According to Franz Fanon "History will never forgive those who know the right thing, but decide to fold their arms and watch the forces of degradation and iniquity to prevail in our midst".
Since the criminal act of kidnapping came into Ika land particularly, Ika North/East Local Government Area, no visible and concrete effort has been made by the political class in steming the tide, considering their invovlement in the proliferation of offensive weapons in the land through the use of militia groups for the rigging of the 2007 general elections and the hijacking of ballout boxes.
However, the recent kidnap of Mr. John Ukperegbu a.k.a Juvico Oxford has really exposed the poor security network of the society despite the deployment of military men after the ugly incident of 20th July,2008, when Sir Chief A.O.U Okowa was kidnapped.
In fact,the continued embarrasment of this menace is a pointer to the fact that the root cause of this problem is yet to be addressed by various stakeholders, especially the politicians who enjoy the evil of subverting the legitimate voting rights of the people through the use of arms & ammunitions.
To worsen the situation, the authority of Ika North-East Local Government council has remain silent on this deadly act of kidnap, considering the position of 1999 constitution under section 14(subsection 2b) which provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, whether it is elected by the people, selected by political manipulators or appointed by an individual.
To all intents & purposes, one would have asked the local government chairman, Hon. Festus Iweriebor to give a detailed account of the monthly use of the security vote of N1.5 million, since the Police, the State Security Services(SSS) and other security operatives within the domain of Ika North/East are majorly confronted with the challenges of using obsolate security equipment in fighting a Hi-tech crime of such nature,considering the psychological trauma the alleged victims are subjected to.
Security vote by law is meant for the provision of modern & up-to-date security equipment, communication gadgets, infrastructural facilities,vehicles and other security materials to the police,in order to improve effectively the actual policing of the society.And not for leisures and funs.
In reality,the police in Ika North-East has been over-stretced by the activities of this kidnappers.And as such, the constitutional mandate of protecting,defending and safeguarding the citizens is now in a serious jeopardy with the gradual disintegration of the society into a state of anarchy where hooliganism will become the order of the day.
The greatest evil that can threaten the fundamental right to life is the absence of total security. This is why the local government Chairman, as the Chief Security Officer of the area, should as a matter of principle, avoid the approach of keeping mute when the affected victim is not a politician.It’s a bad trend and it reminds us the warning of Yevgeny Yevtushenko, that if we forget the victim of yesterday’s sorrow, we could become the victim of tomorrow.
The affluents & the wealthy businessmen should also be involved in the improvement of the security lapses in the town through the provisions of vehicles, sophisticated equipment like closed circuit televisions(CCTV), computer systems, and other security materials to the police, instead of building walls of jericho as residential fence which cannot guarantee their safety in the deadly face of the underworld.
The church leaders and the traditional institutions should inculcate good morals to their followers with much emphasis on love and care rather than prosperity for wealth and the wicked love for money, which has enveloped the heart of men, thereby given rise to the purpose of kidnapping for financial gains.They should also learn to do good works, particularly the rich among them in order to obey the bibilical instructions of God as it is written in the Holy book of 1 Timothy 6 verse 17-19.
On the part of the people, they should be ready and willing to offer useful information to the police on the activities of criminals and persons with suspicious characters, since the triumph of evil is for good men and women to seat down and do nothing.
The existing political and palace militia groups should be dismantled,while the operational mechanism of the police,the military and the State Security Services (SSS) should be re-structured & re-organised to enhance the intelligent gathering reports of criminals and cult related activities, in order to start nipping the act of kidnapping of politicians and businessmen alike in the bud.
Security is a constitutional duty of every person, irrespective of status, religious persuasion, sex, ethnic group, language, political group, birth or origin.And as such, all hands must be on deck to ensure that Ika North-East is free from kidnapping and other social vices.
Finally, unless the present political class depart from the crude use of armed thugs for electoral malpratices and embrace the principle of ONE MAN ONE VOTE as advocated by COMRADE (GOV.) ADAMS OSHIOMOLE, and create meaningful jobs for the army of unemployed youths by building industries, the issue of kidnap will continue unabated and the deployment of soldiers as an alternative solution to the problem of insecurity will be a mirage and ad infinitum.
" THE HOTTEST SEAT IN HELL IS RESERVED FOR THOSE WHO KEEP SILENT IN THE FACE OF TYRANNY AND OPPRESSION!"
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