Finding Ini Umoren; Who is Next?
It's no news that the country has been dealing with issues regarding insecurity over the years. However, within the past months, it has skyrocketed. The question now is 'Who's next?'. The level of security of a nation goes a long way to determine how successful and productive citizens of such a nation will be. Can they decide to focus on every other area of their life and not be fidgeting about how secure they are in their motherland? In a situation, however, when insecurity rules, the level of productivity of an individual is reduced and in the long run, affects the nation's growth. With insecurity comes internal displacement of people, loss of lives and properties, and crippling of economic activities in the nation as a whole. We have all seen the virtual death of economic activities in the Northern states in Nigeria over the last decade due to the Boko Haram insurgency, Fulani herdsman(who are already permeating into the southwest), and the 'bandits'. Security is an essential prerequisite for lasting economic growth to take place.
Just last week, a young job seeker and university of Uyo philosophy graduate; Ini-Ubong Umoren was raped, murdered, and buried by a 'prospective' employer after luring her with the guise of granting her a job interview. Miss Ini made a post on Twitter on how she needed a job and 20-year old Uduak Frank Akpan who is believed to have raped, murdered, and buried her used this as a bait to gratify his desires. Although investigation is still ongoing, this revelation was made possible because of Ini's friend who was updated by Ini throughout the whole process and tried to file a missing report when she noticed something fishy. According to reports, there were other dead bodies aside from Ini's body that was found at that particular spot. Which means this gruesome act has been ongoing for a while before he was eventually caught. Students struggle through school with the hope that the education acquired will make life easier for them afterwards. This is usually not the case especially in Nigeria as one can still struggle after schooling and lose his/her life in the process. Some of the students of Greenfield university were also kidnapped recently. All these scenarios shows how unsafe we are. It is no longer a question of if it will happen, it is now a question of who is going to be the next victim? Is it you?. It's high time, the government stopped playing politics with the lives of the citizens and own up to their responsibilities. We deserve a working government and not one that involves a friendly chat with bandits and bargains with criminals like criminals. Before we can be talking about growth, insecurity has to go. It's not a child's play but with gradual, consistent, and working systems and practices, we will surely get there.
It is not an oblivious fact that Nigerians are creative people. However, this creativity does not usually come into play while they are still living on the very soil of their motherland until they become Nigerians in the diaspora. The level of insecurity and the crime rates has made a lot of people more risk-averse in terms of the places they go and so on. Travelling within the country takes a different level of courage and death-dodging for most Nigerians. Under this kind of environment, how then do we want creativity and innovation to take a front row while we are still here trying so hard to stay alive. Yes!, innovation is a crucial tool needed to drive change and growth in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. However, security is what can give citizens the space to reflect, meditate, be creative and innovative.
It was Ini Umoren last week, it can be anybody next. There is nothing like being extra careful again, be sure of the location before stepping and keep family and friends updated along the way. Self-defense cannot be over emphasized; Karate, pepper spray and so on. In our bid and struggle to make a living, that we wouldn't stop living.
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