Among the Igbo of South East Nigeria there’s this saying that if people are afraid to talk to their king they use baskets to cover their face and talk to him. In Anambra it seems many are loath to talk to the chief security officer of their state, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, concerning the terrible security situation in the state.
At best they do what we call running round in circles when they talk to him. Why? Was he not elected to do their bidding? Or are they afraid to lose certain favours?
Anyways, I’ve decided as a very worried citizen to talk to him about the scourge of kidnappings in his state which he seems to gloss over. Anambra is no longer a place to be happy in. No one knows what fate to befall them as they leave home. I don’t want to talk about cultism because it’s a lesser evil, being that they MOSTLY kill themselves. I want to dwell rather on the spate of kidnappings and daylight robberies across the state to which our governor seems to have no answer.
They hit and run at will. They operate fearlessly and drive away leisurely. There was a day ten kidnap incidents took place across the state but no one heard a whimper from Soludo. He was as quiet as Buhari during his day in the face of all kinds of turmoils. Soludo didn’t even console the victims’ families. Rather, he went on shouting “Solution! Solution! from the roof tops, while his house burned. It is annoying. These days, to talk is to be termed a member of the opposition but should that deter us?
In Anambra today it is risky to drive a big car and suicidal to look rich. People like that have become endangered species. More and more people are choosing to hold events outside the state. Flavour, the hip-hop crooner, secretly buried his father in Anambra and conducted the funeral in Enugu. A high profile religious event was to be held in Anambra but the visiting prelate was advised by his embassy to avoid coming because of insecurity.
Indeed, nowhere is now safe in Anambra. Before it used to be places like Orsumoghu, Azia, Ukpor, Umunze, Ihiala, etc, but not anymore. You could now be kidnapped inside your house! It happened in Awka. It is now a very frightening situation. It is made hopeless by the lack of reassuring words from Mr Governor. Perhaps he’s secretly planning a surprise. I pray so. But from his body language, I see little to cheer me.
The situation in Anambra needs drastic actions and not high falutin grammar. Any wonder that people have increasingly begun to call for the return of the unconventional but effective security outfit called Bakassi? I’m lending my voice to it too. What we have on ground now can’t be solved by wearing kid gloves and it continues to worsen by the day!
In the absence of Bakassi Boys, I call for people to mobilize themselves and launch what we call “Boys Oyee!” This happened last in the late 70s in Onitsha and claimed the scalps of such notorious criminals as Otondo. It brought quietude in it’s aftermath. Bakassi remains the best option though, regardless of what some human rights crooners may say. Such an outfit, if well supervised, is the best option at the moment. Many young people have become addicted to kidnapping and you can only stop them by eliminating them.
Very soon their target will become anyone that has a potbelly or wears good shoes. Should Soludo wait for such a time? By that time, even if you park your car at home and use public transport you’ll not be safe. It’s already happening as many have fallen victim to Keke and shuttle bus robberies and kidnappings.
Las, las, as they say, if there’s anything in the state today that needs a SOLUTION, it is insecurity. It is only those who live that can drive on Soludo’s good roads.
Soludo, it’s now or never. Save your people!
~ Citizen Jude
