I have been asked for my view on Governor Wike arresting motorists and threatening to auction their vehicles as well as demolishing hotels that violated the lockdown. I have never been a fan of Wike, but like elrufai I have been impressed by his determination to defeat the pandemic.
One thing we must admit is that such demolitions are draconian and dreadfully high-handed. But are they new? Different governors have done it and are still doing it.
Obaseki did a similar thing in Edo state recently over his conflict with Oshiomhole. He demolished the hotel of an Oshiomhole supporter. El-rufai demolished the home of Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadri, Vice President (North West) of the APC without a court order. The same el-rufai demolished the home of Senator Suleiman Usman Hunkuyi because the house was used as meeting venue by a faction of the APC in the state, known as RAPC.
In Anambra Governor Peter Obi came up with the idea of demolishing the homes of suspected kidnappers even before cases against them got under way. His successor, I am told, took it a step further by demolishing the family homes of kidnap suspects, rendering their parents homeless.
In places like Barnawa and Sabon Tasha in Kaduna state, business owners have been provoking Governor elrufai by selling beer and other non-essential items during the lockdown. I am told they will be served letters this week. If they do not stop I trust elrufai, their business premises will be demolished. When that happens no matter how much noise people make it won’t achieve anything.
I sympathise with governors who are having sleepless nights trying to save lives while a few reckless individuals sabotage their efforts. Sabotaging the government’s measures to defeat coronavirus is a serious offence that puts the lives of the rest of us at great risk. Infact I view it as high treason. Our people are too difficult, including our wayward elites. They do here in Nigeria what they dare not do abroad.
Wike has thrown caution to the wind but I sense that lessons have been learnt.
–Babajide Kalade-Ojutoju
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