17th September, 2013
By Tayo Demola
The rate of crime in Nigeria such as rape, kidnapping, armed robbery and other forms of criminal tendencies is undoubtedly a source of worry to every Nigerian. Despite the fact that the nation has spent several billions of naira over the years to curtail crime, this effort however laudable it is, has not yielded the much desired result. The crime rate in the society rather than abate, seems to be on the increase and this negative trend is definitely a threat to Nigeria’s development. The earlier we curtailed these criminal elements in our society, the better for us.
No society can attain meaningful development without curtailing its crime rate to the barest minimum since criminality in itself is an enemy of development. In fact, it is no doubt an enemy of society. It is however surprising that despite the security measures put in place by the federal and various state governments to detect crime and arrest perpetrators, these criminal gangs who engage in violent crimes and other forms of criminality still brazenly perpetrate their evil deeds sometimes in broad daylight. The rate of rape in Nigeria, for example, is so alarming that virtually on a daily basis the media is awash with rape incidents, some of which would make you freeze when you read the stories. The situation is pathetic because some of these rapists have not only been caught committing the abominable act with teenagers, young girls and women but have now shifted focus to raping children such as five and nine-year old! What in the world will a man be doing raping a five-year old girl who is just a child? What will a man achieve by raping and dehumanizing a nine-year old innocent child who is supposed to be shown all the love and care that a society can give? She is supposed to be a future leader and a beacon of hope for the next generation but by doing this to her, you have shown her the callousness of society and has sown a seed of everlasting pain in her. The pain lingers for many women and no wonder so many of these victims cannot bear the shame at some certain points in their lives and they decide to take their own lives.
But women who go through such nasty experiences should realise that taking their own lives will not solve their problems. The resultant pain and shame may be too much to bear but no woman should ever contemplate taking her own life because she was molested.
The rate of armed robbery and militancy in Nigeria is another source of concern. At times I begin to wonder if the invention and manufacture of arms and ammunition and other weapons is really a blessing or a curse to the society. If an armed robber, militant or a Boko Haram insurgent for example does not have a gun, arms, ammunition and other weapons which he uses to terrorize his victims, will he ever contemplate engaging in such evil adventure? Will he be so menacing, daring and bold to commit any crime against his fellow man or rob his victim at gunpoint? The invention of these weapons is good for the maintenance of security but I think it is an irony of some sort that their negative use by criminal elements the world over has perhaps outweighed the positive deployment for security purpose.
One obvious reason why violent crimes persist in Nigeria is because the gap between the rich and the poor is so wide that the rich keep getting richer while the poor keep getting poorer. There is a glaring inequality in the system and no society can curb crime rate if the vast majority of its populace keeps wallowing in abject poverty. The rich must realise that they are not yet rich in the real sense of it if their neighbour is miserably poor and that their wealth will be threatened if they have their table overflowing with food while their next door neighbour is dying of hunger. One major cause of crime and militancy in Nigeria is the poverty level in our society because you cannot preach good virtues to a hungry and dying man. Give him food first before preaching your sermon to him and he will gladly listen to you. The various governments in Nigeria should as a matter of urgency put in place in programmes that will have direct impact on the people by alleviating the rate of poverty in the country if we must curtail crime in Nigeria.
While we thought that kidnapping had abated, the men of the underworld have recently shown that they have not repented of their nefarious activities. On 23 August, renowned lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome was kidnapped by kidnappers in Benin, Edo State and was freed after 20 days in their captivity. There is an urgent need for the police to fish out these kidnappers and stop this crazy situation from degenerating further.
•Demola, a public affairs analyst wrote from Lagos. E-mail: tayodemola@gmail.com