The news arrived with the kind of fanfare usually reserved for moon landings, scientific breakthroughs or the end of wars. Elon Musk, already the wealthiest man in modern history, has reportedly become the world’s first trillionaire, with an estimated net worth exceeding $1 trillion following SpaceX’s public listing. The figure is almost impossible to comprehend: $1,000,000,000,000. A number so large that it ceases to have any real meaning to most people.

To put it in perspective, Musk’s personal fortune is now larger than the annual economic output of many countries. It exceeds the GDP of dozens of nations and dwarfs the national budgets of countries struggling to provide basic healthcare, education, electricity and security for their citizens. While one individual accumulates wealth on a scale previously thought unimaginable, billions of people across the world continue to live in poverty, uncertainty and deprivation. Something about this picture feels profoundly wrong.

This is not an attack on Elon Musk. Nor is it a condemnation of entrepreneurship, innovation or wealth creation. Musk has undoubtedly built remarkable companies, pushed technological boundaries and transformed entire industries. Society benefits when innovators create value, solve problems and take risks. Wealth creation is not the problem. Although social justice advocates fault his politics and ideology towards the poor.

The real question is whether the current scale of wealth concentration is compatible with any meaningful notion of fairness, social justice or democratic stability.

When Inequality Becomes Absurd

For decades, economists warned about growing inequality. The gap between rich and poor was widening, they said. Governments acknowledged the concern but largely treated it as an unfortunate side effect of economic growth.

Today, “gap” is no longer the right word. A gap suggests two sides that remain connected by some visible distance. What we are witnessing now is something far larger. It is a chasm.

According to global development agencies, hundreds of millions of people still lack access to clean water. Millions of children remain out of school. Entire communities live without reliable electricity. Preventable diseases continue to kill people simply because they cannot afford treatment. Food insecurity affects large parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

At the same time, the combined wealth of the world’s billionaires continues to rise at extraordinary rates. The number of billionaires has reached record levels, while their collective wealth has grown into the tens of trillions of dollars. The contrast is jarring.

In many cities, luxury skyscrapers stand a few kilometres away from sprawling slums. Private jets crisscross the globe while millions cannot afford a bus ticket. A handful of individuals possess more wealth than entire populations. This is not merely an economic issue. It is a moral one.

A society can tolerate differences in income and opportunity. It cannot indefinitely sustain a situation where unimaginable abundance exists alongside avoidable suffering. Social media has been agog with those admiring Elon on one side and others dismissing his wealth as a sign of a bigger global problem of inequality.

The Myth of Trickle-Down Prosperity

Defenders of extreme wealth often argue that billionaires create jobs, stimulate innovation and drive economic growth. There is truth in that argument. Companies create employment. Investments generate economic activity. Entrepreneurs frequently solve problems that governments cannot. Yet the evidence increasingly suggests that wealth does not automatically trickle down in ways that significantly reduce inequality.

Over the past forty years, global productivity has risen dramatically. Technological advances have transformed industries and created enormous value. But the benefits have not been distributed evenly. Wages for many workers have stagnated while returns on capital have soared. Asset ownership has become the defining factor in wealth accumulation.

In other words, if you own shares, platforms, patents and financial assets, your wealth grows exponentially. If you rely solely on wages, you are often running in place.

Technology has amplified this dynamic. Digital platforms allow a small number of companies and individuals to reach billions of customers with relatively limited labour costs. Wealth that once would have been distributed across thousands of businesses and workers can now accumulate in the hands of a few founders and investors. The result is an economic system that increasingly rewards ownership over participation. This is how trillionaires emerge.

The Threat to Democracy

Extreme inequality is not merely an economic concern. It poses a direct challenge to democratic governance. Political equality becomes difficult to maintain when economic inequality reaches extreme levels.

One person may still have one vote. But wealth translates into influence, access and power. It shapes media narratives, funds political campaigns, influences public policy and determines whose voices are heard.

When a small group of individuals possesses resources greater than those of many governments, questions inevitably arise about accountability and democratic legitimacy. Who ultimately shapes public priorities? Who decides what technologies are developed, which problems receive attention and which communities are left behind? Who benefits when economic systems are designed primarily around the interests of capital rather than citizens?

History offers numerous warnings. Societies marked by extreme inequality tend to experience greater social unrest, political instability and declining trust in institutions. When people perceive that the system is fundamentally rigged against them, faith in democracy erodes, populism flourishes, polarisation deepens and social cohesion weakens.

