The kidnapping of a British national last Wednesday in Lagos by unidentified gunmen is one more example of the odium kidnappers are bringing upon the country and which accounts for the nation’s low international rating as a tourist haven and destination for foreign direct investment. The steady flow of bad news about Nigeria hurts badly; more so, as kidnapping has become an uncontained national tragedy. The time has come for the leadership of Nigeria to take a stand against kidnapping and address it squarely as number-one public enemy. Government cannot continue to give the impression that it is clueless on issues of threat to lives and property of the citizenry, including foreigners.
Available reports say the incident happened at about 7.30 pm, along the Murtala Mohammed Airport Road. The unnamed Briton, who had just arrived in Nigeria, was whisked away to an unknown destination after his abductors attacked the SUV he was in; opening fire and injuring the driver in the process. It has also been gathered that the kidnappers have made contact with relations of the Briton and are demanding a ransom, said to run into millions of dollars. This is strongly condemnable. Kidnapping has clearly become a national malaise, because of the financial gain, which makes the scourge a booming industry. Yet there are security agencies – the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, and others paid to ensure security of lives and property.
As the scourge continues to spread like wild fire all over Nigeria, the refrain is that it is no longer safe to presume anywhere or anybody is safe. And that is bad for Nigeria. If the primary duty of a state is to safeguard the lives and property of citizens, kidnappers have successfully called the country’s security apparatus to question. A government that watches as ransom is being paid to kidnappers defeats its essence. It exposes its authority and legitimacy to question.
This latest incident, is one kidnapping too many. It lays not just the magnitude of the security challenge the nation faces, but also the latitude the criminals now have. Not only did they abduct a foreigner; they way-laid him on the busy Murtala Mohammed airport road that serves as the gateway for most visitors to Nigeria. What this means is that the gunmen literally defied all the police patrol and security presence in the area, and thereby advertising their brazenness to an already traumatized population. That is how daring the kidnappers have become. As usual, the Police response to the kidnapping has been appalling. Indeed, the reaction has been the same refrain of lament and vacuous aspiration that the kidnappers would soon be apprehended.
Lagos State Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, told local media: “When the information filtered in, the state Commissioner of Police, detailed a crack team of investigators to unravel the incident and rescue the victim from the clutches of his abductors… As I speak to you now, we are on the matter. And I believe that he would soon be rescued. But I don’t want to go into details for security reasons, so as not to jeopardize the case.” This is not only laughable; it is pathetic wishful thinking. The Nigeria Police certainly should fight to retrieve its credibility; otherwise the standing view is that the police will make all the right noises, while the victim is held in captivity until ransom is paid to secure his release.
If the security agencies had functioned optimally, kidnapping by now should have been reduced to a mere public nuisance. Today, all over Nigeria, the sense of fear is palpable: insecurity is so prevalent that all citizens are helpless. The security agencies are befuddled; they are neither fighting criminals, nor fighting crime effectively. Regrettably, the president is too obsessed with the politics of 2015; hence the duty of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians is his least concern.
Addressing insecurity deserves serious attention. Crime is fought with skills, technology and funding and it is open secret that the security agencies lack the operational capacity for Nigeria’s need. As a matter of urgency, government should empower the security agencies to combat crime. Not only must they be properly equipped, their morale should be boosted to make them less susceptible to complicity. In addition, the systemic unemployment must be addressed. There is a nexus between the crime rate and unemployment as too many idle hands are making the whole country a devil’s workshop. Furthermore, the political class should be less extravagant in the midst of ravaging poverty that is the lot of most Nigerians. Above all, corruption has occasioned a level of anger and built a mass of disoriented youths who find different ways of expressing their discontentment. The wave of kidnappings for ransom and armed robbery are manifestations of disenchantment with the system of governance.
However, this is no justification to take to criminality. The kidnapping of the British national is another metaphor for the road not taken in policing a 170 million population and $4 trillion economy. It is an unconscionable act that portrays the nation as barbaric and lawless. It also reflects the security deficit and incompetence on the part of relevant authorities to live up to their primary duty of ensuring the security of lives and property in the country. That security agencies have lost control over the activities of hoodlums and armed bandits ravaging the country is worrisome. There have hardly been any instance of successful arrest and prosecution of kidnappers, thus provoking the suspicion of a possible collusion with law enforcement agencies.
Amidst incessant promises of improved internal security, these sad and unfortunate incidents have been one too many, for this is not the first time a foreign national has been kidnapped. In the face of this embarrassment, the government must recognize that kidnapping mocks efforts at rebranding Nigeria and burnishing the nation’s image. Owing to the gravity of the kidnapping of a foreign national and its implication for diplomatic relations, the government should use all available means to free the victim and bring the kidnappers to book soonest. Kidnapping is an infamy that has become a sore on the nation. Nigeria must rid itself of the scourge or perish.
