It’s no longer news the entire world has come to its knees due to the ravaging effect of the insidious COVID-19. Accordingly, world leaders and multilateral institutions have stepped in to save lives and manage to at least keep the badly affected global economy which is now in intensive care unit on life support. It’s interesting to see how one-time geopolitical foes who were once torn apart by ideological differences, which subtly exists today, have given way to mutual cooperation in line with the very idea of the Kantian notion of perpetual peace in order to save lives, with Moscow reaching out to Washington with medical equipment, and Havana to Rome, to mention a few. There is something instructive about these relations across territorial borders in this trying moment. For me, it shows that no matter the sophistication of a country’s nuclear arsenal and its economic success which assures it a hegemonic status, that insurance is not sufficient in the light of COVID-19.
Given the huge infrastructural deficit in Africa, especially in the medical sector, we hope is that COVID-19 spread in Africa shouldn’t go beyond what it is now. Otherwise, the combined casualties of the Second World War and the holocaust would be nothing near what would happen.
Despite the challenges of governance occasioned by ethnic chauvinism, grand corruption, state capture, etc., somehow, Nigeria adroitly has a way of managing pandemics. The Ebola episode is one such instance. With COVID-19, the effort(s) of the government is perceived by Nigerians with mixed feelings. While the federal and sub-national governments hurriedly came up with makeshift arrangements (medical), it’s heartwarming to also see how sub-national governments have effectively deployed their executive power (not for political reasons as it’s always been the case) to contain the disease. It is worth noting that Lagos State has been exceptional and outstanding in the battle against COVID-19. Also, the role of the private sector and public-spirited individuals in complementing that of the government is both impressive and commendable. All these put together mitigated the spread of the insidious disease across the country.
However, there is a snag to this effort. Aside from the government’s slow response to calls by Nigerians to close national borders and international airports, its stay at home directive/order which is backed by the use coercion in by deploying armed personnel without explicitly spelling out the rules of engagement and the consequences of violating them is unfortunate, to say the least. To the security services, their deployment without “strongly” echoing the caution of civility was a license to mercilessly and ruthlessly deal with Nigerians, including resort to extrajudicial killings. Incidentally, Nigeria is not an isolated case in Africa.
The new media space in Nigeria is flooded with videos containing bestial scenes of security men serially torturing Nigerians. The most unfortunate of this bestiality was the brutal murder of an innocent Nigerian by a soldier in Warri, Delta State. It is sad to note that with this turn of events, whatever credit the government has earned in its combine effort(s) to contain COVID-19, that is now on the debit side of the balance sheet. Yes, COVID-19 is an insidious disease; but in spite of its insidious nature, it doesn’t brutalise and sniff life out of people the way men of the security services do in Nigeria, because with good medical attention, the possibility of one recovering it is very high.
So, why the ruthlessness and killing of innocent civilians for “supposedly” defying the stay at home directive? Is this the best way to command obedience in a polity that claims to be a democracy? Why this macabre display of barbarism reminiscent of primitive society? This is sad! While the hierarchy of the security services assured Nigerians of the civil conduct of its men when complaints of their ruthlessness became deafening, it is sad to note that allowing their bestiality get to the extent of taking the life of an innocent Nigerian shows it is not in control of its men in the field.
More worrisome and exasperating is the action of the government in the response of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, which I consider “unstateman”. During a briefing in session with the Presidential Task Force on Coronavirus, the attention of the SGF was drawn to the unprofessional conduct of security men in enforcing the stay at home order and responded by blaming Nigerians for not being law-abiding citizens. It would not be entirely wrong to say that the failure of the government to address the issue of highhandedness on the part the security services further embolden them, which resulted in the death of a Nigerian.
Well, the SGF only did what the government is known for. Suffice it to say that, the government’s confirmed its notorious disposition in abusing human rights in a democratic order which it exhibited over time, including the willful desecration of the temple of justice with armed security men. It is quite unfortunate that the only way most Nigerian governments in the subsisting dispensation, especially the one led by General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) have this predilection for using a violent approach in relating with the on civil matters.
To show how emboldened the security personnel was because the government did not its action reprehensible, a very offensive video trended (is still trending) on social media wherein two soldiers boldly threatened to sexually abuse Warri women and daughters, kill them, and even give them HIV; all because they (soldiers) alleged one of their men was killed in Warri. This allegation of a dead soldier has been confirmed by the police to be false. Well, media report has it that the Nigerian Army has acted on the matter and the soldier in question has been arrested. This is what we hear whenever a trigger-happy soldier or policeman engages in unprofessional conduct that involves the life of a Nigerian, and the matter dies without any action taken. This time, the Civil Society, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and other organisations responsible with carrying out societal accountability must ensure that these soldiers and other policemen involved in this act of ruthlessness face the full wrath of the law in order to douse tension and avert what appears to be an impending youthquake.
Now that COVID-19 has shown our leaders that they are not safe, even in Europe and America; they should keep in mind that when this is all over, they have to start having serious conversation about possible ways of building critical infrastructure in Nigeria, especially in the health sector. This conservation must be marched with action.
Martin Ihembe
Ihembe is a postgraduate student in the Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria. He can be reached via [email protected]
