On Nigerian Security – How my Brothers Escaped Death from Armed Bandits

My elder brothers escaped from the hands of armed robbers who will have snuffed life out of them on their way back from the airport some days back. I know many would be wondering what has led to this. I must say the level of insecurity in this country is becoming something else where citizens don’t feel secured anymore.

Josh travelled to Lagos for an important meeting that lasted for almost a week and used that opportunity to do some run around that will help him accomplish some of his goals. After the meeting he decided to book his flight back home to city where we all reside. As usual Gson always drove to the airport to pick him up whenever he is out of town.

So they took off from the airport back home when some armed bandits intercepted 3 cars ahead of them and opened fire on all cars that ran towards them, it was in the midst of all this that Josh ordered Gson to reverse the car and move and I must say it was a difficult decision to make at that moment but it has to be made. They watch these guys open close range fire at them and the supernatural hands of the Almighty God protected them from these bandits.

This brings me attention to how insecurity has gradually eaten deep into our nation showing how leaky our security architecture is. I have facts handy ranging from several kidnappings, killings in states like Kaduna, Benue, Zamfara, Sokoto, Plateau states and the toll still counting and our leaders still feel less concern about these happening rather they campaign from state to state for their personal political selfish movement. I have close friends, allies, and comrades who have lost their lives in the North-East where the Boko-Haram Saga is going on. While some see it as profit making venture, others feel they are serving their fatherland and dying without real provision for their families after they are gone as a result of dying in action.

On this Note I will like to use this opportunity to say REST IN PEACE to the following friends and comrades in persons of OSCAR NWILEE, TOSIN ONI, CHRISTOPHER OGUNTOYE, PAPPY, MUSTAPHA, JULIUS, and many other soldiers I didn’t call their name who lost their lives in the frontlines.

I had to touch this sides of the stories as we all have to place our hands on deck to carry out this security matters ourselves by knowing those who live in our immediate environment and also learn to have the basic information about happenings so we can be our brothers keepers and not just keep but also do it effectively.

My brothers after the scenario successfully escaped from the hands of these bandits.

Last two weeks I was in a dialogue for peace programme sponsored by the United State Embassy, Abuja, Nigeria under the umbrella of Generations for Peace, an international NGO from Jordan and when the discussion was made open and deliberations ensued some of the participant made salient points that were shocking and got me thinking. Many times the issue of religion and ethnicity is the focal point where most people anchor as the cause of the violence that happen in the locality and state where I stay and the northern states but permit me to say that it is a conspiracy theory that has been sold to the masses by the elite, yes the elites! Sometime ago I carried out a short research on the rate of out of school children in Nigeria and I must say it was overwhelming, about 10.5 million children are out of school in Nigeria, 60% in the north and the remaining 40% shared amongst other regions. This singular statistics paint picture why certain things happen.

Sometime ago the BBC interviewed the mother to Abubakar Shekau, the head of BOKO-HARAM and she made a statement that got me thinking. According to her the boy was raised well from home and then sent to be an “ALMAJIRI” where he will learn the more about his religion. Now it is the learning of this that he came across some folks who thwarted his orientation and he is where we are today. This brings me to the point where we have to be careful about the decision we make as parents when it comes to raising kids.

I feel pain on my inside on happenings in my nation and it gives me a whole lot of concern. A lot of things going wrong and that get me even concern because I have personally made moves severally to see that I play good role in making things work but you literally see people come out to sabotage your effort. This makes me tell you boldly my ready that most people’s value system is off.

Please I am pioneering a movement and I believe it cause a revolution. I am not using violent approach of revolution but knowledge based revolution via campaigns, I am not in for the “AS USUAL” way of doing things. If you have selfish and ulterior motive please steer clear because here isn’t for you. The project is called “CATCH THEM YOUNG”. It will target 25years to 1year and our goal is to raise a new breed of Nigerians who will have new set of values void of bad motive and other vices.

We will not continue this way and watch our nation go down the drain because of some folks who never think good of us rather themselves and their families. This is our nation, this is our Nigeria, this is our generation.

Finally, I thank God for saving my brothers. And this is really a wake up call for us all.

BOTTOM LINE
Security is a collective effort.

I love you all

I am Ukaigweh Roberts