COLUMNISTS
SARS and The Youth Revolt
The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi, Email: [email protected]
Events of the past one week across the country have revealed the true character of the Nigerian police: It is an institution that still sees its role as basically to put down any form of dissent or resistance, including to glaring injustice. Even at the cost of human lives. Only a few days of protests and we are already counting bodybags. Trending videos feature supposed officers of the law kicking and punching women on the streets. In contrast, there have been daily protests in Hong Kong for the past 16 months over a contentious bill that has been withdrawn. Not a single one of their nationals has been killed by the police.
The dissolution of the Federal Special Anti-Robery Squad (F-SARS) by the Inspector General of the Police, Mohammed Adamu, is commendable. But, as has become evident, the decision may not be enough to change a culture built on abuse of power by those tasked with protecting citizens. This is therefore a momentous period in the history of our country and we should not waste the opportunity to reform the police as an institution and the entire administration of justice in Nigeria.
Let’s be clear. There is hardly any police authority in the world that does not have special formations to deal with specific crimes. So, there was no problem with the establishment of SARS. But such units are considered special because of their expertise, experience and exposure; not how brutally their personnel treat citizens. As Danladi Midenda (the retired Commissioner of Police who pioneered SARS alongside retired AIG Taiwo Lakanu in 1992) has said, the unit started with operatives who were professional in conduct and diligent in their assignment. But somewhere along the line, they lost their way. They started to dabble into all sorts of issues, including forcefully prying into bank account details on the mobile phones of road users for the purpose of extortion and breaking into people’s homes to conduct raids on pots of soup (Reuben Abati is my witness!).
I must commend the tenacity of our young men and women who have been very clear about the objective of their protests. They want to live as free citizens in their country without being molested or criminalised by agents of state. They have organized themselves in a brilliant and professional manner. They have also drawn support from Nigerians in the Diaspora. They are mobilizing funds for the injured, legal representation for those arrested and are generally watching out for one another. I even notice that they move around with mobile toilets. Having internationalized the struggle, they have also made it a news item on major television networks.
From German footballer (and Arsenal player) like Mesut Ozil who tweeted “End oppression and SARS brutality in Nigeria” to Canadian rapper, Drake and several other international celebrities, Nigeria is now trending globally but not for the right reason. In his message, American singer, Trey Songz hit at the crux of the matter: “Police brutality here in America often is an abuse of power-driven by race. To be brutalized, extorted, and murdered by your own people is unimaginable. Prayers up and I’m researching ways I can help. #EndSARS.”
The statement by rave-making musician, Burna Boy, is also noteworthy because it speaks to the challenge at hand. Operatives of SARS and other police units are adept at profiling their targets. Where Burna Boy got it wrong is to assume it is about age groups. It is not, even if young people have been at the receiving end of their brutality. Opportunism drives their criminality. SARS operatives involved in these sordid practices were always careful in the selection of victims and we can see evidence from the fatalities recorded from their atrocities over the years. Despite their obsession with ‘Yahoo Boys’, they would gladly serve as escorts for ‘Hushpuppi’ because they know such characters will ‘drop’ even before they ask.
A former Minister stripped four female staff almost naked for allegedly stealing his money, recorded them, posted the video online and then handed them over to the police to complete the remaining part of the jungle justice. The poor ladies spent four days in detention before they were saved by a social media campaign. It is now three weeks since that former minister rebuffed a police invitation despite being ‘declared wanted’. He is moving about with police details who, according to a statement by the Delta State Director of Public Prosecution, were also involved in the molestation of the women. SARS operatives never disturb such people.
In the October 2009 edition of ‘Africa Renewal’, a quarterly publication of the United Nations, there was an extensive report on policing on the continent titled, ‘Security for the Highest Bidder’. Not surprisingly, Nigeria featured prominently. Relying on research conducted by two Professors at the University of Wales (Rita Abrahamsen and Michael Williams), the report specially focused on our oil sector, where companies pay to retain the services of official policemen. “Such officers are paid and controlled by the companies. The researchers found that Shell employs 1,200 such officers, ExxonMobil over 700 and Chevron approximately 250. In addition, oil companies routinely rely on the heavily armed state paramilitary police (MOPOL) to secure their operations. Shell also uses over 600 armed police and MOPOL officers. Virtually all levels of public force, including the military, have been integrated into the day-to-day security arrangements of the oil industry to a degree where it is often difficult to determine where public policing ends and private security begins,” the researchers noted.
