A Senseless Act Of Violence, by Kene Obiezu

There is no one more dangerous than a soldier who has lost his senses, especially his sense of what is sensible, prudent, and proportionate.

A video has gone viral of some soldiers of the Nigerian army brutalizing a couple in the Gwarimpa area of the Federal Capital Territory. On the heels of the viral video has come a fuller version of what transpired, reinforced by a petition written by the couple’s lawyer.

According to the petition, the senior army officer ordered his aides to descend on the couple for overtaking him.

If the relationship between Nigerians and the various security agencies, including the army, of course, remains lukewarm at best, it is because of incidents like this, which are not at all isolated. For alleged infractions whose resolution and sanction are best suited to civil authorities acting through the courts, soldiers have been known to unleash their personal demons and descend on Nigerians.

Many Nigerians have inadvertently run into some of these soldiers with the subsequent encounter and interaction forcing such unfortunate Nigerians to question the training and humanity of these soldiers.

For many soldiers, uncontrollable anger which easily morphs into murderous rage is a common problem.

With each incident of brutality by soldiers, old wounds are torn open, and Nigerians remember Zaki Biam in Benue State, and Choba in Rivers State. With each instance of soldiers treating careless civilians infinitely  worse than so-called repentant Boko Haram terrorists they coddle in well-appointed venues in the name of de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration, Nigerians remember the Lekki toll gate massacre, the conceit with which the Nigerian army treated the judicial inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to probe the massacre, and the historic indictment that cast the army in horrendously damaging light.

With each suspected drunken indiscretion exhibited by men in uniform, Nigerians remember how much the country’s post-independence momentum was halted by the heinous military coups of the 1960s.q

Nigerians remember how the Biafran civil war was precipitated by soldiers, the annulled June 12 election, the state-sponsored assassinations of the 90s and the fact that the Abacha loot still lies in an indeterminate number of countries.

By training, soldiers have the tools to tightly manage their frustrations so they don’t boil over and take the same out on civilians who may not be similarly disciplined.

At a time when Nigerians are struggling with painful memories, it would be foolhardy for the Nigerian Army to allow a handful of  senseless soldiers to remind Nigerians of the days when soldiers routinely abandoned their barracks to scuttle a country’s desperate drive towards democracy.

Nigerians are working hard to move on. They must not be reminded of the days when their nightmare came clad in khaki.

It would also be a terrible miscalculation on the part of the Nigerian army to force Nigerians to remind it of how complicit soldiers are in the problems plaguing the country.

While it is indubitable that the army as an institution has made sacrifices for the country, especially in the war against terrorism, its image still walks on crutches because of past indiscretions of a few soldiers.

It is not enough to give long, winding speeches about improving army-civilian relations. No genuine relationship can be founded on fear or force.

The Nigerian army must now discipline all  the soldiers involved. The army must shed the unflattering reputation it acquired during the Lekki toll gate massacre probe as  an institution which shields its members from justice.

If it fails to do so, then it must be prepared to lose face in the eyes of Nigerians. At a time, it needs all the support it can muster to prosecute the war against terrorism and maintain some relevance, it will be an unfathomable disaster.

Kene Obiezu,

keneobiezu@gmail.com