Trial of Covid -19 Palliatives Looters ,Nigerians React

 

By Storm Mbarka

As the trial of suspected Covid 19 Palliatives looters begins in Jos Plateau State  Magistrate Court and other States  across the nation, Nigerian react as they share their  opinion over how they view the episode of the looting of  warehouses  that capped the endsars protest. 

   

Busy Brain f who spoke from  Ilorin  Kwara state said : 

                                                           We  are talking of a dual scenario.Two things are involved here, Covid-19 palliative looters and looters of malls and businesses owned by private individuals. 

My take on the two circumstances varies. For the  palliative looters,  they should be considered as people that were arrested by poverty occasioned by poor governance and corruption. The covid-19 palliatives should not have been stored in warehouses, it should have been shared to unburden the poor masses that keep wallowing in hunger. The looters  should be given soft landing.

For the thieves who looted electronic/phone malls and other private businesses,  they should be dealt with according to law and should be made to pay the price.

He emphasized that Covid-19 palliatives is different from people's asset/properties

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Chief Wellington Bobo Who spoke from Warri Delta State said, 

"If really those looted items are Covid -19  palliatives,then the question I would want to ask is  what was the government officials charged with the responsibility of distribution 

 keeping the items in the warehouses for?

The palliatives are primarily  meant  to be distributed to the people. I believe  the people who believe in Democracy took what belongs  to them.

Continuing Chief Bobo said: " lt beats my imagination that so much food items  were stock  piled in warehouses   across this country, in the midst  of so much hunger ,for what purpose,  if I may ask ?.

Going further,  he asserted: ",only God knows, during the distribution of the palliatives  my five man family got two cups of beans and two cups of rice, 

   .For me the people helped themselves with what is rightly theirs under the circumstances they found themselves , case closed. 

Mr Ogaga Akpofure of the 

Transparency watch & Scorecard Centre  based in the US said :

"The Nigerian government from the Presidency to State and Local  government robbed the masses in the first place by keeping what was rightly supposed to be shared to them for good. 

He strongly frowned at the idea of trying any Nigerian who looted Covid 19 palliatives because it was due to the exigencies of the time. 

Comrade Joseph Lamiengha , the Treasurer of Delta State HOSTCOM cum Pioneer Member of Ogulagha People's   Political Assembly who also spoke remarked: 

" I'm afraid if Nigerians are  willing to listen. One, our country  is carrying other flag  not Nigeria flag any more .The  Nigeria flag  l use to  know during the time of Alahàji Shehu  Shagari is different. 

There was a programme which was  called  operation feed the nation or Green Revolution. In those good old days,  food was carried from Abuja to Ogulagha, Obotobo1 Obotobo 2, Sekebolou, yokiri. Oloseimuere, Abarabebe & other communities with barge. 

Enough food was given to the people. If it is true that these  food was meant  for hungry  Nigerians why keeping  it in the warehouse. When   they refused to share the food to   the rightful  owners , then rightful owners  shared it.  There  are so much to say. Let's  draw  the cutting from here, because unecessary singing of praises of the people in power has not done us any good , but it is rather  making us to be too canal in every thing we do. 

Governors Should Act With Caution ----Peresine 

Peace Ambassador, Peresine Watchman Tells Govs To Act With Caution, As He Asks God To Show Nigeria Mercy.

Niger Delta Born writer, Peace Ambassador cum politician, Hon. Peresine Watchman  expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during the #EndSARS protests across the nation, as he pleaded with State Governors to thread carefully and forgive those who looted Palliatives and burnt down public and individuals' properties during the protests.

Peresine who condemned in totality the hijacking of the peaceful protests, killing of peaceful protesters, burning down of Police stations and looting of Palliatives and destruction of properties, stated that government at all levels should work round the clock to bring down the inflation rate and the hardship Nigerians are painfully passing through.

According to him, "The foundation of Nigeria is faulty and one should expect that a house erected on a faulty and sandy foundation must collapse unexpectedly, except something urgent is done with sincerity and unbiased mind-sets.

"Therefore, Nigerians should first restructure  their mind-sets from pollution, corruption and negative thoughts about Nigeria and Nigerians, and then the 1999 Constitution should be admended to allow fiscal federalism for the concretization of the sandy (faulty) foundation of the country.

"As I urge Nigerians to be optimistic that our tommorow will be far greater than today, I pray God to show Nigeria and Nigerians mercy for this wrong marriage, and for using their canal minds to choose bad governence without seeking for God's divine direction", he said.

Looters Acted in Bad Fate But Governors Should Caution and Set Them Free-----Obule 

Comrade Francis Obule who also lend his voice asserted thus: 

"To me the various state Governor's should forgive all  the palliative looters , because of the hunger, poverty, and  high cost of living, which we have find ourselves today

Comrade Obule stressed that since the saying goes that ,the idle  mind is the devil's workshop, we must understand that  if they are living well, I,  don't think  they will go and  loot  those things that are in Warehouse,

 He added : "therefore the Governors need  to do the  needful, by providing Jobs for  our youths now before it's too late,.because  Nigeria is seating on top of gun powder."

 Continuig he said: "lf  you look at the  protesters most of them have no job after school, hence they came out in numbers to press home their demand.

Although what dey did is wrong,. But the governor's should forgive them, with a very strong warning not to try it again Obule posited. 

Looters Should Be Given Clemency--- Comrade Mike Tiemo President  

Niger Delta Humanitarian Group

The president of Peace Development Security and Humanitarian Rights Association of Niger Deltans ,  Comrade Mike JK Tiemo in his own reaction said: "lndeed the act carried out by some miscreants who  forcefully  break into warehouses and looted  stored  palliatives was absolutely wrong and very unconstitunational because the action reflects and connotes  the height of lawlessness ,,and it is condemnemable to say the least .However, Comrade Mike Tiemo explained that since the prevailing circumstances indicate that their action was primarily driven by hunger , poverty and deliberate  delay 

of the distribution of the Covid 19 palliatives, to the masses, and the less privileged, the arrested looters should be cautioned and given amnesty or clemency.

On the whole , one would be safe to say that what is happening now in our modern Nigeria look very much like the time of Prophet lsaiah when he spoke in a parable that those who smoothened the iron actually inspired those who strikes the anvil. . Since a hungry man is always an angry man,  the palliatives were supposed to have been shared to avert the anger which eventually erupted.Nigeria should forget about trial of palliatives looters and go back to the drawing board to get things done the right way Comrade Tiemo said. 

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