Checkmating the Excesses of Uniformed Agencies in Lagos

Photo Credit: The Guardian

By Pelumi Ero-Phillips 

Many people who have had the opportunity to spend some time in Lagos State consider it a wild place to live in. For many, Every day in Lagos is a struggle. 

One popular comedian once quipped that it is safe to say that Lagos is not for the sane because 97% of Nigerians living in Lagos are partially not mentally stable. 

With the crazy dash to that we see in Lagos, it is safe to say that the comedian's joke may be speaking to something real, maybe not madness, but a mental adjustment to cope with a demanding city.

 

Lagos lifestyle is crazy especially with men in uniform ready to bill you at the slightest mistake you make or they make up offences that you didn't commit. 

A sad event that caused the death of two people occurred at Costain bus stop, Lagos State, on Wednesday 29th June 2022. 

According to an eyewitness, members of a task force were trying to apprehend commercial vehicles parked at the bus stop. As the drivers of the vehicles were trying to flee from the scene, the driver of an oncoming trailer tried to swerve so as not collide with them but lost control and ran into the two people who died on the spot. 

This unfortunate incident is an example of interactions the public have with mirade uniformed services that anyone who lives in Lagos must come to terms with.

Some Lagosians believe that these "People in Uniform" use their positions to oppress the citizens of a state. Once they are wearing their uniforms "they feel that they have arrived", and then proceed to make life unnecessarily difficult to a regular citizens trying to survive.

They are believed to infringe on people's rights because they have power. 

This is why many right thinking people have called for the act need to be eradicated totally. 

Police officers, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Military Officers,  National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Task Force, Vehicle inspection Officers (VIO), Custom officers, Nigeria security and civil defense corps (NSCDC), need to be cautioned about their manner of approach to the citizens. This is important because there is no where that it is written that they have the authority or right to harass citizens or infringe on their rights. It is totally uncalled for. 

Official of the law have a regular job description which entails the details of the job perfectly. The officials are expected to follow the job description to the latter and not do otherwise. The authority given to officials of law sometimes makes them "over do" stuffs . 

The Nigerian government has empowered "people in uniform" with so much authority that they are not really concerned about the lives and properties of the citizens. 

A typical police officer holds so much power that you as a citizen cannot be right and he is wrong, the fact remains that the Nigerian government needs to do better with their sanction in regards to officials that misbehave or are found accountable. The changes needs to start from the top so that it stream lines to the bottom level. 

It is true that there are shinning examples of "people in uniform" who are doing the right thing. Unfortunately, this good eggs are too few to change the public perception of "people in uniform". While it is important to commend them, the society asks for more of these types.