted that his abductors released him after obtaining proof a sanction had been paid, and even threatened to come back for him should he run his mouth!

    The release of the 77-year-old’s farmer was enough to open a new phase of danger to national cohesion and unity. Chief Falae alluded to the possibility of Fulani herdsmen, with whom he had been having a running battle, over the grazing of cattle on his farm, might  have been his kidnappers — six in all: four armed and only two barely literate.

    But his expose has incensed the Afenifere and the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), both Yoruba ethnic nationality lobby groups, which  reflects the anger among the Yoruba.

    Reports that Fulani herdsmen constitute the most potent danger to public safety in many parts of the country has pushed both groups to threaten that self-help could become inevitable, if the Federal Government failed to put together holistic plans to ward off the danger.

    Still, the herdsmen, too, have legitimate concerns about grazing rights. There are no ranches and land acquired for grazing. Just as farmers like Chief Falae,  in the North central, west or East, have the right to protect their crops. It is therefore left for the government to put in place plans that would guarantee the rights of both sides. The situation should be checked before it spins out of control.

    Nigeria already has enough problems.  So, it can ill afford being  drawn into an inter-ethnic discord on this score. Self-help as a security measure is an indication the state has failed in its primary responsibility. Those known to have infringed the law by abducting law-abiding citizens should be apprehended and prosecuted to assure that all are equal under the law, as well as reassure the people of the capacity of the state to guarantee the lives and property of all.

    Unless this is done, the future would remain bleak.

     

  • The menace of cohabiting

    The menace of cohabiting

    IT was with immense delight that I read of a summit organised by the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) on Cohabitation among students organised by the Students’Affairs division of the institution recently.

    The event was a demonstration that the university was not just concerned about the academic training of the students but their moral grooming as well.

    Cohabitation, the act of male and female students living together, occurs mostly in the off-campus residential setting. It is usually between student couples that have romantic relationships.  In a few other cases, one stranded student takes in the other. How easy it is for them to live together on a platonic basis is left only for those in the situation to tell us. But we all know that it is almost humanly impossible, save for the highest level of discipline and divine grace, for two young people of the opposite sex who are not married to live together in one room for as long as a session and nothing would happen sexually.

    As a result of globalisation, our values have become very liberal. But it does not take away the fact that our culture frowns at sexual intimacy between young people who are unmarried. Also, no parent, who manages to have the time to visit his or her ward in their school, would be happy to find them living with the opposite sex in the same room or apartment.

    Even if two students are dating, they should not cohabit as long as they are not married.  As students, their primary responsibility in school is to study and learn technical, social and soft skills in the process of relating with their lecturers, classmates, roommates and others they come across. All these are enough to create conflict, adventure, excitement, all kinds of experiences.  Adding cohabitation to it is a burden not worth bearing.  It is a burden that they undertake prematurely, without social or legal approval. As I noted during the summit, it is a burden that adversely affects their academics, psychological, economic, and other areas of life.

    Many young people tend to be in a hurry.  They want to grow up very fast and gain freedom to do ‘adult’ things.  But there is nothing that comes 100 per cent free of responsibilities.  Adults are envious of the carefree lives of young people – they are full of life, not overwhelmed by the cares of the world and have an abundance of enthusiasm that makes them feel they can take on any challenge. Once that stage is over – usually marked by graduation, responsibilities begin.That is why young people should treasure their youth and not purposely complicate their lives with matters that would naturally come when the time is right.

    Complications could come by way of unwanted pregnancy.  No student who is unmarried has business getting pregnant.  Childbearing and rearing is not a joke.  It is not for the unprepared youth.  It has the potential of derailing their future and that of the baby if not properly managed.  The sad part is that once pregnancy happens, the ‘couple’that previously could not live apart suddenly cannot stand each other.

     

  • The menace of bullion vans

    SIR: Gone are the days when financial institutions transfer hard currencies from one institution to another almost unnoticed, the seemingly inexorable rise in crime over the years and the fear of the uncertainty has made financial institutions to adopt stringent security measures in the transfer of large sums of money from one location to another. And one of such measures is the use of bullion vans with retinue of police escorts.