Rethinking What Progress Means

We should ask uncomfortable questions about what we consider success. Have we built economies that measure prosperity correctly? If stock markets reach record highs while millions remain hungry, can we genuinely call that progress? If technological innovation creates extraordinary wealth but leaves vast numbers of people behind, have we solved humanity’s challenges or simply rearranged them?

The issue is not whether someone should be allowed to become wealthy. The issue is whether any economic system can justify levels of wealth concentration so extreme that one individual possesses resources beyond the imagination of entire generations while billions struggle to meet basic needs.

A trillion dollars is not merely a financial milestone. It is a symbol both of the extraordinary capacity of modern economies to generate wealth and their equally extraordinary failure to distribute its benefits fairly.

The world does not need fewer innovators, entrepreneurs or dreamers. What it needs are economic and political systems that ensure prosperity is shared more broadly. Systems that reward innovation without allowing inequality to become grotesque. Systems that recognise that human dignity should not depend entirely on market outcomes.

The growing divide between the rich and the poor demands more than wealth redistribution; it requires a renewed sense of collective responsibility. When the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, governments can better fund healthcare, education and infrastructure that benefit all. The rise of trillionaires is not simply a story of individual success but a reflection of global systems that concentrate opportunity and reward a few while leaving many behind. For Africa, despite its vast resources and youthful population, this reality is especially stark. Addressing it requires reimagining economic systems around shared prosperity, inclusion, care and justice rather than wealth accumulation alone.

The celebration or condemnation of the world’s first trillionaire should therefore be accompanied by a moment of collective reflection. Not because Elon Musk became a trillionaire, but because billions of people remain poor. The existence of one fact alongside the other should trouble us all.

A world capable of creating trillionaires is surely capable of ensuring that no child goes hungry, no family lacks healthcare and no community is left without hope.

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There are countries that wake you up with birds singing. Nigeria wakes you up with breaking news.

You rub your eyes, switch on your phone and before your morning tea has cooled, your blood pressure has already attended three meetings.

Maybe Nigeria should start awarding medals for emotional endurance. Not national honours—those have become too political. I mean genuine medals. Bronze for surviving one year without relocating. Silver for raising children without losing your sanity. Gold for running a small business for ten years. Platinum for reading the newspapers every morning without developing hypertension.

Every new day arrives carrying a fresh trailer of unbelievable stories.

You begin by saying, “Surely, today will be peaceful.”

Nigeria just smiles that mysterious smile and says, “Sit down first. This country is not for the emotionally fragile, or the lilly-liveredI. It is an endurance competition disguised as a nation. This week alone has been enough to leave even the strongest optimist searching for aspirin mixed with those bottles of orisisi  that they sell at motor parks.

How do you explain the news surrounding retired Major-General Rabe Abubakar and his wife?

Kidnapped.

Then the heartbreaking report that he died in the kidnappers’ den.

His body, according to reports, was eventually brought and handed over by a group representing the kidnappers  to a group representing the state government . No arrest. No gunshot. Just ‘ Take his body, we kill, you bury.’

While we were still reeling from the shock of that handing-over ceremony, another twist was squeezed into the mix.

His wife was reportedly rescued alive.

Every Nigerian celebrated that rescue.

But beyond the relief, difficult questions are hanging in the air, like stubborn harmattan dust.

How exactly do these criminal gangs operate? How do armed men move victims from one place to another?

How do they feed them?

How do they transport bodies?

How do they negotiate for weeks?

How do they seemingly melt into forests, mountains and villages without leaving enough traces?

Do they suddenly become invisible?

Who sells food and daily provisions to them? Nobody sees them throughout these evil operations? Their bag men just don’t care who dies as long as they make plenty money? What are the critical pieces of intelligence, logistics and community cooperation we are still missing in this unending war against terror and kidnapping?

The scale and persistence of these crimes are totally exhausting.

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One retired general.

Tomorrow, a professor.

Next week, a farmer.

Then a school pupil.

Looks like everybody is within reach now. Nobody should consider himself beyond reach or isn’t that the message these dark souls are passing across?

That itself has become one of Nigeria’s greatest enemies.

Just when your heart is trying to process that tragedy, another headline arrives from Kano.

