Crime Casualties of the Okorocha Rescue Mission – By Mba Ogbonnaya

Crime as it were has remained an endemic phenomenum that has refused to leave our land for years now. Each day that passes by witnesses new formations of crime with other creative means to confront us. We live each day as though we are at war.

Crime has become indescretely indiscriminate to her targeted audience. Enterprise it is become buying and selling its goods to every cadre in our society. To make matter worse, due to its nightly nature, some supposedly leaders of land have bought into the the crime establishments with a view to using the tools behind this crimes for further their underdevelopment projects.

Crimes are usually violent. People may ask, does piffering not belong to crime yet non violent. I, we disagree with this assertion in its entirety. Violence may have been established by others as only those acts that can cause body harm or injuries, which may, atimes, lead to death. Violence is an act in which people are violated. Violating once rights whether it causes bodily harm or not is injurious to him in so far as such acts have effects that may cause the violated pain, anger, trauma to mention be few. Rape is an act of violence.

Imo State, the Eastern Heartland if not the Brain Box of the Nation has suffered from this hydra headed monster called crime. The previous governments had voted so much money into fighting it and yet it was as though one is mere pouring water on the back of a duck. It is either there have been compromises somewhere or some disgruntled political elements are the chief sponsors of this evil act either to sabotage the incumbent or to undermine the State as it were. We have categorized these crimes into political motivated crime and economic type and the third type are those who indulge in it for the fun of it. The most dangerous types are the first and the last. The Politically motivated crime personnel are in it to prove a point either bring the ruling government to its knees and create a picture that portrays the government in bad image especially the leader.

The Fun-Crimes type is those who appreciate the violence inherent in crime. This could be deduced in what happens in cultism where members boast of their ability to spill blood with little or no feeling at all. And the last type is usually recruited by the political Sponsors. The economic groups say that they do it because they have no means of livelihood. Hence, they specialize in stealing. It may be said that this group too, could be hired as assassins.

Dear readers, let me not bore you with this cerebral exercise on Crime, at issue are the casualties of crime for which we are all a part in one way or the other. We have got our hands full as we can no longer wish to stay in our homes. We have lost our loved ones to death occasioned by crime. We have lost our loved ones to the foreign lands in search of safety for safety.

There was a pathetic story of Nwanforo family in Umualum, Isieke-nensi, Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State where the said family has suffered unduly in the hands of men of the underworld and of course in the hands of some never-to-let -go of the primitive, fiendish and diabolical traditions.

First, one Justin Nwanaforo of Umualum village was known for his staunch preachment against the superstitious belief system in his home town. Mr. Justin who was known a devout Christian was found a deviant among his occult kinsmen who devised every means to get him frustrated. His strong faith and resolute stance against these beliefs brought upon him threats by his unknown assailants. One, he began to receive threats and of course the report had it that he had to run for his dear life by leaving the country for a foreign land. That made me a casualty as I have lost my friend.

Again, his cousin, Mr. Victor Nwanaforo had his father, Elder Vincent Nwanaforo, kidnapped for which ransom was paid before his release. This same Victor was shot at last January (2011) in one of his feet, which led to the amputation of one of his limbs. One wonders how a people could leave under this crime infested environment. Can anyone speak to Justin about returning to Nigeria with the trauma he has gone through? The answer is no. Another thing is, will Justin be treated with dignity in foreign land? I am sorry; I am just trying to be rhetorical.

In memoriam, one of the stalwart of All Progressives Grand Alliance was assassinated on the dawn of Governor Rochas Okorocha’s victory as the Governor elect of Imo State Nigeria. The man in question was an industrialist of no mean repute. Kindly allow me keep his name unmentioned. And there others we can not mention for lack of space and time.

The present Imo State Government has unleashed everything in her arsenal to combat crime. The Governor has launched his Operation Rescue Imo Community Policing with one hundred vehicles co-opting both the police and the army. In less than one month of the launching of Governor’s security outfit, a Commissioner was kidnapped. Once again, within the two weeks of this period, Imo recorded a number of resistant from these faceless groups. We are happy today, that Imo has begun to witness peace once again as the security arrangements are responding rapidly to curbing the dastardly activities.

Imo State Governor had said that politically motivated crime had decreased while the enterprise type had increased. He may have been right in his analyses but to me, we are only witnessed an upward shift on the curve of the politically motivated crimes. This is not unconnected to the resolve of gainers of the ousted regime to bring the present government to disrepute. The reason is simple. The Governor has said no to the old order in terms of putting fingers into the purse of the State.

The godfatherism no longer hold sway as they have been asked to go look for what to do. He has dwarfed the opposition by his achievement so far in less than six months. Even the oppositions are testifying to this. Concoctions of lies are no longer working. Yes! Now is the time to play out a violent drama with the Governor’s image as the villain of the story. The good thing is that Imo people have gone beyond fallen for mere lies as they have already pledged to go into it with their Governor to see that their Governor’s dream to create Imo State of their dream is achieved. The war against crime in Imo State and Nigeria at large is too serious a project that need not be handled with kid glove.

For Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Imo must be better and his body language speaks in this line. His feat so far has not spoken on the contrary. While licking our wounds from the devastation of crime, I thank God for the change in the trend plausibly credited to the Governments consciously made and continual effort to nipping the ugly issue in the bud. I believe strongly that we shall remember this day again but no longer in pains but with tears of joy.