    In more organized climes, cashless policies have made transactions very easy and convenient, all transactions and purchases are made through the use of credit cards, cheques and direct transfers from one account to another.

    This has greatly limited the flow of currencies from one location to another in such climes but here in Nigeria, the reverse is the case. The nature of our economy and other factors has made cashless policy an impossible a task.

    There’s hardly a day in a week that will pass by without the wails of sirens of bullion vans and their retinue of escorts transporting cash from one location to another. One won’t be concerned if such movements are done in an orderly way. But the way they ply the roads with their over bloated escorts makes one wonder if we are in a siege. On the road, they harass and intimidate other motorists who in most cases, not their fault in the obstruction of their convoys.

    They don’t obey traffic lights neither do they exercise patience in traffic gridlock, they must find their way out. If it’s possible to ride on people’s cars to get to their destinations, these security escorts wouldn’t mind, they don’t care about the pains they subject motorists and other road users to. On daily basis they exhibit their lawlessness on our roads through the firing of gun shots into the air to scare motorists, at other times they use sticks to hit on cars they think are obstructing traffic or use their whips on such drivers. Road users are not left out too. Most times in trying to avoid those convoys, motorists end up involving themselves in serious accidents.

    From Owerri to Asaba, Oshodi to Otukpo and Potiskum, the story remains the same across the federation.

    A bullion van attached to about three or four trucks filled with stern looking armed police men cannot obey traffic rules and you wonder why the hurry with all those heavily armed police men? Who will attack a bullion van in a hold up surrounded by unbearably large number of security escorts?

    In as much as financial institutions need security escorts in carrying out such a task, must it be to our detriment?

    Our economic activities shouldn’t be brought to a halt because banks are transferring money from one location to another. Carrying out such a task in a decent manner won’t make those security escorts less human neither will it devalue the currencies on their vans.

    Nigerian motorists are humans and should be treated as one, if all road users who are being subjected to untold hardships and torture on our roads on daily basis decides not to patronize banks, I wonder if there will be any need for movement of money from one location to another.

    Both Federal and State governments should not feign ignorance or treat such salient issues as though trivial, our financial institutions need to be cautioned and if possible, enforce laws that will regulate their excesses on our roads. It will go a long way in bringing sanity on our high ways.

     

    • Joe Onwukeme

    unjoeratedjoe@gmail.com

     

  • Menace of taxi robbers

    Menace of taxi robbers

    Robbers operating in cabs may well be the worst nightmare of residents of the nation’s capital, Abuja. GRACE OBIKE tracks some of their tactics

    Every capital has them: the wily pickpocket and the itinerant dupe with a phoney accent pretending to be a francophone visitor. Still, the worst scourge of Abuja must be the gangs which specialise in dispossessing their unsuspecting passengers of their cash in addition to putting them in all sorts of danger. Some say all the horrible tales they once heard of Lagos have been replicated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The cab robbers are the scariest of all the criminals. Everyone knows that Abuja residents love their taxis, which are the robbers’ veritable tools of operation. They are also cheap to ride, going for as low as N200 or even lower for N150. This is unlike Lagos where taxi fares are almost a fortune.

    You board a taxi, believing all you have for company is the driver. As the ride progresses, the driver finds an excuse to make a detour to a lonely road. He stops the vehicle pretending to have discovered a serious fault. Suddenly, his accomplice jumps out of hiding, threatens the passenger with a weapon and takes away all he has.

    When you seek help or intervention from bystanders as the rogues flee, people often tell you to thank God you escaped alive.

    According to most residents of the nation’s capital, the incidence of robbers operating in cars has been on the increase in the last few years, especially along Kubwa Expressway, Jabi, Berger and other parts of Abuja.

    The fraudsters have adopted the technique of driving by busy bus stops with sometimes three rogue-passengers on board. Without completely slowing down, they mark out people standing alone and wait for the person to ask if they are going to a particular place. The victim feeling lucky amongst other passengers, boards, feeling safe since there are already people inside, sometimes a female among them.

