When I did my youth service in Zamfara, we were more afraid of Hisbah than the Nigerian police. In fact, in Zamfara State, saying that police is your friend is true. Then, if anything comes after you, you are sure the police will rescue and protect you if you manage to get into their barracks. But if Hisbah comes for you, just kneel down and pray for supernatural help because no one can rescue you.

This is just to show how strong and influential Hisbah was between 2004 and 2005 that I was in Zamfara. They were an authority of their own; a force no one toyed with. Hisbah was more than a religious police; it was Zamfara State’s security service. It worked independently and carried out its duties viciously.

I am stating all these not to attack Hisbah but to show that there is a security outfit in Nigeria that is not answerable to the police and any Nigerian military authorities, nor does it work hand in hand with them. Hisbah has its own modus operandi, which does not favour other citizens of the country, especially those that aren’t from the state they operate in. They follow a law that is foreign to many Nigerians and do not hesitate to judge, condemn and punish anyone that does anything prohibited by that law; your origin, religion and duration of stay won’t help you here.

Now, we are facing the birth of another security outfit called Western Nigeria Security Network, aka Amotekun. I, personally, am not against Amotekun but I have some reservations concerning its staffing and method of working. From what I gathered, this outfit will work hand in hand with the police and other national security outfits. They are more like the neighbourhood police, the vigilante, or, like we say in Anambra, “Police Willy” or “Police Eliza”.

It is ok, very ok, if Amotekun will liaise with the national police and the Nigerian Army, Airforce and others. But how sure are we that they will stick to this? What are they actually going to do? Arrest and detain suspects? Or do intelligent works and pass on information to the police for further action? These and many more are the things the masses need to know from the South-West state governors so that they, the masses, will know whether to join forces and demand that the federal government approves Operation Amotekun.

However, my little Zamfara experience has taught me that power, when not properly handled, can become intoxicating and destructive. To ensure Amotekun doesn’t become destructive later, these governors should ensure the following:

1. Staffing Amotekun with people of integrity. We know how things work in Nigeria. Every politician and “Big Man” will want his brother that is wasting away in the village to be employed as an Amotekun so that he can fend for himself. I’m not against people helping their own but in this type of outfit, integrity and discipline must come first. This is just to say that no matter who that person that sent an unfit to be recruited is, the recruiters should reject him (the unfit) right away. You don’t give guns to people with instabilities.
2. Training Amotekun staff on emotional intelligence. This is one area that is very important. In fact, this is more important than training them to use guns. If these people do not know how to restrain themselves during the heat of an argument, then Amotekun is going to end up a disaster. The gory stories of how Hisbah officials flogged those that resisted arrests in those days haven’t left my memory.
3. Ensuring Amotekun does not have a holding cell. I don’t know the plans the South-West governors have for this outfit, but building holding cells for it will only end up increasing our problems. This is because it will create room for illegal arrests and detentions. And it will also encourage bullying and extortions. Let every arrest made be channelled to the police station, that is, if they are to arrest people in the first place.
4. Making provisions for constant training and grooming. Training these people once and releasing them into society isn’t enough. They need to be constantly trained and retrained by experts. If there is no provision for such, and it is not certain if such a provision will be made in the future, well, I think the stakeholders need to sit back and rethink. You can’t release a leopard into society without taming it every now and then. Failure to do so means you and your loved ones will one day become its prey.

There are so many things to be considered but I believe the Yoruba elders will look into them all. I may not be from the South-West but I know something will definitely take me there every now and then. What I wouldn’t want to experience is the type of tension, restrictions and harassment I met in Zamfara State. If Amotekun is there to secure the lives of every respectable, hardworking and honest Nigerian living in the South-West, irrespective of tribe and religion, then I am all for it (but they have to be well trained anyway). But if it is there to compel citizens within the geopolitical zone to live according to a law that is foreign to every Nigerian citizen, then there is need for serious deliberations on the matter.

There isn’t a place on the planet that isn’t experiencing some kind of lack when it comes to healthcare. Deterioration of culture and healthy environmental factors have big influences on how healthcare is being treated all over the planet. No matter the modernity or wealth of a country, healthcare, in all environments, is being affected more by financial gain, capitalistic healthcare, and growing health concerns for a global population. 

Here are some of the most concerning lapses that we are seeing in the healthcare world today. These issues, left unchecked, have the power to change humanity and our evolution. These healthcare issues are being faced by every country and population on the planet.

Clean Water and Sterile Environments

Although we like to think these two things are available in most parts of the world, much of the world still struggles to obtain clean water and sterile environments during procedures. These two things are important for sterilization, hydration, and preventing infection. This is still a problem for hospitals even when they are considered sterile environments. There is no way to completely sterilize an environment without sealing environments. The simple act of doctors, nurses, and patients interacting makes that complete sterile environment impossible. 

In modern industrialized cities and towns, a surgical supply store can keep healthcare facilities stocked with packaged sterile supplies. This can be counted on to keep microbes and bacteria off the instruments and supplies until they are opened. Many places around the world do not have access to these supply centers.

