Read this: The Day I Finally Got Robbed: Reflections of a "Returning" Diasporan. The Independence Day show of shame of our security leadership and the kidnap of the 15 kids in Abia state have made almost irrelevant, my sharing of my experience about security lapses on a more mundane and local level. However, my citizen's perspective is still of some value and I wish to bring them forward, hoping all of us as subjects of a common community will begin with local action. According to a recent study released by the British Council, If Nigeria fails to plan for its next generation, it faces serious problems as a result of growing numbers of young people frustrated by a lack of jobs and opportunities. If these young people are healthy, well educated and find productive employment, they could boost the economy and invigorate it culturally and politically. If not, they could be a force for instability and social unrest. Unfortunately, the dearth of credible data in the life of Nigeria, and the well-established under-reporting of crimes in the country, makes us unable to understand the enormity of the problem at the moment. However, I dare-say that it is currently reaching epidemic proportions, and I see not relief in sight. It is the season of locusts for most in the country, and I finally got my own up and close experience. It was not pretty and the experience left me traumatized. It is over two month since the day I was robbed, Sunday July 18, 2010. It was only after I got over the initial trauma--physical and mental-- that I finally managed to complete this written account. After over seven years of return from abroad, I finally experienced the horror of walking into a robbery, at my local grocery store in Surulere, right in the heart of the city in broad daylight. My initial reaction following this victimization was to, sulk, quietly lick my wounds, and walk into the night, like the many who constitute the unknown statistic of crime in our nation today. I however decided against that reaction, knowing it would not help matters in the long run. This consideration is also more so in the light of my background and affiliations with security-related technologies and applications. I imagine also that my exposure to American culture and its commitment to personal responsibility in part may have informed this decision. My hope is that through this narration of my ordeal and reflections resulting from it, I can at least further sensitize the public to some of the issues that in my opinion need to be addressed, and hopefully, things we as the public can do to better take control of our security matters. In my view, more direct involvement by the public is called for, and this will not occur until more, regular folks like myself get more directly involved through such participation, sharing of experiences and outright advocacy. These are sourly needed right now. Being robbed can be compared to being raped. It is a momentary collapse loss of control over your person and your destiny, for the short period while the assault is on. Someone once said that there is nothing as dangerous as someone who has nothing to lose. The robbers looked to me like typical bus conductors or street urchins. As I laid on my stomach between the aisles next to a few other customers who had been told to adopt the same posture, I thought about the number of times I had passed the same round-about and thought about the overdue need to equip it and similar high visibility junctions with CCTV cameras. I thought about the horror stories of robberies, assassinations, kidnappings, ethnic riots, etc. which continue repeatedly all across the country with no evidence that the security forces have any clue regarding how to systematically address them. I felt sad that I had finally become a victim of a situation which I had wanted to contribute to addressing professionally, but had not had much luck with. Over the years, I had visited the same store dozens of times previously. Going in there on that fateful afternoon was therefore something I did absentmindedly. On this sunday afternoon, following worship service, I was visiting the store to pick up some regular groceries. Looking back at what occurred and how it took place, it felt like walking into a time capsule. As I entered, someone welcomed me. I observed that the face was not a familiar one, but did not give that much thought. The next second I was shoved from behind and told to keep quiet and not try anything funny. I found myself starring at the tip a small, narrow barreled pistol which was pointed upward at my face. It all happened so quickly. Two men appeared from behind me telling me to empty my pockets. I quickly obliged them, dipping my hands into my dansiki top as I handed over my bulky ZOOM Media Mogul phone and my wallet. They patted me down for any solid objects in my pocket. Mysteriously, they missed my other phone which was a slim Nokia. I guess the bulge of my handkerchief and their hurry somehow covered it from being detected. One of the men felt around my neck for any signs of jewelry. They ignored my watch. I guess it was too cheap for them to worry about. They were also in a hurry. Following that, they quickly herded me to the back aisle and told me to quietly join two others, a man and a women who quietly laid on their stomachs facing the floor. I noted that I did not see any of the regular faces at the store. They had all apparently been tucked away at the end of the store which was not visible from where we were led to. When I felt I could not hear any more sounds, I tried to get my other phone out of my pocket. One of the robbers noticed my movement and he returned to me telling me he felt I was not taking him seriously and that I had something I was hiding in the pocket. He then pulled out and showed me what looked like an ugly sawed-off shotgun as he struggled with me to pull out my hands from the pocket. I kept my hands stuck in my pocket and kept turning downwords preventing him from feeling the phone through my pockets. He must have given up due to the time squeeze. I again waited until I did not hear any more sound at which point I took the phone out of my pocket, called home and place it in the botton shelf next to where I laid my head. As we waited, we maintained this posture for a few minutes until we heard no more sound and assumed that they must have made their getaway. It was at this point I came out of the store, and began to raise the alarm that the store had just been robbed. Some pain behind my left thigh, which begun hours after the incident and got increasingly worse, was