One and a half billion naira. Mass wedding. It’s like that thing is an annual festival because I wrote about this topic last year. I just may never understand a state government would spend money on mass weddings.

Now, before anybody sharpens their spear, mass weddings have existed for years in parts of northern Nigeria.

Supporters argue they help poor couples marry lawfully, reduce social problems and support vulnerable families. Those are legitimate arguments worthy of discussion.

But Nigerians are also asking another legitimate question.

At a time when governments are battling insecurity, unemployment, schools needing repair, hospitals lacking equipment, and families struggling with inflation, what should be the priority order for public spending? That is the question that refuses to disappear.

Nobody is saying marriage is bad. Marriage is beautiful.

In fact, many Nigerian mothers believe marriage cures everything except malaria. However, public funds always provoke public scrutiny. If government spends billions on something that is unusual, citizens have every democratic right to ask whether that expenditure represents the most urgent need. It is called accountability

Then, just as your head is still calculating one and a half billion naira, another legal drama enters the room.

Five political parties reportedly found themselves deregistered and knocked out of contention by the court. Politics in Nigeria never lacks suspense, very dramatic suspense. It was a gutting judgment. After all caps and T-shirts and billboards have been made and billions spent! Of course the affected parties are left panting and disoriented.  Sympathisers are crying foul. Lawyers are speaking Latin and confusing everybody more.

Television analysts are speaking big big English and quoting Socrates. But beyond all the emotions lies another question.

Did those parties comply with the requirements expected of them or not?

Political participation comes with legal obligations, deadlines, documentation, internal democracy, registration rules etc.

If those obligations were ignored, the consequences, however painful, should not surprise the parties that thought the ostrich head buried in the sand meant its exposed big body would be invisible.

On the other hand, whenever judicial decisions drastically alter the political landscape, citizens naturally expect transparency and convincing legal reasoning. In this instance, did the court do what it should have when it ought to have done it?

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Justice must not only be done. People should understand why it has been done because confidence in democratic institutions depends heavily on that clarity.

Nigeria has become a country where almost every headline demands an explanation. Sometimes it feels like we are all contestants in a reality television show called Surviving Nigeria.

Episode One.

Fuel.

Episode Two.

Exchange rate.

Episode Three.

Kidnappers.

Episode Four.

Floods.

Episode Five.

Court cases.

Episode Six.

Electricity.

The season finale?

Nobody knows.

Even the scriptwriters appear confused.

The average Nigerian has developed survival skills worthy of military academies. He wakes before dawn, calculates transport fares, prays there will be electricity, worries whether the internet works and now he has to worry and pray about kidnappers,  bandits and terrorists.

Yet, somehow, he still laughs that Nigerian laughter that deserves academic research.

It survives where logic should have surrendered. Perhaps that is our greatest national resource. Resilience.

But even resilience has limits.

Citizens should not be required to manufacture hope every morning from empty pockets and frightening headlines.

Hope also needs visible evidence.

When criminals are arrested and successfully prosecuted, hope grows. When terror financiers are handcuffed and stripped of their illicit honour in their five-star estates,  hope grows. When government successfully prosecute rescue missions instead of trading our national dignity and integrity for temporary retrieve,  hope grows.  When the judiciary jails terrorists and deliver judgements that are hard to fault, hope will flourish.

Hope is not produced by speeches alone. It grows from consistent performance.

One danger of becoming accustomed to shocking news is emotional fatigue.

People stop reacting. They develop thick skin. They shrug, sigh at another kidnapping,  another political crisis,  another explosion.

That numbness is dangerous.

A society should never become so numb that it is comfortable with abnormality because abnormality when entertained long enough begins introducing itself as normal.

That is a  temptation we must resist with our national might

Nigeria deserves better than permanent emergency.

She deserves predictable governance.

She deserves secure highways.

She deserves functioning institutions.

She deserves politics driven more by ideas than litigation and decamping .

She deserves leaders whose decisions inspire confidence rather than shameless selfishness. Most importantly, Nigerians deserve peace of mind.

There is a poverty worse than lack of money.

It is the poverty of certainty.

Not knowing whether your loved one will return safely from a journey.

Not knowing whether your business can survive next month.

Not knowing what policy tomorrow morning will bring.

Not knowing whether today’s investment will still make sense next week.

