It is time to liberalize the property of weapons in Nigeria, from Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu

The most loved national anthem of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who signed the law impatiently on May 29, 2024, has a deep message in the second verse. It reads: “Our flag will be a symbol that the truth and justice reign … to be delivered to our children; a stainless banner”.

The president has always underlined the last line, to deliver to our children a stainless banner. He likes those lines. Unfortunately, the banner -the flag, which is “a symbol that the truth and justice kingdom”, has been seriously stained by the blood of the Nigerians who wish to live and die peacefully, to not have life brutally and criminally. This is the new normality in Nigeria, a country where leaders speak of justice, as the campaign promises, but will never raise a feather to deliver justice to the victim, accused and society.

As it is now, reality would seem to be that the best day of Nigeria would be one who passes without reporting of the escape of blood in any part of its territory. Something tells us: that Nigeria has returned to the state of Hobbesian nature in which life is brutal, ugly and short; Where life is freely free at will; Where to survive a 24 -hour cycle is at the mercy of an armed man who is absolutely certain that he will not be arrested nor will he have given him justice even when he was captured. Nigeria has now descended in a geographical space where every man lives in mercy of a criminal gang that touches weapons or in the other. Either it is a gang of crime that the baptized bandits are waiting for you somewhere in the north-western part of Nigeria, or terrorists of the groups of Boko Haram and Iswap are shooting you for the game in the north-eastern part, or you still have the gangs of kidnapped in the southeast. You may also be lucky to escape criminal gangs that operate as armed thieves and kidnappers in the central and northern central regions of the country.

In all these, the armed criminal gangs operate with brazen impunity knowing that law enforcement agencies are not at least turban on what happens to citizens regarding political leaders, the main leaders and some privileged few with their legs in the corridors of the powers, are ensured by dozens of armed legal officers, leaving the general population in the mermame of the blood ganges. This new summary of Nigeria is depressing.

This has become the new Nigerian reality under the leader’s watch who have sworn oath to guarantee lives and properties and guarantee the free movement of citizens throughout the country. This blood loss occurs because the government has carefully demonstrated its reluctance to curb the armed groups of processing. With the lethargy of the government, to the owners who run revolt and press the trigger on unarmed citizens, they are said that they can spend their holidays as they wish and rely on citizens who look to the government for protection. And this vicious circle will continue until the government perform its side of the social contract with citizens and in response to its constitutional function of safeguarding the life and property of citizens. This was exactly the idea behind the government. As Hobbes supported in “The Leviathan”, people freely present their will to a group of people called government in exchange for safety and good order of society. Without this, the company will be managed within the framework of the survival of the most suitable. But the situation here is that while people have presented their will, freely to the government, the government has grabbed this will and ignored people who do not worry about what happens subsequently as far as they (government) are guaranteed.

The insensitivity of the government and its lethargic response to the killings throughout Nigeria, led to the killings of Uromi. The refusal of the government to punish the authors of violent crime across the country has fueled the massacres of Bokkos, Plateau State and Yobe. Will it end with these? It is doubtful because the government has openly demonstrated its reluctance to show leadership in putting an end to these situations. It is a fact, the fundamental reason why the group of vigilantes arose, in almost all the states of the Federation, the government’s inability to guarantee citizens is demonstrated.

A mental meeting on the police structure in the local government area, in particular, those in rural communities, will bring to consciousness the reality of failure and the existential danger that rural communities face. With the exception of the police teams in the headquarters of the local urban government, which may have some equipment to work with, those in rural communities are stripped of the necessary equipment to work with. The majority does not even have operational vehicles and cannot boast of an adequate labor to operate effectively. The problem is here. If the police were effective, perhaps, the police, not the vigilante, would have arrested the “hunters” of Uromi and correctly managed the situation. Perhaps the police would also have been able to cut off Bokkos’ massacre. But a country that has constantly ignored the need to equip its police to become very effective and rather depends on its military to carry out the normal police function, it is only postponing the evil day. It will be exploded one day.

The lethargy of President Tinubu is managing insecurity throughout Nigeria, arrives in the wake of the classic indifference of Muhammado Buhari to the threat of terrorists who immersed weapons. It seems that while Buhari has extended the friar for kindly concession of criminal gangs across the country, Tinubu is pleased to make them a relaxing massage. This is not what the Nigerians banned when they freely presented their will to the government. As it is, when friends sit, they remember the beautiful old road travel times through Nigeria. It was days when you could drive from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, stopping in some important cities to eat and cool off without fear of being attached or harassed. It was days when the Nigerians treated travelers who stay in their communities to rest, with great care to make sure it is comfortable. It was the days when the Nigerians showed that “although the language and tribe differ”, in the brotherhood they were. Unfortunately, the past is now better than our present.

Can we go back to that past? That is, assuming, but does not admit, that the future is terribly bleak. The future will remain desolate and frightening if the police in Nigeria continue to participate in the crime to look at the ethnicity of the criminal. When you consider the ethnic group of crime authors before deciding if a crime was committed, legitimized the crime and challenge the ethnic groups without favors to make the worst. And their response could be devastating. I imagine that it is what we have now developed for Nigeria and this is the fundamental reason that blood flows freely.

Those who have healed their companies have always delivered justice to the accused and the victim. For them justice is a healing tool. They made an excellent use of the bandage on the lady of justice. But in Nigeria, the lady of justice is not blind. He looks at your face and takes your ethnicity and religion into consideration before providing justice. This is the reason why our flag has become a symbol that truth and justice do not live here. However, there could be a way out: how about a new legislation that frees the property and use of weapons? Perhaps this will do a lot to allow the people to defend themselves while the government demonstrates its absence. We have come to that state of existence.