WHAT follows is a tale of three cities where a culture of lawlessness is being promoted, they are not the only ones.

Awka: Commercial motor cycle riders beat an official of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC,  to pulp  for arresting their members who had no particulars. FRSC officials fled from the angry mob.

Warri: The  Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, FUPRE, Effurun, Professor  Babatunde Alabi,  who former Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, accused of receiving $50,000 (about N8m) bribe, said the money was a gift from Gbagi.

Lagos: Tanker drivers put the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway to siege again, increasing their numbers and non-compliance with traffic regulations.

Why would road users not comply with the regulations? What gives commercial motor cycle riders the nerves to beat up an FRSC official? If the riders know they would be punished severely for obstructing FRSC officials from their duties, would they dare? Slack implementation of the law, often caused by compromises, leads to these results.

The incident in Warri is more brazen. A company in which Gbagi had interest is accusing Alabi of failing to award it a contract after taking the $50,000, which he allegedly returned after four months. By the company’s account, it asked for the refund when it learnt another company would get the contract.

“I could not have given him bribe as a Minister of State for Education on behalf of Sky Grade Construction Company because I had resigned as the chairman of the company as required by the constitution then, but I am aware that he collected the money,” Gbagi said.

Alabi admitted receiving $50,000 from Gbagi in Abuja, which he returned to Gbagi’s wife in Warri. If Gbagi did not give the money (gift to Alabi), who did? Why did Alabi return the gift?

Did any of the offended parties report to the police? Bribery is a serious offence (involving a giver and a taker). Would the public have known of this if the contract did not go to another company?

These incidents indicate lawlessness across the country. There are more, though their impact may not be felt immediately. How did the country get to where flagrant disobedience of its laws is normal?

It took slow but steady nibbling at the fringes of the law for us to get to where laws are disobeyed with law enforcement agents watching.

Law enforcement should be strengthened otherwise incidents that weaken the law would continue. It is no longer enough for them to be public knowledge. The law should take its course to curb the culture of impunity. There is no better time to start than now.