my first indication that I was actually struck with some type of blunt object at some point during the robbery. I guess the adrenalin rush of the moment of the attack had left me numb. As I hurried out of the store and tried to notify those outside about what had just occurred, I sighted three LASTMA (Lagos State Transportation and Management Agency) officials idly sitting on curb across from the store chatting away. I told them that we had just been robbed and needed assistance notifying the police. They told me disinterestedly that that was not their job, and went ahead with their chatter. I was shocked. They did not even as much as try to find out more about what had happened and whether anyone might need help. There was a man who came in a jeep, and whose wife had gone into the store. As he waited for her in his vehicle with the engine running, he was unaware of what was going on inside until I came out of the store. As a minimum I expected that the police and LASTMA would show coordination and collaboration in their activities. That was not so, at least not at a policy or at an operational level. Only a few days ago, I note that the head of NEMA was making the same point about the lack of coordination among the security agencies. The local newspaper vendor positioned in front of the store all day, later told me the gang comprised of three individuals that had come on separate "okadas." The vendor who had been strategically positioned in front of the store had valuable witness information which could have been very valuable to the police, but was anyone going to ask? Over two hours after the incident, when I returned to the store, the police had not visited the crime site, and were not expected. Indeed it was four days after the incident that they finally visited the scene of the crime, and requested the staff present to provide a statement on what happened. Everyone appears to have just resigned themselves to the reality that this is the way things are, and no one can do anything about. I disagree. I think it is each of us as we have encountered it or as we are able to impact it, adding our voices to the struggle, that can build a "critical mass" for a viable movement to save our country. As a professional with specialty in some specific areas of security, I have be interested in some IT infrastructure aspects of security, and therefore had to try to introduce my services to the powers that be, without much luck. It was therefore even more traumatic for me when I thought about the number of times I was passing that junction and was reminded that there was no visible CCTV surveillance camera at such a location, despite the cost benefit. How long should it take and how complicated could such an infrastructure be to deploy. The local government can afford to own and maintain it. That is the way it is done in many developed economies. I was actually victimized by my inept government three times in the same day. First was the robbery itself, next was my visit to the police station to report the crime. The third which was my stopping at a police highway checkpoint to report a major highway accident. All these from my vantage position in a single day, epitomized major symptoms of a very dysfunctional society. The type of society we will either reform together, or go down with. God forbid! If you've never been violently robbed, then you cannot truly and precisely empathize with a victim, or really feel their pain or trauma. What occurred in a flash of a second for ever changed my perception and commitment to fighting to secure a minimum bareable level of security in the country. I know that there have been more gruesome encounters around the country, but I now know also that I will have to become a part of actively guaranteeing this if I am to remain a citizen and encourage my two American-born children in their teen and twenties to remain and feel safe. It is sad, but I had to relieve my experience through this commentary, as a way of both healing from the trauma, as well as encouraging more Nigerians to speak up and get involved in fixing a comatose security infrastructure. Without security, we might as well just close down our country or arrange to be re-colonized. My recollection of what happened and the sequence of events was unclear. The store aisles were arrange in such a way that on entering, you had to either make a left of a right turn. You therefore could not see those in the store or what was happening from outside. I stated that my experience on this fateful day made me feel victimized three times on the same day. I had a scheduled event to attend on the island, which placed me on the long stretch of the Eko bridge. As I drove through approaching the island, any visible police presence was completely absent. At the Marina I came upon a major road accident, which had resulted in two middle aged "responsible looking" women on the verge of exchanging blows, with other drivers, having parked there cars to diffuse the conflict. All this is going on on the highway, right in the heart of the megacity. Still no police or traffic attendants on sight. As I descended into the island, I came upon the regular police check point where I parked to notify them about the accident, barely 500 metres away. As I notified them, they told me non-commitally that the location was not within their jurisdiction and was the responsibility of the Onikan station. I quietly returned to my car and headed for my event. The pain from the attack got progressively worse a few days after the attack and I did not feel up to driving due to the discomfort getting up and sitting. This condition got better after about five days and I finally felt healthy enough to venture out. I visited the police station, the phone company office (ZOOM) and the bank all to notify them of the robbery and the missing items which included my phone, ATM card and drivers Lincense. The police said I needed an affidavit from the court in order to get a temporary driving permit pending the replacement of the previous one. There was no documentation to assure that it would not be used by someone else. It did not matter that the license was currently in the hands of a criminal. The phone company (ZOOM) said as far as they were concerned, they didn't know if the phone was truly mine, as they can only recognize numbers and not names or person. I could not react. A young man that they directed me to in wanting to make a point, pointed to his computer screen showing me a string of numbers running down the screen. He told me that as I could see there were no names on