Birth and Postpartum

Birth and the time right after birth, called postpartum, are some of the most influential times in a woman and baby’s life. It is considered a very natural and sacred time that, in many cultures, is seen as a medical condition. In other parts of the world, it is still something done at home, far away from medical training of any kind. In either scenario, there are health concerns that can deeply affect the mother and baby for many years. 

In modern society, postpartum is often overlooked as modern-day stressors quickly take over. The repair and rest needed for a new mother is meant to be so that the body can recover from the intense trauma it goes through in labor. When rest and rejuvenation is skipped, it can have lasting effects on the female body. It also provides a birthing culture where the fear of degradation to the body supersedes the desire to conceive.

Infant mortality rates are still at high numbers in most cultures due to umbilical cord prolapse, prolonged labor, birth asphyxia, birth complications, malaria, measles, malnutrition, and low birth weight. Healthcare has yet to see the needs of mothers and newborns as one of the most natural and necessary transformations of life.

Death and Hospice

On the other side of the spectrum, also the most natural part of life, is our transition to death. In many modern countries, healthcare is focused on keeping someone alive as opposed to letting the dying process be also apart of healthcare. Hospice is one of the western services that is provided through the healthcare system that is set up to help humans through the transition of death. 

The business of healthcare has shifted its focus to keeping people alive longer to avoid death. Once someone dies, the healthcare system passes the body onto another industry. The complication with the journey to death, being apart of the healthcare system, is that there is a bias toward extracting as much money from the person before they pass in the name of keeping them alive. Hospice is one of the only services that is covered by healthcare that accepts the fact that someone is dying and they need extra support and care during that time.

Rising Inflation of Pharmaceuticals

One of the hardest parts of the healthcare system is the rising cost of pharmaceuticals that many sick people need. The more sick people get the more rising costs of medicine. As new illnesses are discovered, pharmaceutical companies have to procure new medicines to deliver. Although there have been many wonder drugs that help people, the prices tend to be too much for people to afford them.

As long as people live, good healthcare will be a concern. The quality of life from birth to death should be as good as we can make it.

As the need to ease the traffic congestion in Lagos State grows stronger, the State Government is looking for alternate means of transportation to reduce the number of road users and therefore, minimize the impact of many vehicles on Lagos roads. Apart from the railway that is still under construction, the waterways have become a viable option to the roads.

The Lagos State has consequently purchased 5,000 drones to monitor activities in the waters and increase the safety of commuters who are embracing water transportation.

Boat accidents and lax rescue operation have been the bane of water transport growth. Last year alone, Lagos witnessed a number of boat mishaps that notably discouraged commuters from ferrying. A notable accident happened in Irewe community, claiming three lives while two others were declared missing.

The State Government is poised to eliminate all the stigma holding commuters back from using the waterways, and the drones have come in handy for effective surveillance that will facilitate fast emergency responses at every given time. With 5,000 drones, cases of avoidable accidents and deaths will be curtailed and more people will be encouraged to embrace the water transport system.

The State Government is currently enjoying the patronage of about 70,000 commuters daily and 1.5 million monthly, according to the director general of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Femi Oke-Osanyintolu. Femi explained that the drones have been connected to the State Command Control Center with Close Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) and mobile CCTV equipment to monitor activities in the waterways to ensure the safety of boat passengers.

He added that other equipment such as jet skis, ambulance and rescue boats have been purchased and added to LASEMA centers across the state to ensure effective safety operations. The development has been seen as nice gesture at a time when Lagos State is pushing through overwhelming traffic situation.

Lack of alternative to road transportation has been pointed as the major factor in traffic congestion in the state. With the newly acquired drones, commuters will be given a sense of security and assurance of rescue in the case of accident. And that will enable many to ply the waterways, reducing the numbers of vehicles on the roads.

Meanwhile, the State Government has been encouraged to apply drones for other security activities in the state, especially the pipelines. Two days ago, pipeline vandalism in Abule-Egba area of the state led to inferno that resulted in the death of many and loss of property. That isn’t the first time the people around pipeline areas experienced avoidable tragedy like that.

In December 2006, about 269 people were burnt to death when a ruptured pipeline busted into flames in Abule-Egba Lagos, several others were injured and properties worth millions of naira were destroyed. Most of the victims had gone to scoop fuel from the ruptured pipeline and consequently ignited fire that consumed them.

In July 2019, about two people lost their lives and properties were consumed when a pipeline fire gutted Abule-Egba area of Lagos. The incessancy of pipeline originated fire-tragedy has necessitated the call on Lagos State Government to explore other means of keeping people away from the pipelines.

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) in 2016, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Solid Minerals and Ministry of Interior, to protect all solid minerals sites in the country.

The NSCDC set up a department known as Solid Minerals Defenders, who were primarily saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding all mineral mining sites which includes pipelines.

The Solid Mineral Defenders have since then provided some measures of security around different mining sites across the country, and effected arrests of trespassers.

But so far, unrelenting cases of vandalism are indicating that the Solid Mineral Defenders need help. Deployment of drones will ensure 24 hours surveillance of the pipelines and effect quick emergence responses when necessary since it will use its aerial views to cover areas that may be difficult for human eyes to reach.