    The occupants of the vehicle will be so friendly and eager to accommodate their victim and give him as much comfort as possible. The car speeds off only to get to an isolated road a few minutes from where they picked the passenger and the first passengers begin to discuss dollars and pounds being in the boot of the vehicle or electronics to sell.

    An unsuspecting victim may even join in the conversation which is the easiest way that they can achieve their goal and the victim will be lucky if they just stop at stealing his money and possessions on them because most go as far as making the victim clear out the accounts for them.

    The scariest part in the taxi robbery is that the rogues do not only threaten their victims but hurt them so badly in some cases, some even killed. They operate with such deadly weapons as guns, knives and swords. Helpless victims submit to their will but some of the evil ones, after dispossessing their victims of their belongings, throw them out of moving vehicles.

    One such case was that of a woman who after being robbed was thrown out of a vehicle. She did not fall off completely and was dragged over a distance by the speeding vehicle. Her skin was said to have peeled off in the ordeal.

    Many others have been beaten severely, some scared off at fake shrines where they are forced to swear never to divulge their criminal act to anyone, not their relatives or the police.

    To them, it is just plain hustling and trying to make ends meet. A victim, who recently fell into their trap, spoke with Abuja Review, saying that her abductors kept saying that they were hustling just like everyone else. The victim who only spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “As they beat me and took all the money in my bag, one of the men kept saying, I must make it in this Abuja, sebi we are all in Abuja, I must make it, come rain, come shine, nothing will stand between me and success.”

    Another resident John Ishaku told Abuja Review how the criminals sent a foreigner running away from her work and Nigeria. Ishaku explained that his Kenyan friend was duped and dragged to a shrine somewhere in Jahi.

    “After the incident,” he said, “she came back to tell us that they had not only stolen all the money in her purse, but dragged her to a shrine and made her swear in the shrine not to divulge their act to anyone or call the police. They went with her to the ATM and she cleared out the account for them. She was so scared, and spent three days in church fasting and crying on the altar. She refused to leave the church even after she had been convinced by the pastor that she was OK and not under any form of spell. She packed her belongings and left Nigeria for good. Something has to be done about these people. Abuja is a place filled with so many foreigners and not just Nigerians. These criminals are spoiling the name of this country.”

    Resident of Abuja has a way of handling these criminals when they are caught: instant jungle justice unless they are lucky to be saved by law enforcement agencies. There have been cases of a crowd giving them the beating of their lives. A few years ago, a video went viral of an Abuja crowd that stripped some of these criminals naked and beat them up. The criminals were thrown down from an overhead bridge, which was really gruesome. Another group which defrauded a victim along Area I last year was chased and blocked in the traffic, one of them lucky to have escaped but the second was taught a lesson that if he survived it, he would think twice about embarking on another mission.

    However when contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) FCT Command, ASP Anjuguri Manzah said that the cases of one chance in Abuja has actually decreased because the FCT police commissioner CP Wilson Inalegwu has made progressive efforts in curbing criminality in Abuja.

    He stated that, “the Commissioner has given directives that crimes and criminal activities in the FCT should be stamped out by all means, we have been working on his directive and the cases of one chance has actually reduced drastically, we are making good efforts to ensure that the FCT becomes crime free and residents can live free and without any fear of intimidation.

    “We deal with the cases of one chance often, whenever we catch them or they are reported to our stations, we don’t keep themý, we charge them to court immediately and they are prosecuted. Residents can be assured that the police is making all efforts in ensuring their safety.”

    The decline or increase in criminal activities in the FCT especially in cases of the one chance will still have to be left for residents to decideý, a resident who might have encountered this hoodlums frequently may not be eager to agree that it has declined but people will have to be careful, security conscious at all times and be careful of how they board vehicles in isolated parts of town.

     

  • The menace of indecent dressing

    Before the coming of colonial masters, communities that were merged to form what is called Nigeria today were known for their rich culture and traditions. However, with the advent of colonialism, some of the cherished values and age-long traditions of these communities were traded away. People abandone their mode of dressing for the English wears. Since then, the sense of fashion of the colonial masters has become prominent.

