As the year like a carpet, folds up, and people check and take stocks of their annual progress, so do the “ bad-boys “criminals not yet apprehended by the long arm of the law, also are planning how to round up the year in a big way.
The kidnappers would be planning how to target and get victims that would attract mouth-watering ransom. Even as these evil boys are planning to execute so are the security agencies also battling hard to reduce their stronghold thereby ensuring a safer environment for every residents in Nigeria. The truth is that while it is expected of the security agencies to comply with constitutional provision mandating them to provide safe heaven for the people, so are the people expected to exhibit extra vigilance ; after all,an lgbo adage says” Its expected of the person whose life is endangered, to be security conscious”.
To be security conscious means, a conscious lifestyle of security alertness from the home, environment and to the streets must be practiced .
It is when citizens are conscious about issues of personal security, that the proactiveness of security agencies is activated.
For instance, you should blame yourself if you don’t see the urgency to replace the lost key of your house or office doors; but expect the police to arrest the burgular.
Neither can you blame security agents for your inability to ensure that your car doors are firmly locked just because you used remote control to activate its lock, should there be a break into the car.
Negligence and docility most often are the root cause of security dangers people alway encounter. Take for instance, a man noticed three children struggling with a woman, and instead of intervening on behalf of the children, he ignores and the scenario thinking that it is none of his business.
Maybe your prompt intervention could have saved the children about to be trafficked.
Unconcern attitude does not help securing the enviroment. Two ladies were about to be kidnapped, but for the timely report lodged by an eye witness, which prompted the swiftness of the police team to effectively rescue them.(To be continued)
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Matters Arising : US money laundering war
About $1.6 trillion to $144 trillion disappear annually from developing countries without trace and end up in developed countries thereby impoverishing these developing countries the more. A survey of six sub-Saharan African countries (including Nigeria) between 1989 and 1999 revealed that Nigeria has the largest incidence of capital flight of $21billion-representing 60% of the combined capital flight of six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These monies never followed the formal or legal channels to get to their destinations – mostly developed countries.
If would be recalled that , between 2012 and 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT), an organisation renowned for setting the global standards for measures to combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing disclosed that Nigeria is not cooperating despite early warnings for the country to comply with the rules.
In its report in May 2012, FAFT listed Nigeria among the countries that have not made any significant progress in addressing the huge problems identified by Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regimes.
So, since 1989 till now, why single out Allen Onyema the CEO of Air Peace, using United State Judiciary to wake up the slumber of Nigeria fighting money laundering and corruption?
It is difficult to know whether the decision to indict Onyema is politically motivated. However, knowing how currently Nigeria is polarised along tribal and religious lines in everything including politics and dialogue about what is good and bad, right and wrong, legal and illegal behaviors, and who is exempted from doing bad or getting message (easy ride or unscarred), and who should get all the bruises and be forced to keep quiet), it is in view of these conditions on Nigerian scene that the timing of indictment of Allen Onyema with his CFO is met with skepticisms. Skeptics are worried that investigation and indictment of the duo. They are unaware that these heavily-funded US departments involved in the investigation and indictment are too many and working independently for one to influence the other. The investigations by US Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Commerce, and Department of Treasury are not a joke. The investigations cost millions of dollars and since it started in 2010, their trail of evidences must be huge to come out. However, these indictments coming to limelight at this time is not a positive development for the departments or the US that are credible always and never leave anything by chance in their investigations.
If the indictment is happening in a country where things are normal, and there is fairness, equity and equality is the norm; the evidences as presented by the US Department of Justice, US attorney ‘s office Northern District of Georgia last Friday may not have received the uproar that it did.
Yes, in everything in life including Interpersonal communication which is the field of this writer, time and context matter. They often determine the intentions of actions. Why another Igbo man after the controversy of Innoson Motors Group. Are we taking Nigeria’s tribal dichotomies overseas using foreign courts to fight the ethnic conflict? Is this an attempt to give Buhari a bad name that he has already gathered much to handle.
Is this an attempt to continue the war against Igbos by forces that want to do anything to disillusion the group in Nigeria ?.
Recall, when you are holding back your neighbor, you are holding down yourself.
Please don’t get me wrong – If Air Peace Chairman did commit alleged crime, let the justice system in the US decide his fate. It is a system that is so organized and even though it is not perfect, at least the suspect has right to fair hearing and justice no matter how truncated compared to Nigeria. But to face reality, that the US Department of Justice, US attorney’s office Northern District of Georgia raised the accusation of money laundering, bank fraud and financial scams are not allegations that should be swept under the pretense that politics has a role to play in the indictment. This writer have been in the United States for over 20 years. Onyema should forget about his own perception of his followers in Nigeria, whether his loud noise will assist support his innocence. He must face the reality of the situation. If he is sure he never committed these offences, his conscience and now the law will determine it. But I warn that his approach to these very serious charges is that the case should not be built on defiance rather show the court and his supporters that a mistake was made if he is too get leniency eventually.