Introduction:
It is not my prayer that any of you should lose a child. In this part of the world, it is grief that’ll last a lifetime, when a child dies, especially a grown up whose parents are still alive. It is worse, when such a child has not married with a family of his own. Nothing pains a father more than the fact that he is not able to protect a vulnerable son. Such a father will, for the rest of his life, feel like a failure, despite outward appearances of success.
Let’s assume you are a father, or mother, with a son in one of the country’s higher institutions. It becomes a thing of pride that goes beyond achievement. It is like a dream fulfilled, because in these parts, the belief is that we want our children to surpass us in achievements, most of which are based on their level of education. At 50 years of age, or a little above that, you are already planning how to hand over whatever you do to your child, especially if you are self-employed.
But, suddenly, you receive a call that the son, possibly in his final year as an undergraduate has been killed. If the death had come through an accident or sickness, it would have been understandable. However, unconsciously, your rage will naturally be against the society. Where were the Government and its law enforcement agencies, when it happened? What about the school authorities? Why did I allow this boy to go to a public school? Questions induced by deep pains will certainly envelope the person’s mind. The pain is not really about the money and years spent to get the boy to where he was. It is like a part of the parent has been taken away, and forcefully too. Not by God. But by persons who had no right to take such a young life. And nothing, absolutely nothing, hits a parent in the gut like a child dying through circumstances you could have controlled. That is the sad reality of life for some parents in Nigeria today.
The theme of today’s event, as contained in the letter sent to me, is: “How to reduce, prevent and control violence in schools.” But the topic of my paper has been adjusted to: “Checking violence in schools: The Ogun State experience,” for obvious reasons – I was involved too. But at a different level. Between December 2004 and May 2007, I was Director of Organisation, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ogun State. Beyond that title, which suggests interaction with the media and party members, the actual job was almost as Deputy Security Adviser to Mr. Governor. Interactions at the security level with the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Army, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Cultists and Street Boys among others were part of my brief.
As Chief Press Secretary to Mr. Governor, between June 2007 and January 2009, interactions with party members were no longer part of my brief. My job was mainly about Media and Public Relations concerning the image of Mr. Governor. The security aspect should not have been part of it too. But given one’s background in terms of my previous assignments, issues often cropped up requiring informal interventions concerning security in Ogun State, or interestingly, Lagos State. So, be assured that I’ll be speaking from experience for us to share ideas on how to check the murderous activities of a few misguided students, ably assisted by politicians in some instances, in killing their colleagues and working as assassins for persons involved in politics. You believe the problem is on the campuses. It is more than that today, as members of NURTW, RTEAN and Street Boys are now key members of organisations that were exclusively meant for undergraduates.
Genesis:
Students-on-students violence in our higher institutions began on a very small scale in the late 1970s. It heightened in the 1980s, blossoming gradually as the years progressed to what we have today. Of course, the primary agencies responsible for this violence remain organisations that have earned the negative term, cultist groups today. From a collection of students interested in rendering selfless service to their immediate environment through extracurricular activities, these organisations have developed into criminal enterprises, such that, assassins, armed robbers, drug barons, kidnappers and well-paid political thugs are the people they have turned into. Unlike in the past when education tamed the actions of these groups, the infusion of persons who do not have a culture of debating issues in resolving an argument has turned them into a mindless killing machine, who at the slightest provocation resort to violence. Mundane issues such as ‘snatching’ of girlfriends could result in a death sentence. A mere disregard for protocol in greeting a supposedly ‘Big Boy’ could earn the offender broken limbs. There are many girls on the campuses and outside, who cannot tell their closest relatives about how they have been serially raped or forced into meaningless relationships by key members of these groups. The list is endless.
Possible causes:
There is no point in disagreeing with those who believe that an erosion of societal values is primarily responsible for the violence among the different cult groups in our schools, which has resulted in several killings with anguished parents in pains till today. Potentially refined elements of the society became students before and during the 1970s. Conscious of certain responsibilities to the society, such students always felt they were in school not just to improve their lives, but also to better the condition of the rest of the polity. Other students were seen, mainly, as partners in progress. Thus, when disagreements occur, in the course of relating with one another, such are usually resolved with robust debates. That was when you’ll know who has read the most books or who is closer to an erudite professor in the area, where the argument is focussed on. Issues were not resolved with guns and machetes. Debates were employed, and sometimes, writings. Scholarly articles countering one another’s positions were not uncommon. Opposing views were not responded to with physical violence. Students deployed their intellect, through persuasive arguments to prove their position was correct. Not so today.
But more than an erosion of our values, it is my firm conviction, based on experience, that cultism with its attendant violence persist in many schools today because the newly developed national political culture of ‘Tani maa mu mi?’ (impunity) has also found its way to the campuses. The habitually violent individual has little or nothing to offer a society apart from sorrow, tears and blood, which is a reason many of them cannot stand robust arguments. Instead of responding by way of quality debate to an argument, it is violence for them. In the topic at hand, this predisposition to violence in resolving issues is being assisted, mainly, by our culture of impunity with the children and relations of elected or appointed political office holders being the major culprits. You also have children of highly placed civil servants, military officers and policemen being involved. They know that the due process of law will always be circumvented for them. It does not matter if the Police or DSS have iron-clad evidence against such felons. Nothing can happen to them, because they are highly connected. You only need to review the persistent ugly events in Mushin, Fadeyi, Lagos Island and Ikorodu among other places to convince yourself that beyond the campuses, the cult groups are very active on our streets. Not just that alone. The villains are known to the law enforcement agencies. But because of their powerful ‘connections’, the law act against them, yet.
