The corrupt logic of CCTV

We must never forget the fact that while the scurrilous Obasanjo government weaned Nigeria from the debt trap, the Jonathan administration has constantly sought to plunge the nation back into the quicksand of debt. The only reason it has not succeeded so far is because it failed to deliver on deals which would have assured […]

We must never forget the fact that while the scurrilous Obasanjo government weaned Nigeria from the debt trap, the Jonathan administration has constantly sought to plunge the nation back into the quicksand of debt. The only reason it has not succeeded so far is because it failed to deliver on deals which would have assured automatic tickets for the most misanthropic set of legislators in parliamentary history.

Before one is accused of being too harsh on this regime, let us take a cursory look at previous government promises on issues of security. When the first crisis in Jos happened, President Jonathan’s promise was – never again! He set up a presidential investigative panel which sat, concluded its investigations and delivered it to him and that was the end. With the crisis in his native Niger-Delta and kidnapping, our president again promised an anti-terrorism squad. It looked like it was going to happen the next minute but almost a year later, there is no bill to back up its establishment or a blueprint for its set-up. Rather than bother himself with our collective welfare, this president has been more interested in sending requests to take foreign loans than even, coaxing the legislature to pass the anti-terrorism bill.

This latest move by the so-called National Security Council is laughable. For one, those sitting in that council ought to be looking for other jobs after their monumental failure to police the nation. This is the reason Nigeria pays them. Now they want to install another layer of ineptitude by appointing Special Adviser on Terrorism. Question is – to whom would s(h)e be answerable? What would his rank be and how would his duties complement or overlap with those of the Inspector-General of Police; the State Security Services; the Army and the National Intelligence Agency? Is this appointment an indictment of all these agencies or a complement of their functions? Would this individual be vested with power of arrest, detention and prosecution or work with established agencies he obviously has no control over? These are serious matters requiring consultations, parliamentary debates and legal backing instead of a presidential brain wave.

Even before the government awards the obvious contracts for this white elephant project, its conception is doomed. CCTV cameras cost a lot even in societies where they are used like in the United Kingdom. On their own, they are as useless as blocked armoury to an army under siege. A country hoping to use them as scouts must prepare well and long for their ancillary functions. It would need a backup database with facial capture and matching fingerprints to work on any image it captures quickly enough before the perpetrators slip through our porous borders.

There are more concerns. And one of the most difficult is electricity. How do you power the cameras when you do not generate electricity – solar or battery? This is the most ridiculous idea to come from the villa in recent times and most ideas from there are usually laughable. Under Jonathan, this country does not generate two hours of constant electricity per day, a nation where hoodlums remove railings from bridges in broad daylight; bring down power pylons and steal transformers to re-sell to government would definitely not profit from the installation of CCTV cameras.

We all know that this is election period and that elections, especially frivolous ones, need cash to deliver programmed results. We all know that the contract-churning federal executive council delivers on huge contracts without commensurate results. All these are evident in promises to deliver on power, to keep us secure and to create conducive environment for commerce to thrive. We all remember that this government gave loans which are hardly accessible to revive industries only to reverse policies that would kill those industries, a case in point being the textile industries in Nigeria. We all know how much has been sunk into the Lagos-Ibadan; Lagos-Ore-Benin expressways without evident roads to travel. We are witnesses to the over bloated N450 billion contract for the extension of Abuja entry roads and the nightmare it has created for commuters who need to get into the city centre daily or the moribund metro project.

We are all witnesses to what happened to the cat eyes, installed on the AYA-Nyanya road and the numerical traffic lights installed within the FCT. Only one thing is expedient for this government – to fold its arms and let Attahiru Jega conduct a free and fair election that will bring democracy to Nigeria. In the meantime, it could help by showing more concern whenever the tragedies of its incompetence to secure or plan occur. This rushed out plan is nothing but job for the boys and we all bet our last kobos it can’t work.