It is no longer news to hear of military violence in Nigeria and
it is always between the army and another arm of the force, especially the Police;
it is no longer strange to see soldiers harassing civilians, especially when
they are in convoy or they find a
civilian wearing casual camouflage accessories even though it is legal to wear it.
It is now common site to see the Nigerian government using the force to
intimidate, shun and oppress her citizenry into succumbing to their whims and
caprice especially when the people rise to make demands for equity and the rule
of law, or more common is the arson against opposition to express and effect dominance; but it gets stranger when the military suddenly becomes the enemy of
the state it swore to protect, taking lives and destroying the properties of
the country and state that gives it the power and the military identity it
wields.
This is not about military rule or coup de tat, it is about the experiential contact with
Nigerian soldiers every day and how their status as military men as come to
establish them as agents of destruction either in time of peace or war. Gone
are the days when the military was glorious and noble, when soldiers were
revered and respected… Now they are mere lying scumbags that looks like piece
of shit to every right thinking citizen of Nigeria.
I remember being harassed by a pot-bellied colonel inside
Yaba College of Technology in 2008 because he felt he was more a Nigerian than
the rest of us… Grace saved him from being lynched because I exercised caution,
students would have been delighted to have a free-for-all on him. I also
remember running into two military men harassing a trader in “Egbeda” market
area of Lagos in 2010, they were hell bent on seizing the children school bags
she was selling because they were made with camouflage material, but the crowd
that gathered from the cry of the woman suggested they buy it off her at a fair
price if they believe it should be a military souvenir, they bowed to reason
and left in the end but I was disgusted, will toddlers been seen impersonating
soldiers with the tiny, scruffy looking back-pack?
Adorning your body with any military looking effect could get
you vandalized like the BRT buses that were torn to shred, and burnt on Ikorodu
road recently if you mistakenly run into a soldier or military looking
personnel on the road. The chances you will run into one is very high because
Nigerian soldiers no longer live in military barracks, they are more popular on
the streets than pure water in traffic, and the amount of revenue lost by
transporters to carrying them around Lagos for free as "staff" is getting scary. With just
a stern look and a military cap; I could go around Lagos, shuttling buses
without paying a dime.. that's the level of abuse, and that is what they
forcefully protect. The military is no longer honourable, they have degenerated
to the level of policemen, the world famous street beggars of Lagos (police aka
“olopa”: A group of federally employed miscreants that condone crime and are
constantly #DisturbingLagos).
04/07/2014 was another day in the history of senseless
violence for the “Enemy of State”, the Nigerian Army. Nine BRT buses belonging
to Lagosians and the Lagos State government were vandalized and burnt to ashes
because a law breaking military personnel was allegedly knocked down on a lane
dedicated BRT buses. The good part of the incident was that the soldier
involved in the accident survived it, stood up and called for backup because he
felt the BRT bus driver was at fault when he was evidently driving on a
barricaded lane dedicated to BRT buses only. When his irate colleagues got to
the spot, they felt the same way too. The stopped more BRT buses, harassed commuters and vandalized state properties. Let
us liken this incident to the event of a British soldier jumping on an
underground train track, and the crown’s military go on a rampage in
retaliation, burning trains because they got angry that the train could have
braked and avoid hitting the soldier. It’s unheard of, unbelievable,
inconceivable, insane, unthinkable… Only in Nigeria, not even in Togo, only our
branded thugs can do it.
I have been to a few countries, very few I would say across
the UAE, UK and Western Europe but I’ve not been lucky enough to see a single
military personnel and I be “wakama”. The closest I’ve done is being driven
past a military base in Germany versus seeing military looking guys in Paris,
but in the end they were normal policemen in camouflage. Even in the US of A,
the military live in military zones and they don’t go around in their uniforms
anytime they are out on the streets…Never! I have a cousin that served in the
USA army so I know a little from asking. Here in Nigeria, I’ve seen more
military personnel than the number of books I’ve read, and they are always
everywhere, in the cities and on the streets, demanding the respect they’ve not
earned either by keeping the peace within Nigeria, or fighting a war to defend
her on the outside.
