Okwe Obi
To some, rain is a blessing; but for residents of Dogon Gada, community in Lokogoma, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, rain is synonymous with bad luck.
Reason: The sleepy community has been ravaged by flood. Apart from that, rain results to power outage, which sometimes last for days and even months. Residents of the community are also contending with the problem of shop burgling. And it is more prevalent when it rains.
Whenever there is rain, residents, especially shop owners who live far away get apprehensive because they may not meet their shops the way they leave them regardless of the padlocks or iron doors mounted.
For Peter Oluchi, 32, his life may never remain the same after his shop was raided and goods worth thousands of naira carted away. His shop is located beside Santos Estate and behind his house. He said he did not hear any sound signaling destruction. He asked the Federal Government to urgently intervene before the situation gets messier:
“On Saturday night, when the breeze started I parked in my goods and went in. At 12am, I came out to see if the rain entered my shop because that had been the case. To my greatest surprise my shop was opened and I knew that I locked it.
“I saw some of my things outside scattered. I don’t know if they were looking for money. They took my home theatre, DVD; they removed something from my fridge. They packed my spaghetti, soaps and bags of rice.
“This is the first time I am experiencing it. But people have been complaining that they have had their shops burgled. This thing happens anytime it rains.” He said he reported the case at the Efab Police Station.
Nkechi Samuel, 30, whose shop is about six polls away from her home, recounted her bitter ordeal: “When I heard that thieves were breaking into shops I thought it was a joke until it happened to me.
“These people always operate whenever it rains. In my case, my generator and refrigerator were stolen including my beverages worth thousands of naira. And since it is raining we hardly hear when they break in. Because of the consistency of burgling so many people do not like selling beverages.”
Owner of a drinking spot, Kenneth Idu, said: “I don’t know if the rain was a curse to some of us selling in this neighborhood, or a blessing. We cannot continue to live like this. Let the Inspector General of Police intercede. The country is hard. The constant attack on our shops is not good.”
Another foodstuffs seller, Emmanuel Audu, prefers to sleep in his shop with cutlass and other weapons stock somewhere and battled-ready to protect his source of livelihood: “We cannot continue to tolerate this devil. Whenever it rains, I sleep in my shop battled ready for the criminals. I cannot be working for another person to steal.”