Lagos and Ogun stretching from Agege, Alimosho through Ifo towards Abeokuta is governed in the night by Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC for short. Their sector commanders , wearing prehistoric native warrior uniforms , adorning black amulets said to be charmed with special incantations and equipped with Dane guns machetes and arm bands pose with confidence, dodging here and appearing there in comic pose of deceptive invincibility.
Their white Oyomesi cap is the military beret they have chosen to complete this intimidation. They are hired by smart neighbourhood leaders tired of constant reign of robbers who post threatening bills on their doors advising them to prepare adequately for a date with terror. These leaders are either truly consumed by tales of OPC special powers or perfectly immune to these antics but somehow convinced that the entire criminal elements are stupid and gullible, and will leave them alone by introducing this trick, they tax the street monthly because Government was not available to them. Gani Adams, their operational leader and General Overseer if you like, is the virtual Inspector General in such neighbourhoods across the South West from Ife to Ifo, Ilesha to Ishua, Ido Osi to Odo Oti and beyond. When the young man celebrated his 39th birthday recently, the list of VIPs would make the Nigerian Chief Of Army Staff green with envy. It is a fairy tale success story for this Yoruba Carpenter turned Freedom champion. He is important today because Nigeria has ceded authority to vigilante forces. This highly creative man and many like him have continued to grow in strength by the day. With this growth comes additional capacity to acquire more sophistication in arms, training, organization and influence.
In Eastern Nigeria, MASSOB rules. They declare public holidays at the drop of a hat and everyone obeys. Again, this is intended to stamp their authority and announce to all that they are the Government. They collect protection money from traders from Abia to Ibusa and chase the regular Police from pillar to post whenever it suits their fancy to disgrace the Federal Government. Uwazuruike, their General Officer Commanding respects no Local Chief and demands special attention from every Igwe or Obi especially when festivals like NEW YAM celebrations roll by. Whenever Uwazuruike’s motorcade drives by, many acknowledge the primacy of his authority by waving at the convoy like school children welcomed the old British Governor General. It is finally dawning on this Country that Nigeria’s future may be determined by these native warlords, their idea of what they believe society owes them, and the incompetence and corruption which ruptures the might of the State to put them in check. But right now, these young incubating militants are just having fun and generally living it up. They are also quickly transforming into organized armed and effective fighting machines right in the nose of Government.
The Nigerian Police has ceased to be useful to society a long way back. Actually, they are actively engaged in private lucrative business. The business of intimidation, extortion and blackmail. They are too preoccupied picking pockets of Danfo drivers to bother about this rapidly expanding army. The bulk of the force has been appropriated by political office holders, their wives and concubines carrying empty files for Oga and huge shopping bags for Madam.
When a little Local election came up recently in Jos, soldiers had to be drafted in a few days later after hundreds of innocent citizens and youth corpers were murdered in a frenzy of anger over rigging of some inconsequential election. It was alleged later that imported mercenaries were boldly on active service with guns too overwhelming for the Police to challenge.
The current morbid struggle in the Niger Delta should adequately convince the average intelligent person that when it comes to a confrontation between anger fueled by hunger and oppression driven by greed, in a contest for big petro dollars, superstition, charms and double barreled guns may be more effective than the most advanced military machines in deciding the victor. With harmless looking charms and regular early morning incantations to Egbesu Gods of the Ijaws, a rag tag formation of poorly trained but highly emboldened little kids of the Delta appear headed for victory as they continue to grow their capacity at alarming rate. The Nigerian armed forces have yet to prove that it can prevail over this unusual challenge. Right now, many of the gas pipelines are destroyed, electricity is cut, export crude has been shut in and Nigeria is seriously bleeding.
The old American West once had what is similar to Somalia today. A state next to the Animal Kingdom which Nigeria appears determined to copy. It was the rule of anarchy over law and in that period, no soothsayer could guarantee who would live by sundown. Somalia is also, today a glowing example of the rule of the bully over the welfare of a community. Nigeria is careering rapidly towards the State of Somalia. All States nursing the ambition to fail can just get a glimpse of rupture from the Somalia example.
Ekiti State rerun war must concern every citizen of Nigeria and attract the sympathy of all peoples of the World. In a fraction of the wards in just 10 local Governments of that poor little State, the Police told us that they had deployed 10,000 men in uniform and under arms for a simple election. If 10,000 policemen could not keep peace in a population slightly above 50,000, tell me what will handle the explosion threatening around the entire Country in 2011. You can measure the effectiveness of this awesome number of mobile policemen by the success of thugs and armed hoodlums who ransacked the electoral environment and made Ekiti State ungovernable for two weeks. Now when 2011 comes, how does President Yar Adua intend to keep 160 million Nigerians in shape and intact for the next Government to take over the baton from him? Because nobody believes in the effectiveness of the state to maintain law, everybody in fact is convinced that the State is the primary promoter of anarchy, people will strategise on their own, communities will acquire weapons for their protection, the ruling party will recruit the police for their election and the opposition will arm thugs to counter them. What kind of future does 2011 hold for this Nation with partisan leaders like Yar Adua who have refused to migrate to the level of a statesman? In 2011, weapons will be more sophisticated, preparations will be more advanced, determination will be attended by more rigour and our prayers may just not get to God because we have got far more attention from him than we deserve.
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