Looting the “Looters” (2)

I think it reprehensible that anyone would destroy what another has struggled to build. Looting and wanton destruction of government and private property cannot be excused and should never be accepted in any society. Innocent people, many of whom fare only marginally better than the looters themselves, have in the process lost their source of livelihood.

Some have lost everything. It’s despicable and the perpetrators should be apprehended and made an example of, to deter others who may be tempted to nurse similar ambition.

However, these looters who decided to take advantage of an already poor situation acted independent of the genuine protesters who remained peaceful throughout, despite provocations and attempts by spoilers to derail them from their noble cause.

EndSARS is really a slogan that represents the reawakening of our people’s consciousness and in it can be discerned a new resolve to push back on poor governance and all its ramifications.

We all have a part to play whether we’re in government or not; whether we’re rich or just getting by. To the poor, there’s no difference between us

I’m one who believes there are at least two categories of looters in Nigeria. First, we have the “executive looters”. These are the ones who loot because nothing is ever enough. Second, are those I would call “subsistence looters”.

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These are the ones who loot when the opportunity arises because they’ve never had enough. The former is driven by greed while the latter is just desperate to survive. In trying to assess the moral value of the conduct of the two categories, one could be tempted to apply the chicken and the egg test. Which came first?

Others may argue otherwise but this appears quite straightforward to me. If the executive looters didn’t do their thing and steal the treasury dry, then the subsistence looters may not have found themselves living below the poverty line. And I don’t see why anyone comfortable enough to provide adequately for himself and his family would go on a rampage that is likely to put his life in danger? Anyway, enough said on that for now.

Studies have shown that citizens of countries on the whole behave in like manner to the way they perceive their authorities to behave. So, citizens governed by a less than forthright administration, with its horde of venal officials are less likely to attach much premium to honest conduct. They are far more likely to normalise bad behaviour than citizens of countries where the government institutions are perceived to operate above board with transparency and accountability.

Because people generally take a cue from their governments, it would be a grave mistake to underestimate just how much damage, poorly run state institutions can inflict on their society.

As someone who has on several occasions lamented the character and absence of values evident in the average Nigerian youth in my writings, our youthful protesters won my admiration with this impromptu movement. Their sheer determination and insistence that anyone who joins them must adhere to their motto of peace and orderliness revealed a side to our youths that I had never seen before. Hordes of them volunteered to ensure safety at the Lekki protest ground.

The impressive organising and seamlessly coordinated demonstrations not just throughout the length and breadth of this land but also in faraway South Africa, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and several states in the USA showed all that they had indeed come into their own. The love and oneness demonstrated by spontaneous fundraising to feed themselves and help the helpless was both exemplary and beautiful to behold.

The unity of purpose demonstrated even amongst people belonging to disparate socio-economic groups was a lesson for all Nigerians to learn from. Our youth appeared to be telling us they know they have been shaped by the environment they find themselves in (ably led by successive poor administrations) but they have at last woken up to the fact that it’s not the right way to behave and it’s certainly not the best way to live. Rather than greed and selfishness being normal, like they have been brought up to believe, it is actually an aberration and they demand a change.

A vivid picture of the change they desire is what they depicted for the two weeks they demonstrated. No rancour about which part of the country their coordinators hail from or which religion they practice. No public spats over how much was raised and how much was actually utilized (unlike some of our political parties). These young men and women gave us a glimpse of what’s possible. Contrary to what many of us, including myself previously believed, their time may have indeed come. It’s not yet Uhuru. There’s still a long way to go and nobody says it’s going to be easy but it’s a start.

We all have a part to play whether we’re in government or not; whether we’re rich or just getting by. To the poor, there’s no difference between us. The enlightened have a duty to speak to power to do the right things because if that dreaded day was to ever come, it would consume us all. You think I’m exaggerating?

Okay, let me give you an illustration from something that occurred on the Sunday before the Black Tuesday Lekki massacre. As our church service was about to start, a drunk man came asking for financial help. When our members who he asked (a man and a woman) didn’t respond favourably, his tone and demeanour changed and he began to demand instead of ask.

One could detect the rage of someone who felt cheated. One of our church Deacons who wanted to pass in his car then had to press his horn as the drunk man was literally standing in the middle of the road. Irritated, the drunk man turned round and began to rain abuses on him. That wasn’t all. He began to call our Deacon a thief just because he was driving a nice Mercedes Benz car.

Not to belittle our Deacon but it wasn’t even the latest model. As far as this drunk chap and many like him are concerned however, anyone who appears to enjoy some measure of affluence is a thief and is responsible for their poverty; having helped himself to resources that belong to everyone.

I winced at this unjust accusation as it reminded of the dreaded SARS who seem to have shared the same mentality; harassing and often brutalising innocent Nigerians for the same “reason”; under the guise they were “dealing” with criminals. We should never underestimate the adverse influence poorly run state institutions exert on the general populace.

Changing the nation…one mind at a time.