Ordinarily we can excuse this anomaly on grounds that the oil sector is critical to our country’s economic survival. But this arrangement, according to the two researchers, leaves no room for accountability because the money paid by oil companies for these police officers, “do not go into the public coffers but instead to individual high-ranking officers.” The report stated further that “acquiring the ‘initial permission from the inspector general to utilize MOPOL officers’ costs the equivalent of $800. Then the equivalent of $335 goes to each unit and station commander. Another $13 is allocated for each MOPOL officer per 12-hour shift, paid to the unit commander, plus a $2 supplement for food.”
When you institutionalise this sort of opaque arrangement for police personnel whose primary function is to maintain law and order in the society, then you have left the door open for bad behaviour at practically all levels. What goes for the oil companies applies to the banks and big businesses. So invariably, what we have is a transactional structure of maintaining law and order that is founded on a culture of ‘returns’. The result was what we saw on the streets with SARS operatives who were behaving like mercenaries and licensed thugs.
Now that an inquisition has begun into the activities of SARS, we must accept that the media is also complicit in this matter, requiring reorientation across board. “While the law presumes crime suspects to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law”, I wrote in December 2017, “men and officers of SARS take such persons to be guilty until they are able to prove innocence in their (SARS) own ‘court’ where suspects are detained and tortured to make ‘confessional statements’ after which they are paraded before the media. With reporters participating in the ‘cross-examination’ of these suspects, usually from the poor of our society, they are easily lured into incriminating themselves and for many, that is a one-way ticket to the grave.”
The statement by President Muhammadu Buhari that disbanding SARS was just a first step in efforts to reform the police is reassuring. More reassuring is the fact that a multi-stakeholder forum comprised of representatives of civil society organisations, activists from the entertainment industry and the ENDSARS movement as well as development partners has already begun meeting. But the president is in a Catch-22 situation and there are no easy options in the days, and possibly weeks, ahead. I recommend yesterday’s column in Daily Trust by retired federal permanent secretary, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed titled, ‘SARS: From policing to governance’. There is so much to learn from it by presidential handlers.
As we seek solution to this perplexing challenge, what we must ensure is that reform of the police include the issue of their welfare. When those to whom the state has given guns to protect us are practically left to their own devices and treated in a manner that devalues their self-esteem and that of their immediate families—as can be glimpsed from the deplorable condition of police barracks—we cannot complain when some behave like animals. Even from their appearance, it is evident that many of the rank and file have been brutalized by the state and society. It is therefore no surprise that they lack compassion when dealing with fellow citizens.
I have spoken to many retired senior police officers in the past few days and they seem unhappy about what they see as an attempt to rubbish the institution. We must do everything to avoid that. When personnel of the Nigeria Police go for United Nations operations anywhere in the world, not only do they excel, they are rated highly on professionalism and integrity. There are several men and women within our police who are honest in their dealings, patriotic citizens and professional in discharging their duties. That is why we must isolate the bad eggs within and not tar everybody with the same brush. I have been made to understand that provisions of The Police Regulations actually hold individual police personnel accountable for their actions. So, even in terms of discipline, there are internal mechanisms to deal with the problem in the dissolved SARS unit.
It is unfortunate that the federal government was slow to act on the SARS crisis and is therefore complicit in the escalation. And while actions already taken might be commendable, protesters are unyielding because promises had been made in the past and a trust deficit exists. There is therefore an urgent need to rebuild that trust with more proactive and robust engagement with our young citizens. There is also a need for a clear plan for reforming the police, with specific activities and timelines. It should include complete reorientation and an effective consequence management accountability mechanism to rein in the culture of impunity that led to the current crisis. Fortunately, there are several reports on the reform of the police based on presidential panels that were established in the past. What has been lacking is the political will to implement any. President Buhari should seize the moment.
Meanwhile, since the federal government is conceding some ground, it may be necessary for our young people to design a new and sustained strategy for the next stage of their campaign. I monitor what many of their leaders are saying on Twitter (the only social media platform I operate) so I am well aware that it is not popular to tell them to take this dialogue from the streets. But I will say it nonetheless (let them drag this old man!). Continuing on the streets may have its utility, but it is also prone to hijack by people with other interests. Should that happen, it will detract from the hard and long work that they have done in the past one week and may divide their rank. Besides, if they continue the protests, the federal government could lose patience and begin to apply heavy-handed measures that may include drafting in the military as we saw on Tuesday in Abuja. We must do everything to avoid further bloodshed. Some interests may also recruit thugs to disrupt the protests and instigate violence. In Abuja, there are entrepreneurs who provide such services. To worsen the situation, I have seen video clips of shadowy youth groups who disparage the protests as part of a broader agenda by a section of the country against the government. When that sort of dangerous and patently dubious narrative is allowed to gain ground, especially under the current toxic political environment, our young people could easily be divided along ethno-religious lines. Once that happens, they will be defeated.
