A trip to Yobe State axis of North East along Nguru-Gashua road paints the gloomy picture of the Nigerian State in the Shade of Corruption. The brazen nature of its execution and acceptability is so alarming and embarrassing to the reputation of our country.
As a Nigerian, who strongly abhors and has contempt for bribery and corruption, and who has been patronizing that axis for over a year, my heart bleeds each time we pass by or approach a check point.
This is a region that has been under siege by insurgents close to ten years, and the socio-economic life of the people devastated beyond ordinary imagination, as a result of the activities of the insurgents. In terms of rehabilitation, the governments – both state and federal – have not been able to impact the lives of the people beyond security watch. The security agents: Military and Police deployed to assist the government efforts to provide that security watch have betrayed the government.
I am therefore compelled to draw the attention of the government and public to this act of IMPUNITY, since nobody seemed to have noticed it or have had the courage to stand against it.
It is very unfortunate and heart-wrenching to see those who are supposed to be the ones saddled with the responsibility of providing security to our people, shamelessly doing the exact opposite rather than demystifying it. Our future as youth and leaders of tomorrow will have a regrettable history to tell our children.
The security check-points along that axis have been turned to lucrative business ventures rather than serving the purpose(s) for which they are made.
The securities, whose prime motive there, is checking and searching for anything that can be a threat to the security of the country and the state in particular, have chosen to be collecting a chicken change (N200 down) from every motorist who is to pass through that axis. The motorists have become used to it and now see it as an obligation to give out that money whenever stopped by the securities. And the securities will shamelessly accept the money with sheepish smiles on their faces. This issue has been persistent from the time I first used that axis (March 2017), up to today as I write this piece.
I am therefore calling on the government to please look into this embarrassing issue and do something about it.
If the people who are expected to fight, kill and bury corruption are nurturing it, then how do we expect a layman to kill it?
Sadiya Madu Gwary, Federal University, Gashua
