Muslim Idowu writes via [email protected]
Once, a suburb in Ketu, Lagos, was under siege. Armed robbers moved from house to house, room to room, almost daily. Fear emptied homes. People abandoned property because life, however fragile, remains sacred. That terror persisted until residents decided “enough is enough” and took their destiny into their own hands.
That Ketu story is now Nigeria’s story. Insecurity has metastasised. Banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and armed attacks have become a lucrative, expanding industry. Successive governments have tried and failed. The situation worsens by the day, and citizens remain the principal victims. We now live in fear, and even movement feels like a gamble.
How long will this continue? As long as ransom pays, crime will thrive. Until the calculus changes, the killings and abductions will not stop.
Yes, the government has the constitutional duty and the firepower to end this. It can stop paying ransom. It can show resolve, intelligence, and coordination. But the hard truth is this: the problem now exceeds the capacity of government alone. Politics, compromise, and internal sabotage have blurred the line between protector and predator.
