I read with amplified interest the story of one Dr. James Madubuonu, said not to be real names, as submitted by one Dr. John Onwukwe on page 3 of The Leader of June 30, 2013, who had tried severally to meet with Owelle Rochas Okorocha on an issue of urgent importance for about two years but was bureaucratically prevented by his aides.

This is really very sad especially since the person to be seen is a public servant who should be accessible to people. The situation becomes more sad when considered that the individual seeking to have audience with the governor was not going to seek for some personal favours or to have dinner but to divulge some information which are capable of unlocking new security approaches aimed towards solving our hydra-headed security challenges in the state and around.

I was wondering if those who had taken it upon themselves to block him each time he came were not particularly privy to an idea of his mission or that they were exclusive on instruction to make their Boss unreachable. If they were somewhat privy and yet insisted on preventing the said man, they could be guilty of colluding with crime perpetrators or said to gamble with serious issues like this one pertaining to security of life and property.

As there are people who make effort everywhere in the world to live holy and saintly lives, so also are there people whose stock in trade is to commit crime and make people’s lives a danger of sort to live. Referring to this set of people, the Psalmist says that they concoct evil and bring forth lies everyday. Indeed, they are pregnant with malice. (Ps.7:15).

Our concern here however, is not if crime is a regular here in Nigeria but on how criminal issues are handled especially where the poor, the less-privileged and marginalized who may not be monetarily empowered to fight their cause to the last  are affected.

Even though crime control is everybody’s business, it is the statutory duty of the police especially and other law enforcement agents as partners to fight crime and maintain societal peace and harmony. They personally applied to engage in such services, were accepted and trained and are forthwith maintained with tax payer’s money and our natural resources to carry out these roles. Constitutionally also, the military protects the nation’s boundaries of land, air and sea from external aggression and perform other roles as may be assigned them by the President with the approval of the national assembly as they are currently exercising such other role in the emergency rule situation at Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states to help flush out the criminal elements in the aegis of Boko Haram terrorizing the Nigerian federation.

I was pondering how Imo, our dear state would be transformed if good and more stronger security measures are put in place and all hands get to deck in its actualization. The two nations of America and Israel that our guest writer talked about that they use similar methods are known targets of radical attacks in the globe but rarely do we hear of attacks in their domain without commensurate response from their CIA (Criminal Investigation Agencies) getting to the root of it and many times, coming up with top-secret-informed arrests and prosecution of masterminds. The 9/11 attack of American twin-towers and the recent Boston marathon blasts are still fresh in our minds. So also is the apprehension of the two men allegedly responsible for hacking to death a British soldier not long ago along a street in London.

I am compelled to ask if our problem is that of giving out well-informed security bits as that have been done and is still been done by our citizens. I think where we have issues is with the management of security information and prosecution of alleged criminals. It is no longer news that some people who had walked off the hook from our criminal justice have been convicted elsewhere in the world. What I am saying is that we have information to nail criminals but most times we lack the will to continue and finish prosecution.

To buttress our points further, what has happened to the chains of information that have been received by our security directors concerning the disturbing dimensions of threat to life and property around Imo State and the on-going daily bastardization, bestiality and polarization of some communities as we had read and heard from the oil producing Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta Local Government Areas of Imo State?

I know that section 14(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has said that security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and like our guest writer had observed, free education and provision of infrastructure combined are important but security should NEVER be neglected “because all are for the living not for the dead”.

The fight against crime has to start somewhere and the Awarra Ohaji experience, for instance, where natives have fled homes and sources of living for several months now is a good case in point to start the fight. Government should not give a deaf ear to her citizens who are suffering. One would have expected that our amiable governor by now should have moved in swiftly to arrest what is everyday, even as we read this piece, becoming more disturbing that the inversion of Biafra land by Nigerian soldiers during the civil war. In addition to the robbery, burglary, arson and even isolated cases of kidnapping and rape that had been reported earlier, people are daily maimed, houses broken into especially houses of those who either fled their homes or not resident at home and threats make round without arrests and arraignments.

There was this case a few days back of an alleged cultist who ran into a military team on guard in one oil installation in the area and he was shot and brought to a hospital in town. When the police was alerted to investigate the alleged gun-battle involvement of the lad and to take action as appropriate, the information received was that the government had said no further arrest should be made on the Awarra situation.

Our fear is if what we are meant to believe is said by the government actually emanates from the embers of government offices or whether mischievous elements have hijacked the source that informs us.

Crime control is everybody’s duty. We should not pass the ball solely to the police. What I am saying is that people should not relax when other areas are having challenges saying that it does not matter to them because evil goes round where it starts its inversion and it is allowed to continue. We should not forget the popular saying that what goes around, comes around and crime is one of it.

I am convinced that Dr. John Onwukwe who signed that piece as published on p.3 of The Leader of June 30, 2013 has a case and those concerned within the corridors of power should help him see the governor because a stitch in time would surely save more than nine.

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