    Today, many Nigerians cannot do without foreign dressing style. One thing that must be noted is that, many of these European modes of dressing have relegated our cultures to the background and given prominence to alien culture.

    The idea that a lady should put on trousers and mini skirt, and that a man should sag his trouser are what we have copied from foreign climes. All these are alien to our culture. Mini skirt is a short that reveals the sensory parts of a lady. Sagging, on its own, portrays rascality and abnormal behaviour in the society.

    In a traditional African society, wearing of mini skirt and sagging of trousers is abominable and embarrassing. We imbibe odd culture to erode our values in the name of civilisation. In Africa, mode of dressing commands respect.

    Good dressing is good business. It will elicit respect in all ramifications; and most importantly, it will save women the trauma of being raped. Indecent dressing is a social malady that cuts across many countries of the world. It is the deliberate exposure of one’s body to the public. This habit is embraced by all ages in the society but it is prevalent among the youth, especially girls. Dresses that are meant as stage costumes for musicians and actresses are worn by our some youths as everyday attires. A teenager must be cautious of the kind of clothes he puts on.

    Indecent dressing, no matter how we link it to civilisation, has no place in African culture. Our culture places so much prestige on dignity and humanity. Whether in the West or African society, indecent dressing is the major cause of the various despicable vices and harassment.

    Alas, this menace is gradually becoming a norm and the etiquette in African communities. Our culture is being eroded by impolite mode of dressing. Culturally, a country will remain a progressive nation if its citizens promote its culture through observance. But, a reverse is the case in today’s African society.

    Among ladies of today, horrible dresses, such as mini skirt, bumper short, armless and show back popularly known as spaghetti tops are the order of the day. One needs more than a gift of discernment to differentiate a prostitute among ladies who dress in provocative wears.

    Men are also culpable in this social malady.  There is no reason for a child who hails from good home to keep dreadlocks on his head or pierce his ears in the name of fashion. The question is: who do we blame for this malaise? Parents? Society? Or peer group? I leave this to reader’s imagination.

    To curb the menace of indecent dressing, parents should play good role models to instill morality in their children. They must give their children attention and regulate the type of movies they watch at homes. The mass media must promote good moral values, while religious organisations must preach against it. Introduction of dress codes in colleges or universities will also help to stem these obscene dresses. All these are necessary if decency must be achieved. Let us revive our culture; let us imbibe the fashion that suits our society.

     

    •Fisayo is of the International Institute of Journalism, Ado-Ekiti

  • Curbing the menace requires collective effort

    Curbing the menace requires collective effort

    Dr. Owoeye Olugbenga, a psychiatrist at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, tells Medinat Kanabe and Sina Fadare in this interview that all hands must be on deck to help hemp smokers quit the habit.

    Smoking of India hemp is very rampant among teenagers nowadays, what do you think is the cause?

    Let me start with what constitute drug abuse. Drug abuse is a mal-adaptive form of using drug or substances that now leads to clinically significant impairment or distress in the individual affected, as manifested by the re- current use of that substance resulting in failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, at school, or home. Two, when the individual is using the drug and it leads to physically assiduous situation in the person, we can say the person is abusing substances and three, when the person is continuously using the drug to the extent that the individual is now having persistent or re-current social or inter- personal problems as a result of substances been used, then we say the person is abusing drugs.

    Apart from the socially acceptable drugs, the commonest drug that is abused is cannabis, otherwise known as Indian hemp, ganger, etc. We discovered that the use of this drug tends to be commonly among the adolescents and the young adults. But now, we are having reports of younger children now using it because Indian hemp is easily available and very cheap.

    What are the implications of teenagers in that age embracing hard drugs?

    Some will say it gives them boldness to approach any issue, others take it to be strong and bold. In the process, when they now discover the consequences, they realise that they are on the wrong part.

    Not that alone, when they take it, the pleasurable feelings associated with these drugs, give them the audacity to continue.  So if you cannot afford to stop on your own, the problem now sets in. Any attempt to stop will lead to withdrawer symptoms, which they don’t normally enjoy. Therefore they continue.

    If they continue like that, what is likely to be the end of such journey?

