Time to civilianize the military
One would never know if the picture circulating on social media for most of last week was the true representation of the bedlam in the southeast as the military attempted a medical intervention program just days after it concluded Operation Python Dance. The evocative picture was reminiscent of the iconic Vietnamese war shot of a […]
One would never know if the picture circulating on social media for most of last week was the true representation of the bedlam in the southeast as the military attempted a medical intervention program just days after it concluded Operation Python Dance. The evocative picture was reminiscent of the iconic Vietnamese war shot of a naked youngster fleeing the war in her hometown. The morbid fear in the eye of the girl in the social media picture, barely five years old but outrunning older pupils tells a very sad story. In her quest to make it home safely from whatever was pursuing her, she had apparently left behind her shoes and schoolbag. Children should never be traumatized that way under any circumstances.
Why should children be made to fear soldiers who have signed off the pleasures of life and committed to give their lives for the rest of us to feel safe? The answer is not far-fetched – embarking on a humanitarian mission shortly after a military exercise in which there were civilian casualties is bad timing. Citizens, young or old would never feel safe until they learn to trust those who have sworn to defend them. The battle for hearts and minds is the first to be won before victory over any other battle especially in an age where the jury is out on what qualifies as lawlessness, insurrection or terrorism.
Launching a humanitarian project after a military exercise with recorded casualties is bad timing. It was also clear from the statement credited to Prof Solo Chukwulobelu, secretary to the Anambra State Government that the army merely ‘told’ the state government what it was doing. It did not seek its permission or mobilization for the success of the exercise. Hear the state government ‘the attention of the State Government has been drawn to an ongoing medical outreach being undertaken by the Army in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area. The State has been made to understand that the exercise is part of Army social responsibility to members of the public.’
This statement would have done nothing to reassure anyone skeptical about the army’s real intentions. Evidently, it didn’t.
How do we run to military barracks for safety in one vein only to scram at the sight of soldiers in another? That is because citizens have been made to fear their soldiers and not to respect them. Everyone knows everyone close who has had a bloody encounter with a soldier that left a sour taste in the mouth. As the picture of what happened in Anambra were making the rounds of social media, two others of military brutality were trending online. In one a naval rating was torturing a civilian allegedly for wearing a military camouflage peak cap. In a ludicrous one showing the strength of abuse of trust two private estate guards were brutalizing a fellow civilian for the same reason – wearing a camouflage cap. The big question is whether it’s against the law to wear a dress or something that is in any way, shape or form associated with the military.
In civilized societies, soldiers are hardly seen in uniform outside their barracks. Those who live outside barracks wear mufti and change at their formations. In Lagos, soldiers who wear uniforms believe it exempts them from paying for public transport. They would brutalize any conductor that challenges that myth. The army has done a lot to change perceptions, but it has yet to embark on enlightenment programmes both for its recruits and its citizens on the limits of their powers. They are, as Prof Chukwulobelu’s statement portrays, yet to bring themselves to civil discipline. Soldiers are not above the laws in most parts of the world. In civilized societies, the police arrest soldiers who break civil law. We need to come to that level in Naija.
Whereas camouflages are openly sold and worn by anyone who fancied in developed world without repercussion, it is not so in our society in spite of our celebrated march towards democracy and democratic norms. We have come to associate uniforms with brutality and the uniformed brutalize without repercussion. This explains why armed robbers and miscreants sometimes disguise in military gear to terrorize civilians knowing fully well that they are covered under the unwritten laws protecting – unknown soldier. It is expedient that the military re-orientate its officers about the limits of their powers in peacetime. It should have a clear stance on camouflage, it should have the same statement on how soldiers should treat civilians as the police has consistently done with slogans like – the police is your friend, bail is free etc even if they are mere slogans. It reminds potential victims that they have rights under the law. It helps the society point out to erring officers where the law stands on these issues – in short, it civilianizes the military and bring it to par with global best practices.