How Do I Repay the N6 Million I Borrowed?, by Abdulkadir Salaudeen

Anyone can argue with a keyboard that Nigeria is not a jungle. They can even argue that it is unpatriotic to speak ill of one’s country. I have heard some people, invoking pseudo-patriotism, try to whitewash the ugly image of Nigeria.

I have stopped arguing with this set of people because I have realized that beneath their argument lies deep-rooted bigotry. This bigotry is sometimes clothed in religious garb and at other times in ethnic garb. Some are determined to call black white and white black because they have access to the government’s dining table, where they can always find leftovers after the rulers have eaten to their satisfaction.

This is an I-don’t-care mentality — as long as my bread is buttered — displayed by many Nigerians. I have heard some regime apologists who, having travelled from one part of the country to another without being kidnapped, claim that reports of kidnapping are all lies. It is possible that President Tinubu is always being told by these loyal sycophants that his regime is the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria.

For if the President had not been fed lies about the state of affairs in the country, I personally find it difficult to make sense of the “I enjoyed myself” statement he made on his return to Nigeria after spending 28 days “working” from Europe. I do not think any intelligent and responsible leader whose country is on fire, and who is aware of it, would make such an utterance before the cameras.

It apparently means: “Die of hunger if you must and cry over insecurity as you like, I don’t care. All I care about is myself, and I enjoyed myself while in Europe.” To say the least, this is unpresidential. But we can always find excuses for the President. Perhaps he does not know, and probably does not care to know, what Nigerians are going through.

The truth is that Nigeria is going through the most terrible phase of its existence. The economy is battered. Commerce is failing. Foreign investors are exiting. Electricity is epileptic. The health sector has collapsed. Education is in shambles. The minimum wage is slavish. Life is miserable. Transport fares are prohibitive. Feeding has become a luxury. Survival is expensive. Insecurity is calamitous. Bandits are lords. Spaces are ungoverned. Abducted Nigerians are in the jungle. Other Nigerians, who seem not to be in jungle, are in trouble.

It was on Independence Day that some Nigerians — 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling from Oyo to Imo — were abducted on their way to serve their country as responsible citizens. Little did they know that it is a crime, in today’s Nigeria, to be a citizen, to be educated, and to be responsible. Anyone can argue till eternity, but no one can convince these corps members that Nigeria is not a jungle.

The kidnappers demanded one billion naira from the families and friends of the victims — 50 million naira for each victim.

Following the incident, we were told that security agencies launched a coordinated search for the victims. We were told that the police, with the deployment of drone surveillance, were able to identify the kidnappers’ camp but could not approach the area because improvised explosive devices had been planted. Determined to rescue the prospective NYSC members, additional hardware — bulldozers, armoured personnel carriers, and other operational assets — was deployed to facilitate access to the location. The search was reportedly intensified and the victims were finally rescued.

This is commendable. The police deserve a trophy for a job well done. But as usual, there is a counter-narrative. Were the prospective NYSC members actually rescued by the police? Can the police really take the credit? The parents of the victims said no. They reportedly paid ransom.
Who do we believe? Given that the Nigerian police have a serious reputational and trust deficit in the eyes of Nigerians, few would believe that the parents are lying. People will readily believe that the police authorities are not telling the truth.

Anyway, we are used to rescue claims by Nigerian security agencies when the meaning of “rescue” is understood only by them. Parents claimed they paid. According to one parent: “The terrorists first demanded N50 million. They gave the abductees phones to confirm that they were alive. We then asked if the money was for all of them, they said no. The money is for each of them.”

This is sad. Kidnappers do not demand chicken feed; or as we say in Nigeria “chicken change.” They make huge demands. Northerners know this better. But in this recent incident, kidnappers, according to the victims’ parents, demanded to be paid in dollars, not in naira. This is an additional slap on this regime, but only if the regime cares to think.

However, the Imo State Police Command denied knowledge of any ransom payment. The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Audu Bosso, clarified that the abductors released the victims after security agencies intensified operations to locate their hideout.

“How do I repay the N6 million I borrowed?” This is an appeal from one of the parents who is just a subsistence farmer. This farmer should thank God that his son was “rescued” or “released” alive, depending on which version one believes. In Katsina State, just a few days ago, a fifteen-year-old boy was kidnapped and killed after 70 million naira was allegedly paid. That is what Nigeria has become under Tinubu, who spent four weeks in Europe enjoying himself.

The Tinubu government is now being advised to make a provision of trillions of naira in its annual budget as a ransom subsidy to help relieve families whose loved ones are kidnapped. I do not know if this makes sense. But at least the government should find a way to support victims financially since it cannot stop banditry and kidnapping. In other words, the government should be subsidizing something if there will be no fuel subsidy anymore.

We cannot continue like this. Something must be done urgently. May Nigeria find peace.

Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com