The Dangers In The Assault, Rape And Kidnapping At Ikorodu

By Georges Macnobleson-Idowu

The dangers in the recent and/or perhaps, ongoing brutal killing, rape, kidnapping and assault of innocent residents of Igbo-Olomu and Isawo communities in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State by some alleged armed Ijaw militants, who according to residents became frustrated, after they could no longer find oil in the pipelines, are more than a thousand and one, for the city of Lagos, and especially for the Yoruba race.

First, the ongoing activity could be described as a test case for the militants to determine whether the almighty city of Lagos is penetrable or conquerable. Second, it has exposed the apparent lack of capability by the various security agencies in the state, to curb the assault and massacre.

Third, it has confirmed the extent to which the test run has become successful, even in the self-acclaimed mega city. At least, if not for anything, lgbo-Olomu and lsawo communities have virtually become ghost towns. Hence, the incessant killings, raping and kidnapping for ransom, which were once distance tales to residents in Lagos, have suddenly become obvious characteristics and features of Lagos.

No doubt, there have been different sides to the narrative of the crisis in the area, but the most popular amongst the stories, was that the unfortunate incident was allegedly the result of the recklessness of some operatives of SARS, who purportedly killed a perceived innocent Ijaw man, who had recently returned home from abroad for the purpose of his wedding.

This man was reportedly killed along with some suspected Ijaw militants at a hotel in the Elepete area of Ikorodu, while they were celebrating his return. According to reports from residents in the area, his death was principally traumatizing to them, especially because his life was cut short at its prime for a crime he never committed. This development perhaps, triggered their already bottled reservations or maybe, anger over their inability to find fuel in the pipelines, and of course, also forced them to seek revenge on the innocent residents, who were also alleged as informants to the police.

But while the people were being assaulted and killed unjustly, the entire police formation in the area, including the so-called valiant SARS, who allegedly triggered the assault, suddenly went missing in action and never for once, stood up to the occasion. Of course, their excuse was that they lack modern or maybe, advanced arms and ammunitions to engage the militants. I wonder what is the use of the vehicles, motorbikes, armored tanks and helicopters that were recently given to the police by the state government, if all the people still hear is that they lack arms and ammunition to fight crimes?

The approach of the State Police Command, especially of the Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, was also nothing to write home about. It was particularly saddening that the police boss, who was expected to advise the governor on the seriousness of the situation in Igbo-Olomu and Isawo, had allegedly continued to lie about the situation, and as such treated the crisis in the area with kid gloves. I was taken aback when I read in one of the national dailies that Mr. Owoseni also insisted that only six people died in the massacre that saw over a hundred people dead. I could not help but to wonder why over a dozen people should die in the first place? I believe that even if it was just a person, who was killed in the incident, it was the statutory duty of the Nigeria Police to bring the culprits to book.

In all of these, I must confess that I was also disturbed about the Lagos State Government’s foot-dragging attitude to curb the unfortunate development. And I do not want to believe that all the state government did in the situation was for the Secretary to the State Government, Tunji Bello, to say the state was collaborating with this same defective security agency to curb the situation in the area, whereas residents in the area are moving out of their houses in millions on a daily basis. My curiosity about the State Government's incapability to handle the situation however, got a major boost, after I gathered from a reliable source that even the Accountant-General of the state was allegedly kidnapped and that the state government, prevailed on journalists, covering the governor's office, in Alausa, not to report the story. I hate to imagine that perhaps, the state government eventually paid a ransom to also get the Accountant-General freed by the militants. If this is true, one valid question that the people must ask themselves is, where lies the hope of the common man, if the state government, which has the statutory responsibility to protect them and also maintain law and order in the state, has begun to pay ransom to get those in the corridor of power released by kidnappers.

The implication of the alleged action of the state government is simple. It means that these armed militants have officially taken over the control of the suburbs, if not the entire mega city, and if care is not taken, soon and very soon their evil acts will overwhelm the entire activity of the state government.

Lagos State no doubt, is today a desired business and tourism destination around the World for potential business investors and tourists, mainly because of its perceived peaceful and secured environment, but the effect of this brewing, if not advanced crisis, in its suburbs is enough to scare and chase away potential foreign investors and tourists. It also follows that any crisis, especially in form of militancy in any of its units, can lead to dwindling revenue and as a result cripples its economy, if not silenced in due course. It is vital to mention at this juncture that the situation in the areas is still very terrifying, as the people still sleep and wake-up on a daily basis in fear, as the militants still continue to invade houses to assault and kidnap perceived money bags and their families in the area. The best way to picture the situation in Igbo-Olomu and Isawo, is to visualize a mother and her two daughters being raped, assaulted and disposed of their personal virtues in the presence of her husband and their father. Nothing could be more dehumanizing and traumatizing than this, I believe.

The other important point, or perhaps warning, for the Yorubas and its ethnic and/or political leaders that arises from the Ikorodu carnage and the various armed struggles across the country, is that they must learn from the wisdom of the great sage, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The late Awo believed in education and also encouraged the Yorubas to acquire it to its fullest. He dreamt and anticipated that through quality education, if everything being equal in a sane society, the West would become the socio-political and economic power of the country. But while an average Yoruba man was busy chasing and obtaining certificate and degree, an average northerner or Hausa man was being encouraged to enlist for recruitment into the Armed Forces. No doubt, those northerners, who went into the Armed Forces ultimately toppled several democratic governments, and reduced the certificates and degrees acquired whether home or abroad by the westerners to nothing and of course, by same stroke also deprived the late Awo from ever becoming a Nigerian President.

