BETWEEN POLITICS, MOB MENTALITY OF OUR SOLDIERS AND THE REST OF US. Written by Saint-Olawale Jimoh

  The crushing of a young Lance Corporal in the Educations Corp of the Nigerian Army by a BRT bus and reactions of men of the Nigerian army that led to the burning of 6 BRT buses surely generated controversies as expected. Of all the comments I read online, the one that shocked me most was the one authored by Mr Donald Ekpo, a die-hard supporter of the ruling PDP, where he opined that, "it is natural for soldiers or members of any other organized profession to react with anger if something of this sort should happen to a colleague of theirs; knowing that the BRT drivers have been doing these atrocities without any repercussion. It is normal to show solidarity and I will not condemn such in totality even though I have my reservations."
    Is Mr Ekpo suggesting soldiers should always kill and destroy properties whenever a soldier is involved in an accident? It's a pity that Mr Ekpo should make comments. Sometimes, it's not all about politics and we don't have to malign any political party and State government here. It's about the substance! See what they have reduced human lives to in Nigeria all in the name of politics. We all belong to one political party or the other and we're bound to always speak to credit our party but when it comes to human lives, we need to have a rethink. Why do we always politicize everything in Nigeria?
     While I condemn the careless driving of BRT drivers and regret the death of the soldier, I also find the wanton destruction of BRT buses and thuggery of the soldiers in reaction to their colleague's death reprehensible.
In London the other day, Officer Rigby was hacked to death in broad daylight by a misinformed Nigerian fanatic. British soldiers did not go about in a rampaging hoard to attack blacks or destroy properties.
    The spokesman for the army exonerated the soldiers and claimed the destructions were carried out by thugs. Very true, but we know who the thugs are in this case. It's just that we are gradually getting to a situation where we can't believe some of our spokesmen. BRT management must do something about their drivers' reckless driving and ensure that the bad eggs that have found their way into the organization are flushed out. In the same vein, the military should also put its foot down on the mob mentality of our soldiers.
   The nation is going through a time that is harrowing enough. What happened yesterday is simply a clear show of madness and a threat to our national security!