Why is it so hard for them to do right?
Why is it so hard to do right?
The ongoing protests that continue to spread across major cities and towns in Nigeria features more and more people by the day. One would imagine that in a sane climate, a voice this loud would be difficult to ignore and the people’s demands would have been met with urgency. It is not for a lack of a clear message, as the young people march in different locations yet their message is the same - an end to the vicious, scavenging, blood-thirsty, lawless police unit called S.A.R.S and a reform of the Nigerian Police Force.
Despite social media announcements made by the elected president, General Muhammadu Buhari, stating that he was dissolving the rogue police unit, protesters have refused to back down from their cries and demands. This is as a result of the lack of trust that exists between today’s government and the people. For many of them, the president’s tune is nothing new and his promises are as light as feathers. Barely a day after General Buhari announced the ‘dissolution’ of S.A.R.S, there have been several injured civilians, several arrested, harassed, extorted, assaulted, and even a few dead, all by the hands of the trigger-happy Nigerian Police.
So, why are they not obeying the president’s order? It would seem as though there is a break in command between the chain of government. One would not be far from the truth if they say the Nigerian Police have been acting as a rogue unit during these protests, and even since inception. There have been instances of DPOs undermining orders from commissioners, while lesser-ranked officers have ignored orders from DPOs. Some of the civilians share their concerns on twitter about this:
Perhaps, this just shows that the country is currently operating on a free-run. The president’s orders being ignored, the governor having to beg a commissioner, the Inspector General orders police to stand down yet, the brutality continuing, speaker of house of representatives having to beg for release of peaceful protesters and many more shameful displays are clear indications that the country is out of the control of the present government. Accountability and responsibility have been beaten to death and impunity, corruption, disregard for lives, and wickedness have become the values of this ‘great’ country.
When a pilot loses control of a plane mid-air, it is very likely that the plane crashes. Therefore, it appears difficult for the right thing to be done because our pilot, the government led by General Buhari, has lost control of the country, and we are crashing. We the youths must keep fighting for the pilot to wake up and take control of the plane, else, we will take control and fly ourselves to redemption.