ktravula – a travelogue!

A Modest Proposal: Arm All Nigerians

I have written, on this blog, about the spate of senseless violence in Nigeria for a long time. But at no time have I suggested that the solutions come from anywhere but the government whose earlier inaction and nonchalance led to the current state of events in the first place. Send more military into vulnerable towns? Empower the police to protect the citizens? Do a lot of information and outreach exercises to empower citizens deal with threat?

I have now come to the conclusion that none of them will help, even if done well (and so far they have not). Soldiers, it seems, are  part of the problem. They are either suspiciously absent whenever an attack is about to take place, or, when they eventually act, end up killing innocent civilians instead.

Here is my solution: ARM ALL NIGERIANS.*

I have come to this conclusion not without heavy thinking, and consideration for the unintended consequences: more (accidental) gun deaths, likelihood of mass killings, and an increased difficulty for law enforcement. But, looking at my country today, those are already the reality, and more!

0_0_0_0_225_225_csupload_53746826When 43 (and counting) students were killed in Yobe a couple of days ago, all the president, the commander-in-chief of the nation’s armed forces, could do was to “condemn the attack.” Are you freaking kidding me? Having finally arrived at a state when the state can no longer protect its citizens is to have finally reached the end of the its usefulness. Time to give citizens a chance to defend themselves!

If one must die, there’s honour in doing so gallantly, returning fire for fire with whomever has decided that one’s life is not worth more than a sheet of paper. The upside? The realization by the murdering terrorists that everyone now has a means to fire back will be enough to keep them in check, and even the balance of power in that now extremely precarious environment.

I repeat: the state has failed in its primary duty to protect the lives and property of citizens. And for that, citizens MUST be allowed to do it themselves. It won’t be unprecedented. We already provide our own power (via generators), we already provide for our own security (via unarmed gatemen), and we already provide water for our houses (via pumping machines and pure water bags). And, in most cases, we already provide private funding to tar our streets and clear our sewers. The failure of government is no longer tolerable.

LET CITIZENS DEFEND THEMSELVES! It is way better than having the military return due to a breakdown of law and order.

Now, how does one go about sponsoring such a bill? Any takers?

A Modest Proposal: Arm All Nigerians was published on February 27th, 2014, with the tags , , , , , under the Uncategorized category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Random Week/Nigeria

Talking with Ben about starting a business in Nigeria has reminded me once again of the problems that mitigate against successful enterprises in Nigeria. The chief is still electricity. Then security. Why do we have guards at our gates in Nigeria? I’ve never asked myself that question. Now, I can answer it. I think it is from the absence of a right to bear arms. If everyone had guns, we won’t need to pay people to watch over our houses. And now I believe that just mentioning to an intending immigrant/visitor to the country the fact that most residential houses in industrial areas of the country have guards that watch over them at night could be a very strong deterrent. In any case, just like the problem of electricity, water or good roads, it is a failure of government.

A second victory was in one moment of magical discovery, that in Nigeria the Press is actually more responsible, and responsive than the police. Maybe a little tyrannical as well at times, but they’re usually on the side of the people. So in a moment of epiphany while reeling out the things to remember if one wants to move to Nigeria as an expatriate, I said to Ben that if an expatriate was to ever be in any kind of trouble while in Nigeria, he should call a journalist first, before calling the police. Thinking about it again now, I’ve discovered that newspapers in Nigeria should actually adopt it as a public brand. Police cars here in the US go around with the large writing on the body of their car “When in trouble, dial 911”. It’s there for everyone to see, and even three year olds in America today know the short code in case any bad thing happens. Think about something like that on the front page of all newspapers in Nigeria every day. “When you’re in trouble, call 419” or any other easily-memorable number. The truth is that the police are held more accountable by the media than by the politicians, and there is a chance of redress if said victim brings a journalist along to the police station while reporting an incident. It works even better for expatriates/foreigners.

Don’t call the police first – they’re not your friend. Call a journalist!

_______________

PS:

  • I got a mobile phone at last. It is a T-mobile, and it gives me all I want from a phone. So far, so good. The best part of it is the answering machine with which I can receive messages when I’m not in a position to talk – which is like most of the days that I teach.
  • Western Union has not responded to my request.
  • I have sent out postcards to all who asked for them, and I will send some more this week.
  • I’m still seeking more guest-bloggers. I like the exciting idea of sharing and exchanging ideas this way.
  • The post I made last week about my friends has now been removed, regrettably. Lesson learnt: respect other people’s need for privacy, and never assume anything.
  • After a lot of fumbling around, and goading from a persistent friend, I have now solved the problem of blog comment editing, thanks to WordPress. Anyone who leaves comments will have up to five minutes after said comment is submitted to edit its content, or request a deletion.  I like the idea.

Random Week/Nigeria was published on February 22nd, 2010, with the tags , , , , , , , under the Observations, Opinion category. There are currently 10 comments on this article so far.