POLITICAL THUGGERY AND MERCENARY; A THRIVING BUSINESS IN LAGOS STATE.
A monster has been created in Lagos which has been allowed to fester for so long and it has metamorphose into big societal malady that has become worrisome to discerning Lagosians. Although, all Lagos residents who have done nothing to arrest this ugly situation till it becomes fully grown into monster are culpable in this case especially those families that have contribute their wards into the growth of this monster, however, it should be borne in mind that the ruling party (APC) in Lagos State since the inception of this democratic dispensation is the major culprit because they are covertly and overtly creating enabling environment for this monster to thrive without confronting and tackling it headlong because of political motives and gains at the detriment of the masses.
“He who do not oppose evil, command it to be done”. This according to Learnardo Da Vinci and this explains why the ruling party (APC) in Lagos State with all the instrument and apparatus of State governance at their disposal need to have nip this monster in the bud before now. Obviously, they ignored it, and because of this dereliction of duty, this monster has metamorphose into big industry in Lagos State and most unfortunately, the most productive part of the society are the players and workers (Youths) in this industry.
They are patronize by the political class in the state particularly during electioneering campaigns and intra party political squabbles. Similarly, they are recruited by Land grabbers to unleash mayhem on unsuspecting land buyers and investors in real estate but the biggest employer is the transport union in Lagos State because is more attractive due to the enormous wealth in the sector. A bye product of this monster is the emergence of cults and its popularity among the Youths in Lagos State, to the extent that a vulcanizer or an artisan who have never been to the four walls of fountain of knowledge are now members of different cults organization with its attendance negative consequences in the society.
A good instance of this was the recent rival between two transport union in Obalende-Ikoyi area of Lagos Island where the entire business activities in the metropolis was shut down due to high level of sophisticated weapons at display and use along with exchange of gun shots at the battlefield all in a bid to prove their supremacy over each other and take control of the garage and parking space to continue collecting illegal tolls from the motorist which is ultimately transfer to the passengers. The above scenario led to commuters running helter and skelter for their lives and residents were shocked and in perpetual fear until the battle subsided. The most frightening and staggering about the incident was that it occurred between the former Police headquarters in Kamsalem and a stone throw to the former seat of power of federal government of Nigeria at Dodan Barack, Obalende, Lagos.
This trending monster has also led to the emergence of professional political thugs and mercenaries in Lagos which is swiftly developing into a professional career path that is attractive to the Youths because of the affluence the pioneers are displaying and the impunity with which they operate. Today in Lagos State, there is no local government area without a warlord or professional thug with his own group awaiting a thuggery or mercenary contract from their patronizers. GOD forbids, without sincere political will to wholistically tackle and arrest this monster which is thriving on indecent tolling system all over the metropolis in Lagos State,
it might become so popular among the Youths and become institutionalize and certified as a career path so that we will not be having professional body such as ” certified professional political thug of Nigeria “( CPPTN) or ” chartered institute of mercenary of Nigeria” ,(CIMN) birthed in Lagos State. Other negative consequences of this monster are threat and destruction of lives and properties, oppression and harassments of citizens, vandalization of public and private properties.
In order to avert this looming disaster and bring Lagos back to its glorious days which was built on good foundation of morality, human dignity, hard work, love, good neighborhood and good attitude that would usher in smart city of our dreams where the system works and its residents live in peace, harmony and prosperity . Hence, the government of the day has to go back to drawing board and put policy in place to provide functional and pragmatic vocational training centers to accommodate these teaming Youths, not the cosmetic ones around, provision of start-up grant or soft loans for young entrepreneurs which is devoid of political bias, re-introduction of sporting activities at local and community level to catch them young and engage the idle ones, award of scholarship for brilliant indigent students .
Moreover, there should be provision of safety nets and employment opportunities for the repentant thugs and mercenaries. Last but not the least, the activities of transport union in Lagos State should be highly regulated and reformed in line with the global best practices of other smart cities of our dreams in the advanced world.
Thanks
Ajibosin Azeez
Lagos Island.
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