That uncertainty slowly drains the spirit and the Nigerian spirit is damn drained. Perhaps that is why so many Nigerians say the country is exhausting. Not because Nigerians are weak.

Far from it.

The Nigerian spirit remains one of the toughest on earth. Our entrepreneurs build businesses against impossible odds. Our farmers still cultivate despite insecurity.

Our teachers continue teaching despite inadequate resources.

Doctors still save lives.

Journalists still ask difficult questions.

Young people still dream.

Parents still sacrifice.

Pastors still pray.

Imams still pray.

The ordinary Nigerian has refused to surrender.

That is remarkable.

But patriotism should not become an excuse for endless suffering.

Love for one’s country should never require permanent exhaustion.

A good nation does not merely ask its citizens to endure.

It gradually reduces the burdens they carry. It asks and answers basic questions.

How do we secure our communities more effectively?

How do we spend public money more wisely?

How do we strengthen political institutions so that disputes are settled fairly and transparently?

How do we restore confidence that tomorrow can indeed be better than today?

Those questions matter more than social media war.

Because while we are arguing online, ordinary Nigerians are simply asking for something beautifully simple, the low hanging fruits.

To sleep without fear.

To travel without terror.

To work without despair.

To marry without poverty.

To vote with confidence.

To live with dignity.

Surely, that is not asking too much.

This exhausting and exhausted nation needs honest rescuing, not with slogans and propaganda but with courageous leadership, accountable institutions, effective security, respect for the rule of law, and citizens who refuse to stop demanding a country that works.

For one day, perhaps sooner than many expect, we deserve to wake up, read the headlines, smile—and discover that, for once, Nigeria has decided to give us a peaceful morning.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

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By Sylvester Udemezue

(1) BACKGROUND

For many years, conversations about governance in Nigeria often revolved around the Federal Government and the States, while the Local Government system, the tier of government closest to the people, appeared increasingly weakened, marginalized and unable to fully perform its constitutional responsibilities. Across the country, many citizens came to view Local Government Councils as little more than administrative extensions of State Governments. Local Government elections frequently attracted limited public interest. Chairmen and Councillors often operated under severe financial and political constraints. In many instances, local governance lost its attractiveness, vibrancy and capacity to serve as the foundation of democratic participation.

Today, however, a new conversation is emerging. A combination of political will, institutional reforms and a landmark Supreme Court judgment delivered on 11 July 2024 has reignited national attention on grassroots governance and has created fresh opportunities for the revitalisation of Local Government administration in Nigeria.

(2). THE REALITY BEFORE THE REFORMS

Before the recent developments, one of the major concerns regarding Local Government administration was the operation of the State Joint Local Government Account.

Although established under constitutional arrangements, critics argued that the system often enabled excessive control of Local Government finances by State Governments. Consequently, many Local Government Councils struggled to exercise meaningful financial autonomy.

As a result

(a). Local Government administration became increasingly dependent on State Governments

(b). Development initiatives at the grassroots level often suffered delays or limitations.

(c). Many citizens lost confidence in Local Government institutions.

(d). Local Government elections attracted less enthusiasm than they ought to have.

(e). The position of Local Government Chairman gradually lost much of its appeal and strategic significance.

Over time, concerns grew among scholars, civil society organisations, legal practitioners and democratic reform advocates that the constitutional vision of Local Government as a distinct tier of government was being undermined.

(3). PRESIDENT TINUBU’S INTERVENTION

One of the most consequential governance initiatives undertaken during the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the Federal Government’s decision to approach the Supreme Court seeking the protection of constitutional Local Government autonomy. Through the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Federal Government instituted proceedings against the thirty-six State Governments, asking the Supreme Court to restore the constitutional status of Local Government Councils and ensure that funds allocated to them reach them directly.

This move represented a significant institutional effort aimed at strengthening democratic governance at the grassroots level.

(4). THE LANDMARK SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT

On 11 July 2024, the Supreme Court delivered what many observers have described as one of the most important constitutional judgments in Nigeria’s democratic history.

The Court held, among other things, that:

(a). Funds allocated to Local Governments should be paid directly to them.

(b). State Governments should not retain or control Local Government allocations.

(c). Democratically elected Local Government Councils must be respected.

(d). Caretaker arrangements cannot replace constitutionally recognised elected councils indefinitely.

(d). Local Governments are entitled to exercise their constitutional functions as a distinct tier of government.

