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Violent Crimes

  • Violent Crimes-The Position of Spectators

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    The consensus among Nigerians is that the arms build-up in different parts of the country has its background woven around the aspirations of actors in the socio-political scene in the land.

    The arms build-up festers side by side with poverty, hunger, and brigandage, while the land has over time become fertile for trading in illegal arms with evil deeds as the major focus.

    Indeed, state actors are familiar with the negative effects of injustice, inequality, nepotism, and favoritism, but are, sadly, handicapped by self-centered interests and incurable greed.

    Interestingly, the competition for power and privilege has resulted in the loss of precious lives and the wanton destruction of the properties of innocent and harmless citizens. The debate among Nigerians now is on what constitutes the major functions of state actors.

    The illegal influx of arms and ammunition has continued unabated through constitutional and unconstitutional channels with the active connivance of those who ought to be well-informed on security matters.

    As violent crimes soar nationwide through the use of sophisticated weapons, Those-in-Charge have adopted the position of spectators to the amazement and chagrin of Nigerians.

    Believers are not only friends of Jesus Christ, but are also friends of one another.

  • Violent Crimes- The State Approach

    Images 5Adolf Hitler labeled the extermination of the Jews in Europe '' the final solution'', while the military dictatorship in Argentina, which embarked on an unprecedented killing of its citizens, code named the same ''The process of National Integration''. The activities of insurgents and armed herdsmen, which have claimed thousands of lives, are similar to the above-mentioned.

    Between 1976 and 1983, millions of citizens lost their lives in Argentina.

    Death squads operating under secret circumstances and under the cover of the state murdered about 11, 000 people, which are now described as ''The Disappeared''. Two million people escaped persecution, while hundreds of babies born to ''The Disappeared'' were either sold, bartered or murdered.

    Indeed, happenings in several states of Nigeria, including Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Kogi, Nasarawa and Kaduna, indicate that the government is fully aware of the insecurity, even as the killings continue.

    This calls for concern. 

     On March, 23, 1976, General Jourge Videla, Head of the Argentine Army overthrew the government of Isabelita Peron, a former nightclub dancer.

     No civilian government had completed its tenure, except for Juan Peron's first term in office. General Videla hinged his action on the chronic inflation and high rate of unemployment that trailed Isabelita's government.

     However, in Nigeria, a retired Army General calls the shots, even though the country still experiences symptoms of economic recession, mass unemployment, corruption and insecurity. 

     The Ejecrcito Revolcionario del Pueblo(ERP) and the Montotneros, took to kidnapping and killings.

    This plunged Argentina into crisis. In Nigeria, kidnappings and killings have gone on unabated. Political pundits put the blame at the doorstep of the present administration.

     Nigerians are worried that the government has done nothing noticeable to ensure that the country does not slip into anarchy. 

     In 2009, the Defense Minister of Madagascar, Cecile Manorantha, resigned her appointment on the grounds that she would not continue to be a part of a government that kills its people. 

     Also, the people of Madagascar vigorously opposed the attempts by President Marc Ravalomanana to lease one million acres of their land in the south of the country to a Korean firm, Daewoo, for intensive farming. 

    The people have deep ties with their land and consequently view the President's action as a betrayal. The same scenario is playing out in Nigeria. 

     The insecurity in the land has made foreign investment impossible, while the disenfranchised and poor majority look to the gloomy future for reprieve.