Since on Saturday the 3rd of October, 2020, the city of #Ughelli {in Delta state, Nigeria} has been on the news; albeit for a reason not befitting of such an instinctively peaceful and realistically united land. It’s now no news, what triggered the current and unfortunate unrest; and I dare say, that issues of this ill-nature is gradually becoming a reoccurring one that every average Nigerian is familiar with. The nagging friction between some men of the Nigerian Police Force and certain youths has become a sad irony because while many, amongst those saddled with the legal responsibility of protecting citizens and are acting contrary to the ethics of the profession they took oath to perform, some of the youth who deserve and demand protection are going about it the wrong way! #WE seem to forget that IF the irony herein raised continues, there will be no winner at the end of it all; instead, our GREAT LAND OF UGHELLI might even end up suffering retrogression – being one of the results of mayhem anywhere in the world. Please read on with AN OBJECTIVE MINDSET!

There can be bad youth anywhere, but this position will never defeat the invisible TRUTH that the majority of the UGHELLI youth are WELL BROUGHT UP, GOD-FEARING, HARD-WORKING, PEACE-LOVING, CREATIVE, PROGRESSIVE and HAPPY people! I speak not only as one who had his entire secondary school education and formative years there, but also has one who has a stake in UGHELLI. My family, very dear friends and results of my intellectual property are there! But as flawless as the UGHELLI youth is, it cannot be said that WE are not flawed by some bad eggs. YES, there are few youth who like wolves subtly join “the sheep” and peddle illegal acts to which the police force must and are responding! However, the sensitive art and act of separating the wolves from the sheep has over and over become a duty that most men of the Police Force – particular of the #SARSUnit lack the skill to do; and I dare say that #SARS have caused more harm than good. I still remember in 2018, how one day at to 6pm, our last born got a call from his friend under whom he {our last born} was learning Cinematography to come pick up a laptop for home training. Few minutes later, we received a call from out last born and guess what? He was already behind the counter in the UGHELLI police station. What was his crime? Non than he had a laptop with him. Of course he didn’t come out till the next day and shebi YOU self know what must exchange hands before you can walk out of our police station – whether you were the complainant or the defendant. Also, just a day after laying my beloved mother to rest in April 2019, while in UGHELLI, I got a call from my immediate younger brother – informing me that he {alongside others} were arrested by some policemen and were being taken to a station in Warri. I called to speak with the officers and all that one said was that my brother “was seen around suspected yahoo-boys.” The sum of #20,000.00 { 20K} exchanged hands just for him to be released. By the way, my brother is still owing me that money Oh!?

By the way, aside my experience, other persons have had their fair share of police brutality too even though they haven’t shared same. I reiterated these stories to illuminate the TRUTH that THERE ARE VERY BAD EGGS AMONGST SARS and these bad men have made SARS a bad idea from its inception. They have caused the average Nigerian youth countless pain and infact, they are the cause of the upheaval in UGHELLI. Shooting peaceful protesters {as I have seen in some very recent videos} is NEVER the way nor the reasonable thing to do and this makes me wonder what the mental state of some of these supposed trained policemen is.

Since my purpose for writing is in line with the desire of many other UGHELLI Youth – which is TO SEEK AND ADVANCE #PEACE, I would like to wrap up by saying that before engaging in any activity – especially a sensitive one that involves lives and properties, the first question that each one of US must ask ourselves {both individually and collectively} is “WHAT DO I/WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE AS WE DO THIS”? After an answer has been given, that should then be the predicate upon which our actions are exerted. So to the ever-vibrant and truly-hardworking UGHELLI youth, if JUSTICE, FAIRNESS, PEACE and PROGRESS are the objectives of our actions {as I believe they are}, then I am afraid to say that we are going about it the wrong way and must refrain from such at once, please! WE will never be equipped {not even by the law} enough to fight the force; so it’s smarter to not even dare. There are ways to do things right and I humbly advice that such ways – eg filing an official case in court against the police of the concerned jurisdiction be explored etc. To carry stick go fight who carry gun no balance Oh! Make WE CALM DOWN AND DO THINGS RIGHT, ovwan BIKO?. The police force is originally set up BY LAW for our good, we need them and we must respect them.

To the men of the Nigerian Police Force, the beast created by YOU called SARS has been on rampage and nearly everything they do is irrational – making their actions to create tension! For the sake of countless pain they have repeatedly caused us, OUR cry and request is simple: #EndSARS, #ReformThePolice and keep doing the good work you’ve been set up to do.

I call on His Excellency, the amiable Governor of Delta State, the Honourable Local Government Chairmen of #UghelliNorth and #UghelliSouth, our Revered Ughelli Traditional Father, #OharisiThe3rd and the All the Religious Leaders in the UGHELLI Metropolis to please step in and instil PEACE.

Today, I join other well-meaning Youth to say

StopPoliceBrutality

ReformPoliceNG

GodBlessUGHELLI

GodBlessThePolice

GodBlessDeltaState

henotacemedia

gospelnews