Insecurity In Anambra: My Two Cents

KINGSLEY UBANI 

Few days ago, Anambra media space was agog with reports concerning the security status of the state with the actors taking sides according to their interest and understanding of the situation.

As the grammatically enriched back and forth media exchange ensued, I took moments to analyse the development and relate them to my own experiences. I reasoned that in saner climes, security advise are issued to citizens to help them stay away from security hotspots but here we have a situation where some folks who communicated their experiences received it hot from government handlers. Was it what they said, how they said it or when they said it, that caused the uproar, I thought?

Failure of government issuing necessary security advises coupled with my own experiences, have made me become my own special adviser on security. To this end, recently, I bought some crates of beer to enhance my indoor relaxation and limit my outing. In addition to it, I have placed myself on a rigid “night waka” timetable. My decision happened after a friend recently lost his car and valuables because he went to drink beer and chill with friends. Also the current economic situation in the country made me conclude that criminality will be on the rise. It’s a no brainer!

But in all these have you realised how safe and never-sleeping Club Road Awka, popularly known as Abakiliki street is? That axis of Awka shows that Ndi Anambra are ready for Night life but they need more actions from government with respect to security of lives and property. Most of the people who stay late in Abakiliki street lodge in the same street for safety reasons while those who can’t, go home earlier that they would have wanted. An unfair interruption to their relaxation and legitimate fun seeking adventures.

I watched as the government media aides (most of whom are my friends) do their Jobs by defending what they believed was an attack on the image of the state. They cannot be blamed for their actions. Could the backlash received by those who cried out on the recent security challenges mean that they may have been sponsored by the opposition, since they were not on bandages showing that they have been direct victims of the recent menace, I wondered?

The fact remains that as we speak, insecurity in Anambra is rising and something serious has to be done to address it. People who have little to lose may find themselves trivializing security dangers, but anyone can be a victim! Sadly, having a fine car, and living in affluence or perceived affluence increases one’s chances of being a victim but that your small Infinix phone is also an asset!

Most people invest to enjoy and live large, while some like to be close to their investments. In these lie the barrier in the recent call by Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for our people to invest home. Can the government guarantee the safety of both the investment and lives of investors if they heed to his call?

The State Government needs to engage the citizens more on security. The governor seems to be neck-deep in his infrastructural drive and I must commend his effort in this regard. May be he is working underground with respect to security but the bad news is that the realities suggest a decline rather than improvement in the sector.

Yes, security is not something to be discussed publicly but we need to see results and strong effort by government to upturn the situation.

My simple advise to every onye Anambra is to adopt my strategy and be their own special adviser on security. Arm yourself with security tips using whatever means available to you and take actions that are only in your best interest.

That said, Anambra remains our state and we must do the best we can to project it in good light, however, the government must lead the process of this image making by stepping up their efforts in fighting insecurity.

Anambra will surely win!

– Kingsley Ubani writes from Awka, Anambra State.