By Jude Atupulazi
Ask anyone who’s been around for long in Anambra to give their impressions of the approach of its people to politics and they’ll tell you that it’s largely a case of all bark and no bite. In other words, Anambra Politicians can quarrel, curse and swear at one another but it all stops there. Where they will kill, they fight; where they will fight, they quarrel; and where they will quarrel, they banter. That’s Anambra politicians for you. They have over the years drawn a line never to be crossed: no killing.
This isn’t saying that there’s never been any killing that looked political, but then, in general terms, Anambra is no killing field, politically.
It is thus always funny when those in leadership ascribe violent crimes in the state to the handiwork of “the opposition” and whenever I hear this, I ask, “which opposition?” are they faceless?
Close watchers of recent developments in the state must have been observing the growing penchant of government aides to blame the resurgence of violent crime in the state on the opposition.
I’ve not heard Governor Chukwuma Soludo say this, in truth, but his appointees have made this a sing-song. Bring up the issue of kidnapping ravaging the state and, vuum, they’ll tell you it is engineered by the opposition. Thus, this has become a rather lazy, and, at same time, easy way of handling this all-important issue instead of tackling it head-on.
But then, one expects that when one accuses another of a misdemeanor or crime, it behooves the accuser to show proof. Thus, again, if we’re told the opposition is behind the present siege on the state by kidnappers, the government has to prove it by bringing those involved to book.
If this can’t be done, then we should be spared of this irritating response. Indeed, the Soludo I know will not hesitate for a second to name any member of the opposition behind crimes in the state if he knows such a person. And it is easy to find out.
Every now and then, criminals are arrested and confessions made by them. It doesn’t look like rocket science to posit that if any of them had been sent by politicians, the person would have said it, just as they reveal others who send them. But this isn’t happening and hasn’t happened. So why call the opposition?
The very idea has even been torpedoed by the fact that an opposition politician was recently kidnapped and killed. I’m talking about the Labour Party House of Assembly member kidnapped and killed last December.
Does it mean that opposition elements are now killing their own members just to rubbish the incumbent Governor? Perhaps those propounding the opposition theory should explain to us.
I’ll therefore boldly proclaim that violent crime in Anambra has nothing to do with the opposition but has everything to do with government’s failure to comprehensively address the issue.
For a start, Anambra is fighting crime without CCTV cameras and without tracking devices. How then can criminals be effectively tackled? The absence of cameras and trackers actually helps criminals who strike to easily escape and return to enjoy the proceeds of their evil venture. So, to start with, the state government should emplace mechanisms that will boost security and not glibly be pushing its failures to the opposition.
If they continue doing this and still unable to produce the “opposition”, they’ll be telling us they’re not at all serious. In effect, what am I saying to the government? Produce the criminal opposition or shut up. That Kite will not fly. Glibly dismissing criminal activities as the handiwork of the opposition is as annoying as it is empty, especially when enough isn’t being done to address the problem.
So next time you hear the talk of opposition in Anambra engineering crime, just know that someone is trying to pass the buck.
Let the government revive its Homeland Security and take members of Agunechemba off the roads where they now extort money from commercial drivers, beg from private car owners and dabble into private disputes.
It’s for everyone’s good that Agunechemba is revived because everyone wants peace and security. It’s fearful that those brought to do that are now menacing us.
The opposition have nothing to do with kidnapping, government’s failure to put its acts together is rather responsible.
