By Dele Sobowale
“Security is a challenge to any government. Before this time we never had any kidnapping in Nigeria. We never had the problem of car bomb in Nigeria…The first kidnapping we had was in 2006 when I was a Deputy Governor..If anything happens and government does not handle it on time, selfish people exploit it for commercial purposes”.

President Goodluck Jonathan, speaking at Dialogue with the President, in Abuja, October 19, 2010.
The President receives an A+ from the entire faculty of UniJankara for candour. But that is all. Inadvertently, our first public servant has put his finger squarely on the origin and the reason for the persistence of kidnapping.

At least, the nation’s number one political candidate has now confessed that politicians in government were responsible –at least through “failure to address the problem when it was evolving” [italics mine]. Was the failure due to ignorance or was the problem neglected or even nurtured because it served the politicians’ interests?

Here the President receives an F for not confessing that they allowed the problem to continue because it served the interests of “do-or-die” politicians like him. The unrepentant father of the lunatic idea of “do-or-die” politics was former President Obasanjo who has almost planted a kiss of death on Jonathan.

Obasanjo has the opposite of the Midas touch. Midas was a mythical Phrygian king whose touch turned everything to gold. Obasanjo’s touch turns everything to dust –like the PDP founded by honourable men like Dr Alex Ekwueme; which is now crumbling before our eyes.

Jonathan has been in government since 1999; the first kidnapping occurred four years ago, according to him. Yet, there is nothing on record to show that he did anything, except recently in Abia, where international outrage over the kidnap of 15 kids forced him to act.

I hope the President has been informed how many people have been kidnapped or killed in Akwa Ibom; if not, I will gladly publish a shocking list for Nigerians to read. The questions are:  what has he done about them? It is on record that the government of Akwa Ibom supports his bid for the presidency. Are Akwa Ibom people supposed to wait until he is re-elected to receive the JTF to rescue them from the atrocities occasioned by official neglect –including his own? How many will be kidnapped or murdered while Jonathan runs around campaigning?

Or more to the point, how many is he prepared to sacrifice by not acting promptly –meaning six months ago, before the situation deteriorated even more from the disaster level the people now experience?

In the DAILY TRUST of Monday, October 25, 2010, page 7, the President was reported to have declared as follows: “stop fighting and unite because if there is no peace in any state I will not come….”.

I hope he was misquoted because when the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces expresses fear about going to dangerous areas, he in effect has abandoned those he is supposed to protect, and whose votes he is seeking, to the evil people, encouraged by governments, as he said, to protect themselves. Are we supposed to assume that we have a coward as C-In-C? Or is he refusing to act because virtually all the states involved, or those about to erupt, Ogun, Abia, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Enugu and to some extent, Rivers, are all PDP-governed states?

However, if Jonathan keeps to his words, and he does not always do that, then Akwa Ibom is a state he must avoid, like cholera, unless he first sends in the Joint Task Force as he did in Abia. But, will he do that? Or is trampling into office over the prostrate bodies of Ibomites part of the new deal? If not, whoever is responsible for these atrocities must be exposed – and I don’t care who.

A RARE BREED POLICE OFFICER –2
“Against excellence in another there is no way of defending ourselves except love”.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet, philosopher.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Suraju Umar, demonstrated excellence the minute the cartridge dropped by one of the fleeing robbers was handed over to him. He also made it clear there would be no cover-up of his colleagues who might be involved. Taking a look at the cartridge, he announced: “This is from our Ketu Station”; meaning that some of his colleagues in the Ketu office have a case to answer for how their cartridge got into the hands of armed robbers. That was not all.

People called frantically to the Patrol teams in Lagos Island while the siege, which lasted for more than two hours was in progress. None responded until after the robbers had made good their escape. Then they came. Officer Suraju immediately ordered them to be detained; and they were.

At that point, it was becoming clear that we were dealing with a rare breed officer. It was, therefore, not surprising when the first break in the case came within three days. A woman was arrested who had bought N8 million stolen recharge cards for a mere N600,000 at Ilasamaja, on the mainland. Obviously, she was a regular customer. A member of the gang was also apprehended and is now singing, albeit off key, to the police.

Need I say more? Today, when the police have acquired an ugly reputation for themselves, it provides immeasurable joy and satisfaction to know that officers like Suraju Umar are still in the force. Grandpa Agbe-Davies will dance a fox trot to that and I owe officer Suraju some presents starting with all my love and prayers for a successful career reaching all the way to IGP. But, there is more to come. Silver and gold I don’t have, but I will think of something a future IGP will appreciate.

HAIR RAISING MATTER
Two Sundays ago, I found myself in Abuja at a private party where mostly rhythm and blues music was played and the old goats, none was under 60 and most looked over 90, held the “babes” very close. Eight partners after, and it occurred to me that something strange has happened in Nigeria. None of my partners had natural hair.

Goat hair, horse tail, industrial waste and an occasional corpse’s hair from India were on top of all the heads. Is that what we guys are foolishly caressing when we lovingly touch those mops of God-knows-what? More to the point; are there some women left out there with natural hair on their heads and who have not fallen head (pardon the pun) over heels in love with hair taken from an Indian mortuary or are we “he-goats” condemned to kissing synthetic fibre, raccoon or orangutan hair and loving it? This is serious matter.

Have a pleasant Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: LAZARUS BANKS; FIBBING FED MIN OF FINANCE.