The Cart Narcs; all you need to know about them.

Do you know that there’s a new world order and enforcement agents whose job is to make sure you return shopping carts to the right place after use or face the brutal consequences?. They are called the Cart Narcs. 

Yes, I agree with you that it is ridiculous.

The cart narcs is an organization which has cut across the world and gained much popularity and thousands of followers, supporters and fans across the social media platforms but with no official structure. Their aims, objectives, main functions and duties is just to get shoppers to return shopping carts to the appropriate place after shopping and carrying their wares with and not leave it lying around the mall parking spaces, roads, garages etc or dumping it off at wherever convenient for them.

Hilarious isn’t it?

They originated out of the propensity to instill new world order and change the narratives of people that it is not okay to leave shop carts around or anywhere after shopping and using it to take your items to the garage with the mindset of the shop staffs will take care of it.

Their offices are shopping mall garages, parks, roads close to malls or shopping centres etc they just hang around waiting for defaulter or ‘uncultured’ shoppers or members of the society; so look around and be very careful next time, they could be somewhere watching.

It is their argument that although there are people paid by the malls and shopping centers  as mall staffs whose job description is to go around and collect carts used by shoppers and return them to the right place it should be but morality demands that you as a shopper should make the world a better place by always returning your carts to the right place after using it and not dumping it wherever you like or convenient for you and it is morally just to do so and also a civilized and cultured attitude.

They always compare leaving carts behind with the mindset of that there are people paid and whose job is to go around and collect carts and return them, so also there are people paid by the government to clean the streets, cities and the communities but that won’t justify anybody throwing dirts around, also there are people paid in organizations to clean and was toilets but morality and civility demands that you flush the toilet after use.

Be it noted that leaving carts behind or dumping it around or wherever convenient for you is not illegality unlawful, hence shoppers don’t break any law when they shop and dump their carts wherever convenient for them but it is only morally justifiable and thorough to return things to the appropriate places after use.

Let us deviate a bit, there’s a fine line between law and morality, what is moral may not be legal and what is legal may not be moral. For example, it is moral to flush toilets and clean up your shits after use but as disgusting as it may be, it is not illegal or unlawful if you don’t clean it up after use and nobody will charge you. It is legal (although controversial) in some jurisdictions of the world to date or even marry a person of same sense but sane morality frowns at that (dating or marrying of same sex).

Be it noted that the  writer is not ignorant of the fact that morality is subjective, that is to say that what is moral in society A may be immoral in society B and vice versa. Moralities in most societies are based on the cultures, ethics, societal values and history of that particular society, therefore, what is moral in Nigeria may be laughed at or seen as silly in Switzerland and what is held to be moral in Switzerland may be frowned at in Nigeria.

Morality being the bedrock of laws, laws are also made in most cases to reflect the morality of the society which in turn reflects the societal values, ethics, principles, history  and cultures of the society which as the society grows, gets more exposed and get more developed, it outgrows some of it’s laws or some of its moral standards hence the need for constant amendment of the law to reflect the current societal values and standards.

Sorry for driving you into this controversy of morality cum legality argument.

Let us come back to the cart narc guys, are you in support of what they do/ are doing or do you think it is unnecessary bullying and harassment of people/shoppers since their there modus operandi is to bully, harass and shame any shopper they catch that didn’t return his or her cart to the appropriate places after use, they even go the extra mile of pasting shameful stickers or shoppers cars or items and even video recording the person till the person either succumb to the harassment and return the cart to the right place or you zoom off with shame and anger. Do you think this can even work in our dear country, Nigeria?

Have it in mind that it is only moral to return your cart to the appropriate place after use but it is not illegal or unlawful to dump it around or wherever convenient for you and that’s the reason why the writer deviated to the morality cum legality sphere of argument. 

The United Kingdom has omitted Nigeria from its list of countries with valid COVID-19 vaccine certificates, in derision to the African giant’s efforts to vaccinate its populace.

The decision means fully vaccinated Nigerians travelling to the UK will still get some of the treatments reserved for the unvaccinated, among them, observing the required 10 days isolation on arrival in the country.

The UK said in a statement on Monday, that the decision is based on “a phased approach to recognizing vaccines administered by other countries and territories, building on the success of the pilot with the U.S. and Europe.”

“Fully vaccinated residents in other countries not yet part of the inbound policy, as well as those partially vaccinated, will still have to take a pre-departure test, PCR tests for day 2 and day 8 after arrival, and self-isolate for 10 days, with the option to test to release after 5 days.

“The UK government is continuing to work with international partners as we seek to more regularly expand the policy to further countries and territories,” the country said.

Other African countries are also impacted by the decision, no matter how vaccinated they are.

Nigeria is among the countries least-impacted by covid, recording 165,809 cases and 2,067 deaths as of October 5, and has not been on the UK’s 54-country covid red list.

Currently, the UK accepts Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNtech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines for those fully vaccinated for at least 14 days before arrival in the country. Apart from Johnson & Johnson, Nigeria’s other vaccines fall in the category of vaccines approved by the UK, which adds curiosity to the ‘why’ Nigeria was excluded from the list.

Surprisingly, hardly hit countries like the US, Spain and Italy are allowed into the UK with vaccine certificates.

While the UK did not provide further explanation to why Nigeria is excluded from its list of countries with valid covid vaccine certificates, the decision stands opposite UK’sperceived support for Nigeria’s campaign for vaccination. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, said the UK strongly supports the work of the Nigerian health authorities and the nation’s vaccination campaign.

Experts said the decision amounts to discrimination and will dampen the willingness of people to get vaccinated.

“We do not understand why the UK has taken this position,” the Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr John Nkengasong said last month. “It was a message that creates confusion within our population… creating more reticence, reluctance for people to receive vaccines.”

“This message doesn’t really speak to solidarity and co-operation that we all believe are the cornerstone and ingredients for us to emerge from this pandemic together,” he added.

The UK is not the first country to tow this path, the EU, though it was narrowed to the AstraZeneca manufactured in India, has failed to recognize people with some vaccine certificates, restricting them from entering into some European countries.

EU regulators had said AstraZeneca has not completed the necessary paperwork on the Indian factory, including vital information on its production practices and quality control standards. It is a claim that experts have refuted, describing it as unscientific and discriminatory while pointing out that the World Health Organization (WHO) had inspected and approved the factory.

Thus, the UK’s decision is believed to be part of the growing discriminatory treatment, by rich countries, against millions of people vaccinated through the UN-backed vaccination programs such as COVAX.