By Emeka Alex Duru
(08054103327)
Some, who do not join group actions, are not deviants in nature. It could be out of experience. Ours is a complex society. It is such that slipping from the hunter to the hunted is divided by a thin line. Call a protest against an unpopular government action, for instance. Before the march gets to a reasonable point, some in the exercise, would have become victims. Their property would have been destroyed or looted by some in the procession. It is a system where greed, envy and criminality are always, easily unleashed on others at the slightest opportunity.
This sums the story of criminal gangs, variously referred to as One million Boys or Awawa Boys, currently on the prowl in Lagos and environs, since the Coronavirus (Covid-19) – induced lockdown on the state. Since the restrictions, movements have been curtailed. As a result, commercial bus services have been put on hold. Other businesses have also been scaled down drastically or halted, altogether. This has unleashed the monster in some young men that had been on daily income or those loitering around bus parks. They have found company in other criminal elements in the society to constitute the Awawa Boys, currently haunting the metropolis.
Explaining their menace on economic dislocation, is one leg in understanding the issue at hand. It goes deeper than that. One Million Boys, as a phenomenon, may be a reflection of the ills in the system, at present. But it speaks of a pervading virus that is eating into the very fabric of the nation, with time. The touts that constitute the bulk of the brigands, did not just happen. Some found their ways into the Parks due to inadequate parental care. Some are outright deviants. Most are those used and dumped by politicians. It is easy to empower and arm the youths during elections for odious jobs. The challenge is in disarming them after the polls, particularly when the godfathers abandon them and move on after using them. This is the price the country is paying in Lagos and other states, presently.
The Awawa Boys are not only hungry and seeking for food. Theirs is not a case of mere burglary. They loot, they rob, they kill. It is pure criminality, often in broad day light, with law enforcement agents often overwhelmed by their sheer manifestation of audacity. Many residents, streets and communities in the state, have had bitter experiences of their visit in the neighbourhoods. The visits often leave in their trail, tears and sorrow.
You can therefore imagine the level of tension that enveloped our Estate a couple of days ago, when news filtered in that the Boys had written a neighouring settlement of an impending visit. Self-protection, it is said, is the first law of nature. Within minutes of the information, barrel-chested young men in their 30s and 40s or above, responded immediately, took up positions, spoiling for action. It took time to disperse them, after briefings and assurances by the elders that relevant authorities in the state were on top of the situation.
But while they left, a group stayed behind, came up with a song: “Nuru olu anyi oh, Nna nuru olu anyi, oh; Onweghi mgbe ike Mmadu ga-akari ike Chukwu; Nna nuru oh, onye kere uwa nuru olu anyi, oh”! Simply put, they were beckoning on God to listen to their cry, reminding him that at no time had a man’s might been greater than His. This is a rendition that is loaded with meanings. It is one that is rendered when one is overwhelmed by injustice or challenges that require divine intervention. It can be sonorous but tear-evoking. It is usually a call for action.
As kids, we watched young Biafran recruits, fresh from training sing this song as they hopped into Land Rover Jeeps headed for the war fronts. Embedded in the song was the enthusiasm and call to service for their fatherland. It entailed paying the supreme sacrifice for a cause they believed in. As they sang, we envied them in our innocence and nakedness, wishing to have been of age to be part of the action. But the mothers did not find the whole thing, funny, as we did. They knew what was involved. They understood that going to war, was not a tea party. It was a matter of life and death. So, while we enjoyed the song, they cried for the young men, many of whom that never made it back.
Now, an elder of sort, I was reminded of the import of the song by the young men in the Estate, in preparation for the visit of the Awawa Boys. Their journey in attaining their current positions in the society, can be heart-rending. Some came to Lagos and other cities in the country, bare-footed on trucks with nobody as guide. Most, served years of apprenticeship, before being settled with paltry sums. In all, they went through crucibles and self-denial to be where they are. The singular thought of losing all that they spent days and nights acquiring all the years, because of the failure of the government to take the necessary actions in protecting them against the Awawa Boys, is something they would not contemplate.
Why was I bothered at their song? I understand the import. I could imagine them putting in everything legitimate, to protect themselves. For them, it is, as expressed by the Italian essayist, Niccolo Machiavelli, in his concise book, The Prince, that men easily forget the loss of their fathers than the loss of their heritage. At this point, it has become a matter of life and death. I can see action in the boys waiting for the One million Boys . Anything can happen!
But what is the state doing? Watching Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, dismiss or making light of the menace of the Awawa Boys, says a lot on the value the authorities place on security in the country. Citing the relative calm in the cities as ikoyi, Victoria Islands and Ikeja and other highbrows as basis for trivializing the activities of the urchins, can be costly for the state. The truth is that Lagos State, aside the lockdown, is currently at the mercy of the bad boys. It is really a case of the One Million Boys and the rest of us. Something must be done to arrest the ugly trend.