A unique feature of the protests which we must come back to interrogate is the leadership role being played by our women. I was driving past the police headquarters last Saturday in Abuja when I ran into protesters led by Aisha Yesufu. I had to park my vehicle and within the few minutes I spent with them, my concise observation was that there were almost as many women as men in the crowd. In other cities across the country, women are also playing leading roles. On social media, their voices are loud as well and they seem to be in charge of the logistics.
On the whole, now that our young people have proved that they are not simply interested in what Erica and KiddWaya are doing under the bedsheets in Ebuka’s BBNaija House but also politically conscious, I hope they will continue to use that power to demand accountability in all spheres and at all levels of leadership in our country. If they manage that power and the voice they have found, it may just signpost the dawn of a new Nigeria.
Still on NAKED ABUSE!
“This seminal work by Olusegun Adeniyi, ‘NAKED ABUSE: Sex for Grades in African Universities’ is a tour d’ horizon of cases of sexual predators in 29 African countries, including Nigeria that has had a fair share of the plague. This book has put a sense of urgency for the adoption of Sexual Harassment Policy at all levels of Education to ensure safe learning environment” —Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, OON, Professor of Law, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Trafficking. Interested readers can now get their copy of the book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3jEfMhF
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Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) Chief Eze Chumwuemeka, has expressed discomfort at the continued lamentations of the People’s Democratic Party over the recent movement of Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State from the badly perforated umbrella that has lost the strength and capacity to maintain its relevance and shield members from the rains, to the progressives family.
In a statement made available to media houses, the party Chief restated that it remains within the exclusive preserve of every member of a political party to pitch tent with another political association where his genuine grievances, especially those affecting public interests are not properly addressed, noting that the unnecessary blabbing of the opposition party on the issue is a gross display of deliberate iconoclasm.
Excerpts from the statement read “I have watched with utter disbelief and nostalgia the naked and macabre dance by some PDP bigwigs since Engr. Dave Nwaze Umahi, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State and South East Chairman of Governors Forum decided to join forces with the ruling party at the centre, the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in order to give political direction to Ndi Igbo”.
“By his defection to the APC, Governor Umahi, has proven that he is politically ahead of his peers and especially, considering his developmental strides in turning Ebonyi State, a once neglected and underdeveloped State in Nigeria into the most developed State in the country”
The APC chieftain averred that the infrastructural revolution ignited by his administration in Ebonyi state is a very critical tool and determinant factor in governance and justifies his defection from the crippling and sinking People Democratic Party to the progressives family. He said Umahi’s movement has suddenly ignited the daily babbling of misguided leaders of the PDP who have now resorted to acts of ill will in a bid to distract the performing Governor from his determination to make the difference in governance.
Chief Eze said Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State kick-started the attacks on the erstwhile exceptional leader of PDP in the South East for defecting to APC and after shouting himself hoarse, the embattled and soon to be sacked National Chairman of PDP, Chief Uche Secondus followed suit with the wrong perception that calling Governor Umahi unprintable names will will win him favour to sustain his office.
Furthermore, Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the ensuing efforts to disparage Umahi launched a similar attack, although he got lost on what to say.
The party stalwart said every true progressive and Nigerian patriot will derive pleasure to learn what vacuum the defection of Governor Umahi has created in the opposition PDP, stressing that with the excruciating pain suffered by the PDP following his exit, the battered umbrella political organization seems to have lost relevance and direction.
The latest and most laughable of all the lamentations is the one that came from one funny but irrelevant fellow who claims to be the Publicity Secretary of the collapsed PDP in Ebonyi State, Mr. Silas Onu, who in an effort to justify the monthly peanuts he gets, attempted to disparage the image of Governor Umahi, but only succeeded in making a fool out of himself.
In his futile effort, he stated that the PDP is threatening to write US, UK governments alleging that Umahi is plotting to kill some of the PDP bigwigs in the State.
Addressing a press conference on Abuja the Publicity Secretary of the chapter, Silas Onu, raised alarm that the present holiday season may be the bloodiest in the state’s history in view of the stockpiling of arms in the state.