The judgment effectively reaffirmed the constitutional place of Local Government administration within Nigeria’s federal system and sought to address longstanding concerns about financial dependence and political subordination.

(5) THE POSITIVE IMPACT ALREADY BEING FELT

Although the reforms are still evolving, several positive developments are becoming increasingly visible.

1. Renewed Interest in Grassroots Politics: Across many parts of Nigeria, Local Government politics is attracting renewed attention. Political actors, community leaders, youth groups and stakeholders increasingly recognize that Local Government leadership may now possess greater relevance and practical significance than before. The office of Local Government Chairman is once again being viewed as an important platform for development and public service.
2. Increased Financial Expectations: With direct allocation mechanisms being pursued following the Supreme Court judgment, Local Governments are expected to have greater access to resources intended for grassroots development. Where properly managed, this can translate into: Better rural roads, improved primary healthcare; Enhanced sanitation services; More effective primary education support; Expanded agricultural initiatives; Stronger community development programmes.
3. Strengthening Democratic Accountability: When citizens know that resources are reaching Local Governments directly, expectations for transparency and accountability naturally increase. Local Government Chairmen and Councillors may now find themselves under greater public scrutiny, thereby encouraging more responsible governance.
4. Revitalisation of Constitutional Democracy: The judgment reinforces an important democratic principle: government should not be concentrated at a single level. Strong Local Governments create opportunities for broader participation, leadership development and citizen engagement. Democracy becomes more meaningful when it is experienced not only in Abuja and State Capitals, but also in wards, villages, districts and communities.

(6). The FCT Experience: A Sign of Renewed Confidence:

The recent Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory offered an indication of the growing relevance of grassroots governance. Political activities surrounding the elections generated considerable attention among stakeholders and contestants. Many observers believe that one reason for this renewed interest is the increasing recognition that Local Government institutions may now possess greater authority, visibility and developmental potential than they did in previous years. While competitive elections alone do not guarantee good governance, heightened public interest in Local Government contests is nevertheless a positive democratic indicator.

(7). A New Era of Possibility

It would be premature to suggest that all challenges facing Local Governments have been resolved. Issues of accountability, capacity building, transparency and responsible management of public funds remain critically important. Indeed, financial autonomy must be accompanied by financial discipline. Direct funding alone cannot guarantee development. Good leadership, prudent management and active citizen participation will ultimately determine whether the promise of Local Government autonomy translates into tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to dispute that the 2024 Supreme Court judgment and the efforts that led to it have altered the national conversation about grassroots governance. For perhaps the first time in many years, Local Government administration is once again occupying a central place in discussions about democratic development and public service delivery.

(7). CONCLUSION

History may ultimately record the Local Government autonomy initiative as one of the most significant institutional reforms undertaken during the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

By supporting the constitutional restoration of Local Government authority and pursuing a judicial resolution to longstanding concerns over Local Government finances, the administration helped reopen the door to a stronger and more vibrant grassroots democracy. The task before Nigerians now is to ensure that this opportunity is not wasted. If Local Government leaders embrace transparency, accountability and service, and if citizens remain actively engaged in monitoring governance, the result could be a genuine democratic renaissance at the grassroots level. A stronger Local Government system means stronger communities. And stronger communities ultimately mean a stronger Nigeria.

Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (Udems).
[email protected].
10 June 2026

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

On June 10, 2026, at the FIFA World Cup Countdown Concert in Los Angeles, David Adeleke, better known as Davido, stepped onto one of the world’s biggest stages wearing a jacket with a simple message: “Bring Them Back”.

The message was not about fashion. It was not about music. It was about the schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Oriire area of Oyo State more than a month earlier and still held in captivity by terrorists.

Millions saw the message. Millions who knew nothing about the tragedy in Oriire suddenly became aware that somewhere in Nigeria, children who should have been in classrooms were spending their days and nights in the bush at the mercy of armed criminals, inclement weather and poisonous vipers!.

One would have expected universal applause. Instead, the usual defenders of power sprang into action.

Among the loudest voices was Reno Omokri, who argued that drawing global attention to the plight of the abducted children could embolden their captors. According to him and others of similar persuasion, publicising the tragedy might strengthen the kidnappers’ bargaining position.

The argument was astonishing.

Children have been stolen. Teachers have been stolen. Families have been shattered. A community has been traumatised. Yet the concern of some people is not the crime itself but the publicity surrounding the crime. Their position amounts to this: suffer quietly. Do not shout.