    When they continue with the use of the drugs, like Indian hemp for instance, it affects three 3 major areas of their lives: the social, the socio-physiological well-being, and their physical condition. Socially because of the use of these medications (drugs), they will now be unable to fulfill their major obligations, whether in schools, at their place of work or at home. As a result, they are not able to function socially, educationally and occupationally. So there is impairment in these major areas. Some of them teenagers eventually drop out of school.

    Not that alone; because their sense of judgment also becomes poor, they engage in risky sexual behaviours. They are depressed; they fight unnecessarily and refuse to interact. They also are not bothered about making progress in life. Later the physiological manifestation set in, when they start seeing what they are not supposed to see, and hearing what they are not supposed to hear. At that stage, they start to become aggressive and uncontrollable.

    What can government do to arrest this situation?

    There are three approaches to this. The first is that the public should be educated about the evil of smoking Indian hemp. This crusade should be taken to the schools, where it will be included in their curriculum. Secondly the government should block the supply chain. Those who are selling it should be apprehended and seriously punished. The farms should be destroyed and all the rest, so that these things will not be available anymore. When this thing is not available, the price will now be costly, such that most people will not be able to afford it. There should also be a law against the use, the selling and the cultivation of the weed. The law needs to be active and all the culprits should be punished. No sacred cows.

    Also, there should be earlier identifications and prompt treatment. Those who have the problem should come out for help because they cannot stop it on their own. Relatives should also assist them to come out and receive treatment. After their rehabilitation and treatment, they should be encouraged to go into vocational jobs, where they will be engaged and earn a living. With constant monitoring and availability of something to engage them, they may be redeemed.

  • Curbing the menace of noise pollution

    When I look at our dear country, the question that comes to my mind is, when shall we grow out of this present primordial stage?

    Anytime I wake up in the night to read, it is either one church is observing a vigil or another one is busy carrying out deliverance service on their members. In Port Harcourt where I live there are churches scattered all over and even the one mosque situated about three kilometers to my house is not exempted as early in the morning sounds emanate from the loud speakers calling their members to come for early morning prayers in the mosque. Along our streets, audio cassette sellers are busy dishing out  their own sounds from their strategically located speakers while self-acclaimed doctors dealing in herbal mixtures use their loud speakers to dish out wrong medical information to unsuspecting members of the public. The police escorts to bullion vehicles as well as government officials also contribute theirs  quota with sirens to the sound pool.

    Please,can’t we have noiseless zones in this country?.How do we intend to succeed in this part of the world when we are not given the right environment to develop our brains?At times different floors of a four storey building will be occupied by different churches and their services may clash such that the sounds emanating from their loud speakers can cause destructive interference (thanks to physicists). The annoying aspect of all this is that when one rises to fight this nuisance, the religious houses will dub one an agent of darkness.

    What a modern colonialism?

    I call on our governments, if they still exist, to enact laws that will regulate the noisy activities of these religious houses. The way we have industrial estates, that  should be the way we will have religious estates. Residential areas must be strictly residential in the real sense of it. If one runs away to the hotels to avoid the noise pollution, some churches have taken over the main halls in many hotels.

    Our religious leaders should tell us how their experiences were like all the time they visited London and other saner climes for their holidays. Also, even in the Middle East where both Christianity and Islam originated, do they have the type of noise pollution we have in this country?

    The most annoying aspect of our present government is that if a moslem governor starts regulating this noise pollution, the opposition political party will attempt to score political point by telling the citizens that the governor is carrying out a religious agenda just as the reverse would be the case if a Christian governor wants to rid the state of this noise pollution. The type of opposition we have in Nigeria today is such that if a governor wants to deal with teachers that forged certificates and dates of birth to secure teaching jobs, the opposition will go and join forces with the teachers and their relatives/sympathisers  to vote out the government from power.

    My only concern is the inability of our ministries of environment to rise up to the challenge. Socrates, it was that said that an unexamined life is not worth living. How then do we intend examining our life in the midst of our present noisy environment?

     

    Dr Paul John

    Port Harcourt,Rivers State.