Bread and data

See No Evil

Yesterday I was clever, so I
wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am
changing myself.
-Jalaludeen Rumi

[Of the good in you I can speak I, but not the evil.
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?
Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves,
and when it thirsts it drinks even dead waters.
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.]

You know things are fucked up when the people that were meant to protect you are the one terrorizing you, unfortunately it was no longer safe in my country to be a youth and appear well-off, this is mind boggling not just because a lot of people are being accused of being a criminal, but because these trigger-happy officers are killing more civilians than our soldiers at the frontline. President Muhammadu Buhari appeared to be shocked yet still after a whole week of protest, and two-days after the UK Government has responded to what's going on in Nigeria. The security operative SARS (special anti-robbery squad) that were meant to protect the people from criminal activities are targeting teenagers and young adults for their own personal gain, not for the security of the state. There are numerous cases of SARS officers stopping young men for the way they dress, accusing them of cybercrimes or fraud without any other evidence apart from "they are well enough to afford an iPhone'', and extort money out of them. Some of these so-called SARS officers are even dumb enough that take cash transfers from their victims with digital proof! (sadly, they still got away with that). It was a daylight robbery! Being a youth is not a crime; designer shoes, clothes, dreadlock and tinted hair is not worth being stopped over for or even enough to be profiled as a criminal. A promising Nigerian football star was shot dead just because he was driving an expensive car and dressed flamboyantly. A lot of youth makes money at the comfort of their home in a way the older generation will never understand, and honestly most of them are working within the frame of the law. A large number of Nigeria youth are now into FOREX trading, trading cryptocurrency, web creating and web design, creating apps, animation, photography and editing, shooting and editing videos, bloggers, vloggers, skit makers, Instagram ambassador, models, freelance writers, music artist, mathletes, fashion designer, online food vendors and bakery, online boutique and jewelry stores, even whatsapp retailers, just to name a few, and some even take online betting, virtual and horserace betting, which they make money from beating the system in a very legal way. We might not be the smartest generation, but we are certainly the most creative. And since the advent of internet and high-speed networks, we are only getting more opportunities to commercialize our creativity. If the SARS unit were to be doing their job, I know a lot of people that should be behind bars by now that are still walking the street freely. As if it's not mind-demanding enough to be profiled as a criminal because you are living above the poverty line, these people actually embellish stories, falsify evidence just to extort and get something out of whoever they deem fit as a target. Honest to God, I'm not making this up, my cousin has been accused of trying to dupe a foreign blonde American woman, because he had a screenshotted images of Miley Cyrus from Instagram on his phone. In another case my friend was pulled out of a traveling bus because he can afford bottled water. So many cases that are more hilarious and sadder than this are all over the internet.
Over a period of three-month thirteen people were killed [on camera], including a very beautiful young girl. The police force has nothing to say to justify the killing of those kids. There's enough going on right now in the country to add police brutality to the list.
#Part 2
It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that nobody should ever be insulted, attacked, hurt, threatened, etc. not only is this unrealistic, but also a cinematic idea. I think this is important because right now, due to social media, advent of camera phones and twenty-four-seven news coverage, as a society we've become bad at processing these events in a helpful way. People and groups can be both good and bad simultaneously. In fact, they usually are. Two opposing viewpoints can each be partially correct and partially incorrect. Let's not let the activities of the corrupt officers overshadow the good ones. Not all police or SARS officers are bad, it'll be more than unfair to undermine and overlook the efforts of the honest working officers in the system, the ones who chose not to fall into the trap and capsizing side of the Nigeria police force, who chose to meet end needs from the ridiculous police force salary, they are the one who do the right things, the friend to the society. And not everybody holding a plaque on the street or hashtagging the #Endsars campaign on twitter or Instagram has the same motive; some people's motives are political, some just to gain the public's attention, some to make money and some even because of the Jollof. There's not one truth ever, just a whole bunch of stories, all going on at once, in our head, in our hearts, all getting in the way of each other. It's all a beautiful calamitous mess.
Our perception consistently falls into common traps, and unless we're aware of them, we'll helplessly fall into them again, and again. Not to mention we get most of our information from an organization that thrives on tragedy. And as always public perception is always wrong about stuff like this, but doesn't mean their anger isn't legitimate. Something has to be done. Still, we can't ignore the fact that an alarming rate of youth and young adults has chosen the way of fraud and cybercrime as a means of livelihood, and are intimidating us with their flashy lifestyles, taking our girlfriends and setting bad examples for the generations to come. The ones who think they have the right to do wrong. No matter what you've been through no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to you, especially when wrong has been done to you. The system has failed you, and now you've failed the system too. Has two wrongs ever made a right? I think that's the part where the public is missing. End SARS, sure! But how are we going to combat the menace within us; the bad eggs, the black sheep.
Certainly, their activities affect us all too, it seems like we are having a one-sided conversation, and if we don't tackle the problem from both ends, it seems like we are also encouraging these people to continue with their illicit and criminal activities. The name of the country is now synonymous to crime all over the world. I hope things won't turn out worse after all these actually— transcending the dreadful menace into a common crime, and thereby trivializing it, God knows that's already happening. While some celebrities are openly against cybercrime and other means of making money outside the law, most are neutral about it, while some are singing to praise it. That's one of the few things I'm more worried about. Another thing is, I'm worried about a terrible case of a hydria scenario; cut one head, only for two to grow in its place. This is not the first time the security agent SARS will be dissolved and rebranded, they are only coming back stronger and meaner. "The solution to today's problem lays the foundation for tomorrow's problem," Yate wrote that. And sometimes a mess stays a mess; there's not always a way out, but there's always a way forward.