Do not embarrass the government. Do not remind the world that Nigerian children have vanished into the forests. In essence, they are asking us to lose not only our children but also our voices. The Yoruba have a proverb for such absurdity: Nǹkan ẹni kìí nù, kí ohùn ẹni náà tún nù. A person should not lose his possession and lose his voice as well. The wisdom behind that proverb is illustrated in the ancient Ife story of Arítúlà.

Arítúlà owned only one possession of value: an Ológoṣẹ́, a sparrow with which he entertained people and earned a living. Seeking prosperity, he consulted three Babalawos. They told him that if the bird ever got lost, he must neither search for it nor raise the alarm.

One day, the bird disappeared. After waiting in vain for its return, Arítúlà went back to the diviners. They instructed him to perform a sacrifice and gave him a gong inscribed with an Ifa corpus. He was told to visit the palaces of powerful rulers and threaten to beat the gong.

At every palace, alarmed rulers rushed out and demanded an explanation. When Arítúlà explained that his sparrow was missing, they showered him with gifts and wealth. Before long, the poor man had become rich.

Puzzled, Arítúlà returned to ask why he had first been forbidden from searching for the bird and later encouraged to announce its loss. The answer was simple.

There is no point crying where nobody can help. But once a man sights those capable of offering assistance, he must not keep silent. The old sages captured it in another proverb: Ojó tí a bá ti rí elékún ẹni làá sunkún. One begins to weep when one sees the person capable of consolation. Davido’s jacket was nothing more than Arítúlà’s gong. It was a cry directed at the world. It was a reminder that Nigerian children remain in captivity. It was an appeal for attention, pressure and urgency.

Those attacking him seem to believe silence is a strategy. But what exactly has silence achieved?

From Chibok to Dapchi and now Oriire, Nigerians have cried, protested, marched and pleaded. Often, all they received from government was sympathy wrapped in official statements. Yet even sympathy is preferable to indifference. And history teaches that many injustices survive precisely because people stop talking about them.

The real discomfort caused by Davido’s action was not that it would embolden kidnappers. The real discomfort was that it embarrassed those in authority. The reminder appeared on a global platform at a time when politicians are busy counting defectors, calculating electoral advantages and preparing for the 2027 elections.

A jacket succeeded in doing what countless official statements have failed to do: it forced attention back onto forgotten victims. That is why the reaction was so fierce.

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The irony is particularly striking in the case of Reno Omokri. What Reno and his too-much-noise-about-the-children-will-energise-their-abductors gang are telling us is that we should not talk again about the stolen children in Oríire and elsewhere in Nigeria. They presented to us the laziest of all arguments by saying that our previous noise over a similar unfortunate incident amounted to nothing!

But their real issue is that by wearing the emblem which drew global attention to the fate of those children, the Tinubu administration is thoroughly embarrassed! That is why the argument of ‘nothing happened with the noise we made over Chibok girls in 2014’ became their reference point!

They are never attuned with the wisdom that when a man sights his helper from afar, he must begin to weep profusely. They have forgotten that from the days when lizards were few, the sages gone counselled that we should search for any missing item anyhow (Ìwákúwã làá wá ohun tó so nù). The government Hallelujah gang forgets that it is more convenient for a mother to announce that her child is dead than to tell the grieving party that her child is lost.

It is even worse in this case because those children did not wander away on their own. They were snatched from the classrooms where they were being taught good citizenship and how to become useful members of the society. To find them and bring them back to the comfort of their homes and the delight of their parents and relief of a nation under siege, no efforts should be spared; no method should be deemed too crude.

We argued the similarities between the Chibok girls’ episode and Oríire’s dastardly act on this page three weeks ago. It is rather very unfortunate that Reno, whose voice was the loudest when the Chibok girls’ episode happened, is the one preaching ‘caution’ in this matter because he has found comfort in the bosom of those he once labelled evil. This is why he found it convenient to advise us to behave like the legendary Arítúlà, who must not shout even when his most precious item gets lost! Fortunately for the rest of us, we are knowledgeable enough to know that only a half-divined Ifa does not favour the client.

