ENDSARSNOW: A call to order
It is often said that when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable- or maybe I should give it a little twist for the sake of this write-up by saying that ‘when the objective of a project/invention is neglected and/or forgotten, waywardness becomes the order of the day. It goes to show that for men to function efficiently at what they do; they must key into the vision of the project at hand, and also walk and work with the consciousness of the obligations committed into their hands- but where does this leave SARS?
‘SARS’ which translates to ‘Special Anti-Robbery Squad’ was set up to curtail the proliferation of armed robbery and other crimes across all the states of the federation. However, with the many accusations that have thus far been raised[ through the ENDSARSNOW campaign] against some of the men of SARS team, it is obvious that there had been more gratuitous functions that have been undertaken by SARS. Cases of harassment, molestation, extrajudicial killings and other activities in the realm of the aforementioned should never have been part of the array of activities that would be named against a security unit that is saddled with the responsibility of offering protection to the citizens of the nation in an unpleasant twist of events.
Notwithstanding, as the ENDSARSNOW campaign surges on with various protestations and online juggernauts, it is important that we spare a thought on what ‘END’ really means and see how feasible it is in the light of the campaign: to end a thing is to wholly terminate it; bringing it to a close. Well, ending SARS without having a viable option on ground could be detrimental to the fight against crime as the perpetrators [of such heinous activities] will certainly take advantage of the loophole. Plus, the move to end SARS can be likened to ‘throwing a baby away with the bathwater’as I believe that there are still officers who are committed to the (crime-fighting) course in SARS. Hence, rather than calling to end SARS, we need to seek a redress in the way in which men of the unit perform the tasks that have been entrusted to them.
In that regard, one cannot but look to the police hierarchy to map out the blueprint for a restructured SRAS unit- and definitely, the Police Force in Nigeria as a whole. Moves should be made towards re-orienting these men, and adesicated monitoring team should even follow up on them as they go about discharging their duties. The ENDSARSNOW campaign came about as a result of grievances from who looked to the police for protection but were instead harassed so, it would not be out of the place for the police authority to have a functional platform where complaints will be laid and earnestly addressed without any attempt to shield erring officers from justice.
The call to end SARS was not borne out of zealousness but the need to bring about corrective measures to a menace that has so tainted the reputation of Nigeria Police Force hence, it will be very appalling for the relevant quarter not to do anything about the situation. It is good to know that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris is already making attempts to put things right, and whatsoever is being done must be far-reaching; not just to quell the campaign but to bring about the expected changes Nigerians are craving for as it regards the operations of SARS. The molestation and other extrajudicial activities must stop now, while we keep working at raising a policing unit that can be trusted, and loyal enough to uphold the purpose for which it has been instituted.