This no doubt, was also partly why the late Awo backed out of the arrangement he made with late Ikemba Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu that the West would secede with the East, prior to the civil war. One major reason that the late Sage gave was that the West was ill-prepared for a war and secession, and that the late Ikemba should allow him some time to prepare the minds of his people, especially as he had just been released from Calabar prison by the same Ojukwu. Truth be told, Awo knew that the West lacked the arms and ammunitions to engage the other sections of the country and that if he should go ahead with the secession plans, as proposed by the late Ojukwu, the Yorubas would be the worst hit for it, hence the East and the Gowon headed Nigerian troops were fully ready for battle. Take or leave it, knowledge is power, but in an insane society like Nigeria, where arms power reigns supreme, knowledge does have its limitations.

But frankly speaking, with the various armed agitations and violence calls for the negotiation of the sovereignty of Nigeria across the country, specifically the demand for Biafra and the recent and/or ongoing massacre in Ikorodu by armed Ijaw militants, the Yoruba leaders must wake-up to the challenge of arms and ammunitions struggle in readiness for the looming evil days. If not for self-determination, as other sections desire, at least for the sake of the adage that says “no one person, if not section, has a monopoly of madness.” For once, the Yorubas must brace up to this challenge and say enough is enough to the too many harassments.

Many Nigerians condemned ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for his failure to bring about any visible change or development to the country for six years, but unknowingly to them, this same man was able to empower his people (the Ijaw militants) with small arms and ammunition ahead of the agitations that we now see today. If for lack of any evidence, at all, every Nigerian, at least, witnessed how Jonathan engaged the likes of Asari Dokubo and Tompolo to secure the oil pipelines from vandals.

It means therefore, whether directly or indirectly that the Jonathan’s government by that action, licensed these militants or worse still, ex-militants to deal in, if not import, arms and ammunition for this alleged national assignment. He understood the politics around the agitations for resource control and that oil-well merchants chiefly from the western and northern parts of the country would rather die than to relinquish their oil stakes to the agitating Niger-Deltans.

Take or leave it, this singular action by Jonathan, to a large extent, has enable these militants to take their destiny into their own hands and as such, protect their God given birthright - crude oil - from these parasites. After all, the Federal Government is today calling, if not begging, these militants for dialogue.

A popular Yoruba saying once urged its ethnic and political leaders to take a pause to ponder over its past in order to know what step to take next. “Yoruba e ro nu wo.” I think the Yorubas need to be prepared just like the motto of the Scout. The late Awo backed out of the secession arrangement with the East because the West was ill-prepared. The Yoruba leaders must know that the Yorubas are still not prepared for any of such eventuality. They must remember that “once beaten, twice shy.”

After all, a famous adage says “he who fights and runs away leaves to fight another.” But it is obvious that the Yorubas still have failed to prepare for that other day. Already, some parts of Ikorodu, Ewedogbo area of Igando, along LASU, and Iba area, have been colonized by armed Ijaw militants, if not cultists, yet the countless security operatives, including the ethnic militia/vigilante group, the Odua Peoples’ Congress (OPC) have been handicapped about it.

It is even most pathetic and scandalously shameful to see those, who are considered as the custodians of the Yoruba culture and tradition in these troubled areas, particularly those occupying the highest stools of the land, begging these Ijaw militants for mercy. 'Arifin ile igbe!' The OPC National Coordinator, Gani Adams had reportedly insisted that they would not confront the Ijaw boys because they had in the past been ridiculed by some Yoruba leaders, as common touts and mere noisemakers. While it is important to condemn the leaders for not supporting their own, Otunba Adams must be made to understand that the condition of Igbo-Olomu and Isawo is the worst form of dehumanizing slap on the personality of an average Yoruba man.

It is so sad to know that the same OPC, which was so celebrated in the past for using a mere egg to bring down a whole building and an ordinary handkerchief to wade-off bullets could sit down, fold its hands and watch its people been demeaned in this manner. “Oju gba mi ti fun OPC.”

Thank God that while the OPC has suddenly turned timid overnight, the “Onyabo” another ethnic militia/vigilante group of the Yoruba race, has been brave enough to defend the integrity of its people. It has been one violent confrontation of the Ijaw militants after the other by the Onyabo group, since the Ikorodu episode started. Though not well equipped, they have certainly shown true courage in the bloodcurdling circumstances.

Believe it or not, this was what the late Awo avoided when he said he would rather stay on the side of the Nigerian government than to allow his people become slaves in their father land. 'Omo Yoruba ema sun asun para o ogun bo o' If for nothing, at all, at least, it is obvious that from the Indigenous People of Biafra in the East to the Fulani Herdsmen in the north and the various Niger Delta militants in the South, the agitations have been armed negotiation of the sovereignty of Nigeria, yet the West has disconcertingly continued to believe that the centre would hold. ‘Ti e ba ngbo gbe gbe gbe e je ka ba won gbe ki won ma gbe si nkule wa.’ It follows therefore, that as things obviously begin to fall apart, the Yorubas must begin to take armed negotiation seriously, if it does not want to be taken by surprise. “Mo wi te mi o!”