Just as we were trying to rationalise Omokri’s posture on Davido’s costume, like the daily weeping of the woman who kills her husband, (Ojoojúmó bíi ekún ap’okoje, another bad news hit us like a thunderbolt. The Katsina State government, on Saturday, June 13, announced that General Rabe Abubakar (Rtd), the former Army spokesman, who was kidnapped penultimate week alongside his wife, had died in captivity.

A statement endorsed by the Katsina State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasiru Mu’azu, said that General Rabe died from ‘complications arising from diabetes and hypertension.’ To show how low we have gone as a nation, that cause of death was given without any medical examination carried out on the dead General. The family of the deceased had since put a lie to the claim with a statement that the late General never suffered any of the ailments the state government donated to him at his unfortunate death in the hands of the felons who kidnapped him!

In my reflection on General Rabe Abubakar’s unfortunate end, I came to one conclusion: General Rabe is not the only dead victim of Nigeria’s lackadaisical attitude to (in)security. He only happened to have been faster than the rest of us. We are all dead. Yes, we are still walking, and, possibly, working. But we are all cadavers; all of us, including the Commander-in-Chief of our bandits-overrun nation.

The rates at which Nigerians are killed by these seemingly elusive bandits, kidnappers and terrorists, the epidemic shows that the evil may soon go a full circle! When that happens, nobody will be safe anymore. There will be no one to issue the usual President-Bola-Ahmed-Tinubu-has-expressed-shock-over-the-death-of-retired-Major-General-Rabe-Abubakar-while-in-the-custody-of-terrorists-in-Katsina-State. We would have all become cadavers; wasted by those the State seeks daily to ‘rehabilitate and reintegrate’ as a reward for ‘laying down their arms’ after shedding the blood of countless hapless citizens!

Very soon, those armed guards around the locusts-in-power who regard themselves as leaders would amount to nothing when faced with the looming calamity. Something close to this ‘pessimism’ happened in the heart of Benin City on Sunday. A group of armed men invaded an elite market, Vegetable market, in the Government Reserved Area (GRA) of the city.

The armed men, in broad daylight, snatched a man, who struggled and escaped. His wife was unlucky as the armed men pursued her and dragged her on the tarred road like an unwilling cow, into their waiting getaway car. Around the vicinity were about five armed policemen who took off immediately the gang began to shoot. Just a few metres away from the scene of the incident is the home of a former minister. And about 500 metres away is the Aideyan Divisional Police Station. Yet, no help came the way of the victims!

Nigerians now live in perpetual fear. We think before we hit the highways. On the highways, we drive with our hearts in our mouths, wondering when the road will be blocked and we are taken away into the forests. Only a few strong-hearted people travel as they wish nowadays. Yours sincerely missed the opportunity to celebrate a first cousin at his 70th birthday anniversary in Ibadan last Saturday. I had all the arrangements made to travel on Friday, attend the birthday bash on Saturday and return to base on Sunday.

But on Thursday night, the thought that one could be kidnapped became heavy. I fought it endlessly to no avail. The elders of my place submit that Ìfura ni òògùn àgbà (circumspection is the charm of the elderly). I unpacked! The journey was aborted by the fear of the unknown.

Like me, thousands and thousands more get paralysed nowadays by the mere thought of the unknown. Many more get easily scared by the imagined presence of bandits and kidnappers not just on the highways but on their street corners! Cadavers, we are: all of us without exception! We plan our daily routines with greater attention paid to the non-state actors that have taken hold of our nation. Our Nero and his coterie of aides as well as others at the state and local levels elected to protect have perfected the art of fiddling while our Rome gets consumed by a needless inferno.

Only a few embark on routine journeys. Only an inconsequential number dare dash to the highways without sparing a thought for the felons that have rendered our roads, farmlands and the sanctuary of our homes vulnerable! Walking-ghosts! That’s what we all are: mere apparitions! In all this, some still say that the President is working. Whenever we ask them to show us the work(s), they label us as naysayers and evoke Alájobí. 

If we doubt President Tinubu’s competence in governance, he should know, as an elder he is, that àpa ìmúdé’lé ni ò jé kí á mò wípé ológìnní ńse ode (Coming home empty-handed is the reason cat is not known as an effective hunter). Until we see practical results; until we see empirical evidence and until we can beat our chests and say insecurity has been tamed, we shall be eternally justified in our submission and assertion that the Tinubu administration is not only lethargic and flat-footed on matters of security, it is fatally incompetent and pitiably unfeeling in that regard!

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.