“The British High Commission, Canadian High Commissioner and the Ambassador of the United States of America are called upon to take a special interest in Ebonyi State as the government have continually resorted to uncivilized methods for political engagements.
“Our petitions will be sent to all High Commissions and Embassies to draw attention towards this inhumane leadership style that cares less about human lives.
While also noting that the lives of the opponents of the governor are being threatened, he said the arms stockpile discovered in Abakaliki market should be properly investigated, noting: “The location of the interception is not a coincidence as no other authority have access into that market apart from the State government.
Taking the laughable lamentation of the PDP higher, the Acting National Vice Chairman of PDP, South-east Zone, Chief Ali Odefa alleged that it has uncovered plans by the State Government to assassinate members of the party that will include the former President of the Senate, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, former Governor of the State, Senator Sam Egwu, Senator Obinna Ogba amongst others
Eze condemned Mr. Fred Udogu, PDP Ebonyi Chairman for all the futile efforts to portray the Governor in bad light few who days ago petitioned the new Commissioner of Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies in the state just because he is asked to return the vehicle given to him by the State Government as a onetime functionary of the State Government is uncalled for.
Clearing the issue of the assumed threat on the life of the PDP State Chairman, Chief Emegha the commissioner for internal security stated that the vehicle which Mr. Udeogu is asked to return was allotted to him as the chairman of the capital territory Board. Now when he is relieved from his duties, did he supposed to go with the official vehicle meant for the commission?”
Eze asked does this issue amounts to threat to life and call for the unwarranted noise been peddled about by this mischievous fellow aimed at tarnishing the image of a God fearing Governor, Eze queried. He pleaded that, “we should try to play politics with morality and fear of God if we are to be taken serious as leaders”.
Eze described all of the allegations as destitute of reality, merely intended to distract the efforts of the Governor to provide leadership to the people of his State as Governor Umahi had no intention of harming any son or daughter of Ebonyi and as God will have it Ebonyi stands as the safest State during the yuletide period in the entire country.
He called on the leaders of the PDP to go back to the drawing board and review the architectural design of the party to spot the defects and find ways of fixing and repositioning the dwindling fortunes of the party and desist from politics of smear campaign and spurious allegations, stressing that such carriages will yield them no results.
If they think that the only solution to their litany of problems is to continue to raise unsubstantiated allegations against an Apostle of God who detests campaign of calumny and all forms of actions that contradict acceptable standard of human behavior, then their efforts must be exercises in futility.
While sympathizing with the PDP and its leadership for losing such a great asset and high ranking political leader like Umahi, Eze admonished the party to come to terms and accept the reality of the fact that the departure of Umahi from the PDP signifies an imminent collapse of the party in the South East.
Chief Eze said the PDP has failed abysmally in providing answers to the genuine concerns that prompted Umahi’s exit from the party which among others include the total neglect of the South East during her sixteen years of misrule in Nigeria, stressing that the administration of President Buhari has achieved so much not just for Ebonyi State but the entire South East region including the Second Niger Bridge, the Enugu International Airport, Onitsha to Enugu, Port Harcourt to Enugu and several other federal projects littered across the region.
Eze applauded Umahi for his bold step which has earned him the Poster Boy of the politics of South East and one of the revelations of the current political dispensation.
Written By Obiaruko Christie Ndukwe
A few days ago, some youth groups in the Niger Delta region aired what they termed their resentment in the appointment of Mr Effiong Okon Akwa as Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by President Muhammadu Buhari. One of the groups, Uhrobo Youth Leaders Council (UYLC) was said to have dragged the Honourable Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio before a Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, over the said appointment of the new NDDC helmsman. The UYLC stands commended for its civilised method. Some other youths, who claimed to be of Uhrobo extraction, engaged in a theatre of the absurd by blocking the ever-busy East West road, thereby causing untold hardship on travelers who ply that road. While it is inconsequential to dwell on the cursing spree and death wish on the Minister as they poured libation on the expressway, it must be stressed that much as people have the right to vent their steam, such action should not impinge on the right of way of other law-abiding citizens.
It is trite knowledge that informed Urhobo youths are not part of the said action, but a few disgruntled hirelings masquerading as youths of the revered ethnic nationality. This is a clear case of the hands of Jacob in the garb of Esau.