the screen and he therefore could only relate to the phone numbers and not to the name of owners. I asked him if he knew about Microsoft Access (a records management software) he ignored my question. Then I began to better understand. The telecoms company does not mind the phone being used even in a crime, as long as it is earning them profit. They claim it is based on some laws by the EFCC. Who can argue with or verify that. They did not say what the law was or why it was needed. They promise to block the phone as soon as I returned with a police report. People from my household have been calling and speaking to the "new owners" of the Pocketpc (Zoom Media Mogul #07023036578) since then and that continues every few days suggesting that the phone is in active usage. I imagine the phone company in addition to the cost for voice calls is also earning another N10,000 (Ten thousand naira) monthy for providing internet services to the new owners without asking any questions. This is the amount I had been paying them for the past few years which they obviously did not want to give up. Among most of my relatives, close friends and associates, the news of my being robbed was almost non-significant. I got a few of them to commiserate with me and wish me better luck in future. The truth was that most of them had either had a similar or a worse experience previously, or they knew of someone who had been similarly victimized. This got me wondering how pervasive such acts are in our society, and how it may compare with other parts of the world. I thought about the extent to which the entire country is "gatted" beyond normal possibly in part as a result of the feeling of vulnerability. Some of the main conclusions and recommendations that I would like to highlight as I conclude this article are as follows. I am pleased that as I conclude this article, the sack of the newly appointed Acting National Security Adviser has just occurred, coming so soon after his acting appointment, and in the heels of the sack of the IG as well as other security chiefs. This is welcome news. At least we now have a leadership which makes heads to roll when major breaches occur. That shows progress. However, to expect a re-vamped security infrastructure on the strength of a few personnel changes at the top, is just like expecting free and fair elections merely on the strength of a new INEC boss, however smart or holy. That will not happen. It could be equated with rearranging the chairs on the deck of a sinking Titanic. All the institutions and processes which should form the building blocks to assure the desired end are simply not in place, and we know it. Security matters are so lax that there are clear evidence that the criminals know when and how to move. My further enquiry into this matter turned up more information confirming our collective vulnerability. It was suggested that there are certain times of each day when the security is even more vulnerable. Those times we stated in very specific terms. Such a situation should not exist and even if they did, should not be so readily known to the public. I visited the police station again to notify them of my inability to block my line even following loss of my phone in an armed robbery. The officer on duty mentioned their handicap as the police. According to him, the National Communications Commission (NCC) is not helpful enough to facilitate tracing or blocking the stolen phone. I hope the NCC will get a copy of this story, and take the necessary action to safeguard the public through more effective laws and processes. Obviously such lack of coordination with a crucial agency such as the NCC epitomizes a deep-seated problem in the whole system. I imagine that the absence of strong consumer groups to assure the protection of the public has not helped matters. I mentioned earlier the lack of coordination between some of the main agencies visible to the public who should create further value to the public in security matter such as the police and LASTMA. I daresay that on a typical Sunday in Lagos, there is a more visible presence of LASTMA officials than the police. It would therefore make sense that the LASTMA official will play a facilitative role on security matters. Taking on my public health hat, it occurs to me that in addition to all the hardcore security infrastructure that needs to be in place, there is also need for baseline behavioural data around which to effectively address a lack of security, as a health issue in Nigeria. So many people in the country have been victimized in various ways and data to define the extent of the problem is required. Such information, aggregated at the zonal, state, and possibly local government level, could be used to assure more pro-activity in crime prevention and planning towards improving the quality of life of our peoples and communities. A fundamental revamping of security in our country should involved both a top down and a bottom up process. By this I mean that the country as a whole should reappraise the situation and come to the conclusion that the people cannot rely on any security approach such as we have now. This is one in which the government is given the entire responsibility, power, and resources to address all security issues. Rather, we should learn from for instance the US approach (based on its history) whereby the people are also involved (through local and state powers) as well as proper civilian oversight of the security agencies. We already know the level of abuse that our politicians are capable of meeting out on the hapless population. The activities within the security industry should be demystified and brought with the domain of professionals (rather than political hands) and the required democratic institutions, structures and processes. The aftermath of Sept. 11 in the US and the subsequent development of the Home Security initiative saw even more reliance on local communities and their data and personnel for addressing security issues. sI think any approach which leaves all security matters in the hand of the government is likely to continue to make most of the population 'sitting ducks." I end this essay with a 2001 quote from Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. which I find inspiring, "I have made up my mind that Nigerians who have a lot of stake in this country are those who will take the lead in the development of our country. Those of us who are fortunate to have enormous resources must take a lead in restoring the pride and dignity of our country." |
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