- He is not fit to be an officer who commanded his soldiers to flog protesting women
Just when we thought the tenet of democracy was permeating all facets of our lives, men of the armed forces, and even the non-arms bearing one, have continued as if the rest of their compatriots live by their grace.
The unruly and wayward behavior of our men in uniform, especially the military arms, have become such routine occurrences that no week seems to pass without them waving a black flag of infamy in the public space.
Early in March, a unit of the Nigerian Army stationed in Ovre-Eku community, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, had assaulted a group of women protesting over a disputed land. As the report goes, the women had been flogged and kicked around in order to disperse them.
Responding to reporters, Lt. E.D. Oworobo, who is the Commandant of the 4th Brigade Command who had issued the noxious order, put up an even more unpalatable defence for his action. He is reported to have claimed that he ordered his men to use minimal force to disarm the women because they had tried to disarm the soldiers. He also suggested that the women bore charms, which according to him, is a criminal offence.
If you thought an officer ordering soldiers to flog protesting women was barbaric, just last Monday, another officer, an army major, mobilized soldiers to beat up a woman and damage her car.
This time, it happened on Forestry Lane, Benin City, Edo State capital. It was at the city centre and the peak period of traffic.
According to the report, the woman, Mrs. Joy Agboghide was purportedly obstructing traffic and would not move as commanded so that the army officer could have his way. But the woman insisted that she had made way for several other vehicles to pass and that it was her turn to go.
But the officer would not hear of it. As far as he was concerned, a ‘bloody civilian’ and a woman at that, was countermanding his order.
The officer was reported to have rushed into the nearby office of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and mobilized soldiers who were apparently on guard there. He ordered them to clear her off the road and they set about rough-handling her. They also allegedly damaged her car. She ended up in the hospital.
Both incidents, in Delta and Edo states,will buttress the call for better training and improved professionalism in the military. The armed forces must relentlessly be taught the cardinal lesson of subordinating themselves to civilian rule and democratic ethos.
It is condemnable enough when soldiers get unruly, but when an officer explicitly commands soldiers to manhandle and pulverize women, right under the gaze of the public, it surely borders on barbarity.
This behavior is unacceptable in the armed forces formation of any civilized nation. We therefore aver that the two officers involved in these matters must face serious sanctions. The military hierarchy must make a strong and public statement of these cases; and it must be done quickly too.
The lesson must continuously and explicitly be taught that you are not above the law just because you bear arms and wear uniforms. Though we want to believe that these are aberrant officers and exceptions to the norm in the Nigerian Army, flogging protesting women and battering an unarmed woman over a minor traffic issue cannot be excused.
The show of shame by officers and men are becoming one too many.
We expect the army to redeem itself, and quickly too.