The use of anti-democratic tendencies by overt beneficiaries of democratic norms, to distract the Hon. Minister of Niger Delta and, by extension, President Buhari, must be condemned and stands condemned, by every right-thinking Niger Deltan. One begins to wonder the rationale behind the conscription of youths to block the ever-busy East-West road, if not to discredit President Buhari.
Players in the NDDC political industry are not finding it difficult to situate the reason behind the incessant attacks on President Buhari and the Hon. Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Akpabio. The outright rejection of the ill-fated Obudu and Okumagba Board, even after being screened by the Senate, has remained the albatross on the neck of the Senate Deputy President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. He had tactically positioned the two men in order to take absolute control of the NDDC, but according to what we say in the Nigerian parlance, “God pass dem.” The macabre dance steps of those youths are in tandem with the quick drumbeats of Senator Omo-Agege. Could these be happening on the wrong assumption that President Buhari rarely bite? Sometimes, one is tempted to wish these mundane scripts were being played out in an Obasanjo era. Audu Ogbe’s experience as National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during Obasanjo’s administration readily comes to mind here.
How can a man who prides himself as “leader of the South-South APC” continue to exhibit flagrant disregard for the President and Commander-in-Chief, thereby hampering whatever successes the President and his party would have recorded?
Recall that the Interim Management Committee under the leadership of Prof. Pondei was made of no effect following what Femi Adesina, Presidential Spokesman on Media, described as “plethora of litigations and a restraining order issued recently against the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC by a Federal High Court in Abuja.” Since therefore there was no room for vacuum in governance, and considering the fact that the leadership echelon in the NDDC have been embroiled, over time, in the obvious rot and stench in the Commission, the President and Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari, considered it expedient to appoint an untainted hand to oversee the running of the Commission until the conclusion of the on-going forensic audit.
Worthy of note is the fact that the incessant unease in the NDDC is boiling to a crescendo following President Buhari’s approval of a forensic audit of the Commission from 2001 to 2019. Those who have had unethical dealings in the Commission have left no stone unturned in their efforts to truncate the exercise. Fortunately, Mr. President has, both in words and action, demonstrated unwavering commitment to unearth the itchy fingers behind the stealing of humongous budgets appropriated for the development of the Niger delta region. Sadly, and most shocking, are incontrovertible revelations that most of the infractions recorded in the bleeding commission were brazenly committed by those who, ordinarily, were entrusted to protect the common wealth of the Niger Delta region.
That Senator Godswill Akpabio is in the eyes of the storm is therefore no surprise; man that has been mostly misjudged by his party men for their misplaced fear of being outshined. Some of them believe that allowing Akpabio to function without hindrance will open another window to replicate the feat in Akwa Ibom State which earned him the sobriquet, “The Uncommon Transformer”, thereby putting him ahead of other leaders from the region, or at most, give him an edge over many of them.
How can we forget, so soon, the “Honourable-Minister-off-the-Mic” incident during the probe of activities of the Commission at the National Assembly? The hunter suddenly became the hunted when the raw truth started coming out, hence the heart-felt appeal for the minister to off the mic. That Senator Akpabio could speak truth to power in the full glare of everybody watching across the globe, is a testimonial that he has nothing to hide concerning the NDDC.
Nigerians have not forgotten the startling revelation that a single senator was awarded 300 contracts, out of which 120 were fully paid for without commensurate job execution? Should Nigerians be reminded that it is the huge number of these phantom contracts that have left a debt burden of over N3 trillion hanging on the neck of the Commission? Should Nigerians be cowed by the blistering undertakers who are desperate to divide the living child because theirs died last night? Certainly not
As a sharp contrast from what used to obtain before, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has demonstrated leadership in its determination not to be part of any politically-motivated protest that would destabilise the region. According to the IYC President Worldwide, Peter Timothy Igbifa, “parents should monitor the activities of their children and stop them from engaging in any demonstration, especially the one targeting the occupation of NDDC headquarters using the name of IYC.” It is therefore expected that other youth groups in the region should borrow a leaf from the IYC in the journey to making the NDDC achieve the desired purpose.
Rather than distract the Sole Administrator of the Commission from delivering on his assignment, Niger Deltans, and indeed Nigerians, should be concerned about the overall decrepit infrastructure and downward slope of human capital that abound in the region. The commission is presently passing through a season of realization and rebirth, and the best Nigerians can offer now is understanding, devoid of any grandstanding by filthy players whose fingers are already soiled by their unbridled love for and commitment to the underdevelopment of the Niger Delta region. The time to check these scavengers is now.
Written By Obiaruko Christie Ndukwe
President, Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative
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