Before the collapse of the naira precipitated by the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law had revealed that a whopping N306 billion was paid to uniformed security men – Police, Army, Navy, Civil Defence, Federal Road Safety Corps among others – between August 2015 and October 2019 by road users and business people on the highways in the Southeast and South-south regions of Nigeria. To put the amount in context, it was the period when the dollar exchanged for N306. In effect, the amount aggregated to about $1 billion.
With the huge loss in value the naira has been subjected to under the economic reforms, motivational speakers have been falling over themselves on the need to open new frontiers of income. It does not matter if you have a steady and pensional job, just create as much multiple income streams as possible, Nigerians were counselled.
Nigerians heeded and went to work. But the environment has been turned into a minefield. Although current research is unavailable, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law findings point to what the security agencies have been up to and how bad it may be now. Within the period the research was conducted when then was a measure of discretion and subtlety, there were 6,300 police roadblocks and 600 military roadblocks on the major highways linking the Southeast and the South-south regions. On today’s highways where security agents are now armed with their own customised PoS machines at the numerous security points, it can only be imagined what is being illegally and forcefully taken out of Nigerians.
It is security agents that have been reaping from the sweat of Nigerians who daily traverse the country to eke out a living. They have to contend with the antics and brazenness of security agents who make no pretense of trying to be discreet.
According to the report, while the incredible 6,300 police roadblocks ‘generated’ N250 billion from the two regions, the 600 military roadblocks equally did well for themselves. Over N56 billion ‘revenue’ was brazenly armtwisted from ordinary Nigerians.
It is a phenomenon that is not restricted to the boys manning road blocks. After the crooked invasion of private homes of individuals in the dead of the night without court warrant unravelled with the daring raids on the homes of judges, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) finally decided to discontinue the dubious raids under the guise of sting operations.
Officers were barred from undertaking such midnight raids. But the lure of what goes it is too infectious to be let go. Against operational directives, a team got more than they bargained for in Anambra State when one of its operatives was fatally shot in an ill-fated apparent case of a man trying to ward off armed attack on his home.
The ridiculous level the EFCC has gone in branding anyone with any ICT device was aptly demonstrated in how they tried, albeit vainly, to brand the perpetrators of the late night raid as lawfully carrying out their duty against operational guidelines on the public domain.
The ordinary hardworking Nigerian engaging in legitimate business is now an endangered specie. From being dubbed a perpetrator of Internet fraud if he uses a laptop, tablet or expensive phones, he is hounded into detention and made to pay unspecified sums for which receipts are never issued.
The petulance and impunity with which acts of illegality are carried out by men in uniform calls to question the nature of training they undergo before deployment. The rights of the people as enshrined in the Constitution and the due process to be observed in the course of the carrying out the assignments as well as the limits of activities of law enforcement are supposed to be integral part of their training. Encountering a uniformed security agent is like running into King Kong. You have no rights and you are guilty until you somehow coax them to play by the rule or pay your way through.
However, a new level of notoriety has been added to the hounding and exploitation of Nigerians by the addition of those called task force into the mix. They are not direct employees of the levels of government they represent, but agents of politicians who have been secured approval to collect the retinue of levies and taxes imposed on hapless commuters. They are the preference of state and local governments. Their operatives are roughneck, uncouth, ill-mannered and primed to draw blood if their targets do not promptly play ball.
In all the show of braggado, users of flashy or branded cars are immune from harassment. And when there is accompanying armed escort, the treatment of such vehicles is akin to laying the red carpet. It is one reason that has made the allocation of armed police escort a booming business. Apart from providing security on the perilous roads, it gives a veneer of immunity from the hazards of the road.
What the government is missing in failing to call the security agencies to order is the perception of Nigeria in the competitive world of attracting investors. As of 2020, Nigeria’s ease of doing business ranked 131st worldwide, with a general score of 56.9. The highest scores were obtained in the fields of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, and getting credits. On the other hand, Nigeria’s performance in other fields was low, for instance in registering properties, trading across borders, and resolving insolvencies.
However, beyond the global templates used by the World Bank in its ratings, the local factor and the challenges posed by the unchecked exploitation of small scale businesses is a recipe for the failure of all initiatives to rev up the economy. If uniformed personnel continue to prey and feed on the people, and if as have been proven that small scale businesses are the key drivers of economic growth, the economy is still stuck on the path of perdition.
