THE SEASON OF MADNESS
By: Rev. Udechukwu Nnaji
Tags: Hoodlums, Madness, Gun, Police, Seaso

EndSARS Protesters. [Photo Credit time.com]

“Besides, how many of us are not mad? A normal human being does not carry a gun. Yes, normalcy has departed a man in whose hands is a gun.”

The planning was superb and the implementation wonderful. It was peaceful, peaceable and widely supported at home and abroad. The EndSARS nationwide protest was a first of its kind in the country. Never before in the history of Nigeria have Nigerians had such a civil agitation that attracted such support from diverse strata of society.

What started as a civil protest turned a national struggle which attracted supports from diverse calling. Technocrats, Youths, Politicians, businessmen and women, Professionals and Artisans were not left out. Compelling some governors and highly placed government and private individuals to embrace the EndSARS fire. The mobilizing ability of the organizers was unrivalled.

Officers of SARS. [Photo Credit dailypost.com]

The Special Anti Robbery Squad was a negative influence as a Police unit meant for the protection of the people from the menace of armed robbery, kidnapping and related crimes. The citizens turned victims of the dreaded Police unit. Harassed, intimidated with cruelty and death, the citizens cried out and their cry was loud. Some Personnel of the Police unit were more criminal than the targeted criminals.

The EndSARS protests attracted personalities from the high and the low compelling the authorities to listen to the protesters. Their chief demand was the scrapping of the brutal Special Anti-Robbery Squad unit of the Nigeria Police Force. When the Inspector-General of Police eventually announced the disbandment of the Police Unit and promised a new Police unit in its stead, the protesters were sceptical. They believed the IG could not be given a blanket-acceptance and demanded the total reform of the entire Nigeria Police Force.

Hoodlums looting warehouses. [Photo Credit GETTY IMAGES]

But the IG hastily announced a new Police unit just a few days after the reported disbandment of the SARS. The shortness of time it took him for this announcement aroused a genuine suspicion. If the Special Anti-Robbery Squad was truly disbanded, where are the personnel now? Were they redeployed as promised by the Inspector-General? Was there any debriefing process that prepares them for routine Police duties? Were they redeployed within or outside their present localities of work?

The IG deserves an award from the Guinness book of records if true he achieved the feat within this short time of his announcing the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).

“Is Somebody smart by half in dealing with the SARS fiasco? Just changed the nomenclature while pouring the old wine into a new bottle? The protest was gaining more and more support around the globe. The protesters demanded the prosecution of indicted killer-SARS personnel, compensation for those killed by SARS officers, and the total reform of the Police Force.

Then madness crept in. Men allegedly in military uniform shot innocent protesters. What was their offence? Who did it allegedly causing the massacre of protesting youths at Lekki tollgate and why? Who ordered the shootings? A young man allegedly holding the Nigerian flag while singing the National Anthem was shot. The protesters were there in the day in broad daylight, Why in the night? Has anyone been arrested for this wickedness? A case of the unknown soldier? Maybe the shooters are from another planet?

Nigerians are human beings and should be treated as so. Does blood flow in the veins of our leaders and do they have feelings as we the small mortals have? Soldiers do not act without orders. Was this an exception? Accusations and counter-accusations, questions and counter questions continue. No answer yet.

What a season for madness. From Lagos to Calabar, Maiduguri to Port Harcourt. The already battered economy of Nigeria pushed into a coma by the corona-virus pandemic, suffered a further paralysis by a nationwide “hoodlum-ized-disorder” as looting and destruction of property became the second pandemic to contemporaneously hit Nigeria in the year 2020.

Hoodlums mounted roadblocks. [Photo Credit 50MINDS.COM

The country became a “no man’s land”. Killing, carting away arms from security institutions, looting, arson and wanton destruction by hoodlums who hijacked the EndSARS protest alarmingly caused a total national security-collapse. It was evident there was very low morale in the entire security structures of the country. Hoodlums had a field day as security apparatus were either ran out of town or were purposely ordered into their shells to avoid more bloodshed. And madness took over the entire nation.

Besides, how many of us are not mad by the way? Is it the politician who sees power as a shortcut to the accumulation of un-needed illicit wealth? Looting the treasury and accumulating wealth his great-great-grandchildren may not need? Or the system which places a Professor’s monthly take-home grossly below that of a Local Government Councillor? Is it the Judge who gives justice to the highest bidder until he forgets how many bank accounts he has? Madness is in most of us. It is the reason we abuse every position we found ourselves. Madness is in our DNA. It runs in us the same way blood runs in arteries and veins.

Give a gun to the civil servant and see if he is not worse than the discredited SARS officer. Those who chose not to be mad are “MUMUS” SEMI-IMBECILES.

The EndSARS civil protests turned violent. Hoodlums came with guns, machetes, clubs and daggers. Firstly, it was the burning down of Police Stations and government property. Hoodlums were in the rampage, breaking into prison houses to set inmates free. They went around killing especially security personnel, burning down public and private property. Smashing and snatching cars, beating up the innocent that were not part of the madness. Erecting roadblocks and collecting “Egunje” from motorists. There was madness everywhere.

Hoodlums set Zik’s Statue in Onitsha ablaze. [Photo Credit Premium times]

But normal human beings do not carry guns. Yes, normalcy has departed a man in whose hands is a gun. All over the world, there are some traits of beastliness in men and women with guns in their hands. They see others as lesser creatures. Is it in America, the United Kingdom, Russia or France? Every other place, there is a crazy power in the gun. The craziness in the gun infects and hypnotizes those who carry it. Is there any wonder soldiers say that non-soldiers are bloody-civilians?

I have a fear. My fear is, Where are the arms carted away by hoodlums? It is like a time-bomb waiting for an explosion. When and how is unknown. My prayers are for the protection of normal human beings among us whose hands do not hold a gun. Because I foresee a worse madness in the country by the time these looted-arms are un-leashed on the citizenry. But the most-alarming madness should be about those that may empty-handedly challenge a man in whose hands is a gun.