The Ogun State experience:
Senator Ibikunle Amosun was sworn in as Ogun State Governor on 29 May 2011. For those of you who follow events in the Gateway State, you may want to review events there and compare with what obtained before he arrived on the scene. Many, if not all, the cult boys relocated out of the state. A few were picked up by the law enforcement agents, who did not wait for violence before doing their jobs. The song on the lips of most of the boys was like, “Weere ni Amosun yen o. Ti o ba gba e mu, waa pe ni Eleweran.” Roughly translated, “The new Governor is a mad man. Once you are arrested, nobody will be allowed to sort you out. You will face the music on your own.” Before June 2011, open display of dangerous firearms and machetes by different groups of killer gangs were the other of the day. Those of them in the schools graduated before their academic graduation into Security Consultants needed to keep the opposition quiet. The academic environment became a place of fear, just as the larger society itself. Many were involved in armed robberies, as I have had cause to encounter a number of them, whose favourite attires were illegal police uniforms. I do not know how Amosun did it. But unlike before when the demoralised Police always acted late in responding to either street or school violence, the law enforcement agency has been mainly proactive action since 2011.
A reorientation of our youths, especially students of tertiary institutions, is in order to stem the tide of violence on the campuses. But more than that is a need to get the law enforcement agencies to proactively act against potential felons, without interference by politicians, who often ‘direct’ the police on what and what not to do. The law enforcement agencies know what to do. But being tied to the apron strings of political office holders is a major problem for law enforcement in Nigeria. And, very few politicians occupying office in Nigeria today will freely allow law enforcement agencies to do their jobs without inhibitions or no go areas. No cultist wants to be killed or taken to jail. Once their cover of impunity is removed, they become ‘born again’ almost immediately. That is what has happened in Ogun State.
Secondly, it is not enough to activate the law enforcement agencies to do their jobs. For now, only the DSS has a rigorous screening exercise to stop miscreants from joining its ranks. The training of its officers and men is also rigorous to an extent that murderous cultists may not be employed as law enforcement agents. I make bold to say that it is not so with the Nigeria Police Force. Towards the end of Amosun’s first term, a disturbed Police hierarchy had to deploy quality officers from its headquarters in Abeokuta to Ijebu Ode in order to stem the tide of killings there. It was discovered in the course of their operation that, not only do some policemen give advance information to hardened cultists about impending arrests, some of the law enforcement agents were also members, and do supply them arms. Personally, one of the six assassins, who attacked me in Ilishan, Remo, Ogun State on 10 January 2009 remains a policeman, who is still in active service. His records are known to his superiors, who till date have not acted against him. It was not the man’s first consultancy. It is what he specialises in.
Intelligence gathering is very important, which is where ordinary Nigerians come in. Our law enforcement agents are not ghosts, who are able to see things behind the veil. Individuals should be bold enough to pass information to the appropriate authorties. Yes, there is the fear of being mentioned as the source of such information by unscrupulous law enforcement agents. But you should know, that despite the rot in the Nigeria Police Force, there are quality officers among their ranks. Personally, I hardly deal with a policeman below the rank of ASP. If possible, do not even give your address. And try to pass information about your adugbo far from where you live, preferably about two or three local governments away. Emi o laaro. But the DSS has officers in all the 774 local governments across the country. The heads of these offices are usually quality officers. They are very reliable. You can always trust them with information. In the course of my assignment in Ogun State, it was the DSS I related with, mostly, when it comes to giving out information. They also sought assistance from my office, regularly. In fact, a past Director of the organisation in Ogun State related with me almost everyday, as we jointly resolved issues together before such became problems.
Beyond intelligence are our individual efforts. You do not have to be an expert before getting involved in what could later become security problem. An instance or two should suffice. Between 2005 and 2007, so many killings were recorded in Oshodi and its environs. Ordinarily, it was as a result of the turf war among different factions of the transport unions in Lagos State. But it was more than that. Cultists, Street Boys, Politicians and the like were involved. I had to intervene by calling the major actors to ensure a truce even when authorities in Lagos had given up. I’ll mention Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) Founding Father’s former deputy, Otunba Kazeem Badmus (Kosija), because he is dead now. He was in the thick of the Oshodi issue at the time. But each time the wahala was about to start, Kosija, always listened to advice that he should meet with so-so-and-so to resolve issues. In the midst of booming guns, he always stepped in because of a relationship built over the years. When they were forcefully bringing in smuggled vehicles through the Owode/Idiroko border in Ogun State and Customs people had to run for cover, the DSS called. It was the same Kosija, who dutifully intervened and followed the advice of an Egbon that the boys should stop the wahala. Not one of the vehicles left the scene, apart from the one that conveyed the drivers and escorts of the boys. And no life was lost. There is none of you here, who does not have such links. You can always talk to these guys. Be assured that they’ll listen, because they respect you.
Conclusion:
Parents need to watch out for the kind of friends their children keep. You also need to monitor them, indirectly, as they grow up, especially the young adults among them. Use whatever position you occupy today to improve the lot of your immediate society. Your children are watching you, and will always pick a few things from you in terms of how they relate with the society. Nigeria is not okay right now, especially when it comes to law enforcement. However, we still have quality officers and men, who care passionately not just about the job, but the society as well.
Since it is my firm belief that the spiritual controls the physical, fortify your children spiritually – either with prayers or other means. It is a mean world out there. And the evil ones are not restricted to schools alone. They are everywhere, kidnapping, maiming and killing. It is my prayer that God will continue to protect all of us as we seek a better society.
Thank you for your kind attention.
. Being the text of a lecture by the Publisher, Uhuru Times newspaper (uhurutimes.com), Wale Adedayo, at the end of the year get together of Eko Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Association on December 26, 2016 at the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors secretariat, opposite Elephant Cement House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.