Cross River: A Safe Haven For Criminals —By Inyali Peter

Cross River: A Safe Haven For Criminals —By Inyali Peter

Inyali Peter|10 June 2016|6:28am

Before Prof. Ben Ayade took over the mantle of leadership as the third democratically elected governor of Cross River State in the current democratic dispensation, the state was regarded globally as the most peaceful in Nigeria.

Calabar, the capital city of the state was a hub for tourists and a safe haven for fun lovers. Globally, Calabar was regarded as a place to stay, relax and sleep with your two eyes closed.

Amongst other achievements of the past administration led by Senator Liyel Imoke, the peaceful nature of the state under his watch ruled supreme. Imoke was celebrated nationally for ensuring that throughout his eight years, the state was not on the news for bad reasons security wise.

Under Imoke, all government officials including himself denounced their membership of any unlawful group publicly. In fact, public denouncement of illegal group was a major condition to be part of his well respected and revered cabinets.

His relationship with the leadership of the security agents in the state was superb. In fact, at a time, senior officials of the armed forces and other paramilitary officers were rumoured to engage in serious lobbying to be posted to the state because it was a common opinion that Calabar was a relaxation point for them.

However, just within one year after Imoke left office for Ayade, Calabar and indeed the entire state have become a safe haven for criminals of all kind.

Whereas, at a time where Cross Riverians are battling to overcome the spread of some unknown diseases occasioned by  the sudden growing refuse dumps and nay hygienic condition of the environment, the challenge of security has again berthed. Robbers now operate freely in broad day light within and outside the Calabar metropolis.

Kidnapping has become the order of the day. It is almost like a crime now not to hear news of either business mogul or Don being kidnapped. In most cases, even after a ransom is paid, the criminals still proceed to murdering the victims.

As if that is not enough, cult activities which was once killed and buried under Imoke regime has resurrected fully without challenge under Ayade. Cultists have taken over Calabar South, killing themselves in broad daylight like the state House of Assembly have enacted law to legalise killing in the state.

Since the Ayade's administration came on board, over ten people have been butchered like chicken and it seems the governor is enjoying it because he has done nothing about it.

This development is however not too strange to some persons who had predicted that with the serious migration of jobs seekers from all part of the state to Calabar immediately Ayade was sworn into office to battle for appointments and jobs which are nowhere to be found was a serious security trait.

Within his first three months, Ayade announced that he lifted the 23 years old embargo on civil service employment in the state. When this news filtered in, thousands of youth who are not even qualified for civil service jobs relocated without plans to Calabar. Ayade is yet to act on the lifting of the embargo as till date, no recruitment into the civil service.

As expected in a government that almost everything is fraudulently perpetuated, Ayade accommodated most of these migrants as volunteers. Then, you see them dressed in hired suits hovering around Governor's Office doing nothing. Some where lucky that their names were reeled out for appointment but many months later, these people have no means of livelihood as their salary is a story for another day.

The shame of returning to their roots without anything to show after parading themselves as governor's boys have led many of them to suffer and being smiling. Some have taken the bull by the horn by engaging in any illegal activity to survive while trying to maintain that standard as governor's “boys”.

The security challenges confronting the state may not be unconnected to this reality considering the fact that the silence from the government over the development.

Again, the problem might just be that the state is under police. It is under police not because the state police command is lacking in number but because government officials have shared them amongst themselves.

In a state where you have two governors, Ben and Frank Ayade with two first ladies, a nonfunctional deputy, over 1000 SAs and SSAs, 24 assembly members and senior legislative aides all entitled to more than one security aides, the poor masses would be left to their faith.

The number of police guards for Ayade, his brother Frank and the two first ladies alone is more than the entire number of police posted to two local governments area in the state. In fact, the Ayade's family alone controls sizeable number of police such that the command is now obviously suffering from shortage of man power.

Calabar is one of the easiest cities to police because it has a single route in and out and the town is not too large but the over dependent on securing government officials leaving the poor vulnerable to all sorts of attacks has limited the policing powers of the gallant Nigeria Police officers in the state thereby giving rise to criminal activities.

Away from the security issues in Calabar which is the heart of the southern senatorial district of the state, other senatorial districts are not spared in this government's negligence to protection of lives and properties.

In the northern senatorial district, Obudu, Ayade's country home to be precise, armed robbery and cultism have taken centre stage. I was told reliably that, anything above 7PM in Obudu is now too late and a big risk that only the strong survive the consequences. Yet the governor is junketing from one state or one country to another doing what only he can explain.

In the central senatorial district of the state, there have been wanton killings going on as a result of unending communal war. For the past two months, the Obubra and Yakur people have known no peace. An entire community has been sacked, farms destroyed and properties worth billions of naira damaged.

It took our digital governor two months to reluctantly set up a panel to investigate the cause of the incessant war between the two LGAs after several innocent Cross Riverians have lost their lives to the war.

A cup of garri now sale for N50 or even more as the Obubra and Yakur people who are the major supplier of garri to the state capital cannot either process again because their cassavas farms have been destroyed. Even those who manage to process, they can't convey it to Calabar especially from Obubra as the Yakur warlords have taken charge of our highway.

To show how insensitive Ayade is to the issue of security, Cross River state was the only state in the federation that didn't have their governor in attendance when an emergency security meeting was called by the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo early this week. The funniest but annoying thing is that, the governor has been in Abuja where the meeting held. What he was doing during the meeting that was more important than the security meeting has left people wondering.

How we got to this level is a big question that has left many pondering. It has never been this bad.

Tourism which has become the mainstay of the state's economy is been threatened by the upsurge in crime rate.

This is a test of leadership for the governor because he needs to show more seriousness in combating this menace. He must mandate all his cabinet members to publicly denounce their membership of illegal groups.

His relationship with security agencies at this point must be strengthen. Our dear governor should release some of the security agents detailed to him and his family members to the command to beef off public security.

As the chief security officer of the state, the governor should mandate the police to collaborate with other security agencies to bring the people causing restiveness to book.

On incessant communal war, the governor should strengthen the relationship between the traditional institution and the government as well as empower community relations officers to frequently interface with community leaders that they represent to avert issues deteriorating to war.

Cross River state must as a matter of urgency, necessity and great importance return to her former status as the most peaceful state in Nigeria because Cross Riverians will stop at nothing until this is achieved.

Inyali Peter
Writes from Calabar