THUGS IN UNIFORM
By Imohimi Uduigwome Airenevboise
“I love my country; it’s the government I can’t stand”
-Anonymous
A national daily last week carried the story of a Nigerian based in China who decided(to take the wrong decision) to pay a visit to his country Nigeria and discovered first hand all the stuff he had been reading and hearing about.
Civilians in Nigeria do not have right of way especially when military men are on the prowl (road) hunting for civilians. Our brother from China had the ill luck to be stuck in traffic with some naval ratings when they were in a hurry to get to their barracks (probably for a drink). In countries with a sane government military men would have cleared the traffic but in this case they decided to batter all the vehicles around and manhandled those close by including our China (JJC-Johnny just come or do we say Johnny just from china) brother whose vehicle was badly damaged by the irate naval men who were clearing civilians off the road to make way for their vehicle. This is happening when the incident of the senior naval officer and his men who were caught brutalizing a young lady for having the audacity to remain on the road instead of driving her car into the gutter to make way for their own car is still fresh in our memory.
Frankly I do not believe we have a government in Nigeria. If we had a government military men would not be running amok molesting civilians whose tax pay for their training and upkeep. They drive around in tinted cars and blowing sirens as if there is an emergency. They look upon civilians with disdain as if they are superior. Their behaviour is a sharp contrast to military officials from other nations who are regarded as “an officer and a gentleman.” What we have here is “an officer and a thug’. Senior officers who ought to berate their men for their unruly behaviour encourage them and this gives them the impetus to go ahead to commit more atrocities. People no longer raise eyebrows over the animalistic behaviour of our military men. Last week a speaker in one of the state house of assembly got battered by some army men even though they knew his identity. The growing incidence of brutality by men of the armed forces on civilians if not promptly checked will have adverse consequences on us. A friend told me the other day that at the rate they are going they will soon beat up one of the state Governors then go ahead to plan a coup after giving President Yardua a dose of military brutality.
Ill trained armed rebels in Chad are making highly(?) trained Nigeria military men run for cover, armed teenagers in the Niger Delta are making our “brave” military men tremble with fear and their courageous nature comes to fore only when they are brutalizing unarmed civilians! There must be a law that any military officials who attacks an unarmed civilian should be dismissed from the armed forces with his immediate commander who failed to control his men. If we do not take action now, then we are giving them the impression that they are above the law. Infarct may of them believe that they are already above the law. Just last month a military man driving a military bus was stopped by members of the Federal Road Safety Commission for jumping traffic and driving in a dangerous manner. When asked why he jumped traffic he replied on national television that he was a military man and was not bound to obey traffic rules!
Do we actually have a government in this country? Is it not the responsibility of government to protect is citizens from brutality? Is this part of rebranding? The number three citizen of Nigeria (a retired military man) is busy marking his birthday while law abiding citizens are molested by military men for plying their cars on roads built by taxpayers! Yes, Nigerians love their country; it’s the government they hate. A government that fails to protect the rights of its citizens both here in Nigeria and abroad.
Imohimi Uduigwome Airenevboise