I remember when I was younger, growing up in Ipaja was fun, I
lived a few kilometers away from a military based and the few we met were
honourable men that behaved well-mannered and orderly such that you just want
to be a military man when you grow up (not like Abacha or IBB though). Going towards
the military base (Ikola/Command) was like going to see the haven of the gods…
and I was always jealous of my mates that were students of “Command Secondary
Schools”, I even had a cousin that made the experience even more heavenly that I
just wished I could endlessly… That is in the past now, the military is no longer
respected but feared. They are now common sights, during rallies, campaign,
elections, burial, birthday, naming etc… they are now like mere house help,
carrying bags for the president and holding umbrella for expatriates with an
insatiable knack for harassing citizens and destroying properties. They have a
rich history in that though dating back to ’78 when they threw Olufunmilayo
Ransome-Kuti from a balcony and ransacked Kalakuta republic, the home of Fela.
They’ve always been errand boys and animals, maybe I forgot for a while. But
then they received orders, now they are so disorderly that they act on impulse,
they don’t even wait for any orders, they just act with impunity, with the gait
of demi-gods.
THE BRANDED THUGS aka THE NEW AREA BOYS
In October 2005, a vehicle conveying commuters was stopped,
it had a soldier on board in mufti (staff)
but the police still held the vehicle for breaking traffic rules either way. The
military officer felt embarrassed after identifying himself and the policemen
didn't sway, he promptly returned to his base, the Abati Barracks, Yaba to mobilize
his colleagues on a vengeance mission. The mission left four policemen dead and 60 charred vehicles,
while many Police buildings in the Area ‘C’ Command of the Force, at Surulere,
Lagos were razed to the ground. These military arsonists stormed the detention
cells at the Police station, pulled down the cells’ doors and iron protectors
and released all suspects, among them armed robbery and homicide suspects
before setting it aflame. State properties worth millions were destroyed by
this “Enemy of State”. In a military response to the assualt, they claimed it
was "Area Boys".
In May 2011, the 424 Army Battalion men killed Policemen and
razed down police vehicles and installation in Badagry after an alleged
confrontation between the two forces. The survival of the attack ASP Taofeek
Afolabi gave a good account of the incident but the in a press statement
released the next day by the army spokesman, Brigadier General Raph Isa he said
“Let me state categorically that no
Nigerian Army soldier was involved in that reported incident in Badagry, the
attack was by 'Area Boys' ”.
The 04/07/2014 BRT vs Military case was all the same, the
interesting part of the story is that a BRT bus had broken down at the spot a
night before and was not in motion. The BRT staff and driver were trying to fix
and move the bus when the accident occurred, that was why the accident wasn't
fatal enough to kill the victim. After
burning it all, the military spokesman readily blamed the act on "Area
Boys" all over again, only that this time we have pictures of
soldiers caught in the act… I was expecting him to say “Unknown Soldiers” like in ’78. Here’s the evidence and result in pictures.
Now we now know that soldiers are the new “Area
Boys” according to the military spokesman, maybe a new intelligent unit
that specializes in the destruction of life and properties is what they use the
pseudo "Area Boys” to describe.
The next time you hear the phrase
"Area Boys", stay very clear because if you don't, you
will be dealing
with perfectly branded 'Enemies of State', clad
in uniform and equipped with the taxes you pay to act as thugs for politicians
in times of elections, and irrational when they will. Their fury on the weak and defenceless is always baseless so beware.. I'm praying for those in the forefront of the BH war front though... Victory Belong To God and he will give it to us.
#BringBackOurGirls
I am Abidemi Babaolowo Oderinlo
iRead What iNeed, iWrite What iLike, iAct What iWrite
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