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Recently the officers and men of the NDLEA addressed a world Conference to drum home their frustrations and hopelessness in the hands of the former chairman, colonel Muhammad Abdallah (rtd). In hearkening to the protest, President Muhammadu Buhari refused to extend his tenure, instead he appointed General Buba Marwa to take charge of the Agency. The circumstances that brought him onboard as the military administrator of Lagos state in 1996 and the present circumstances at the NDLEA which culminated his appointment are quite similar.
In the middle of the 90s, as a young man resident in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the Country, life was good. Social activities and job opportunities were handy. I lived at Agbelekale, an outskirts of Abule Egba in the then Alimosho local Government area of the state. One could live his life to the fullest at minimal cost . However, residents across the state, both the poor and the rich were faced with three lives threatening challenges.
One, the challenge of pervading insecurity, although, not the type we are experiencing now. It was mostly armed robberies, car snatching and hire assassins. The hoodlums were a Government to themselves. The press in accentuating their activities, coined them, men of the underworld.
One is not safe on the roads as well as in the homes.. At a point , this government of bunch of brigandages would visit you in the house, eat and wine with you and then, commandeered you to off load everything that you have laboured to acquire in your house and load them into their waiting trucks that were conspicuously park in your compound.
The security agencies looked helpless and hopeless. They operate with reckless abandonment.
The second challenge I and Lagosians of then faced was the Deplorable state of the roads. The state of the roads of Lagos were littered with potholes. Although , the roads across the country now have graduated from potholes to boreholes. The major raw materials for road construction was asphalt. Asphalt as animated being had taken a flight out of the country.
Its whereabouts could not be located.Lagosians groaned. Trust the ingenuity of Lagosians, a sachet water, popularly called pure water was manufactured to take care of scorching heat of molue passengers, who have been regularly sardined in gridlock for hours due to bad roads.
After Marwa’s conquest of deplorable road networks, he introduced motorbikes named after him” Keke Marwa ” for the delight of the masses. The first of its kind in the country. His exponent, in Education, Health, Sport, etc is not subject of this discourse
Lagosians turned to spiritual homes to conjure their ancestors to help them to no avail.
The third challenge I faced , just like my compatriots in Lagos was the draconian landlords. They were another Government that ruled Lagos. Tenants were forced to pay at times, three years down payment for an apartment. They ejects their prey with Jankara judgement at will. They have the courts and judges in their kitty. The illegal law enforcement officers were on their pay roll. Tenants were ejected with flimsy excuses even when the rents have not expired.
There was disillusionment across the land. Life was no longer worth living to many. Life was brutish and short and anarchy took the centre stage of Lagos.
The government under colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola looked helpless., Just as the residents. They resigned to fate, invoking God to come down in bodily form to redeem them. Their frustrations, have continued to allegedly remained indelible in the psyche of Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola till date. He had surreptitiously defended himself when he was reassigned to Osun state that his abysmal failure in Lagos was a conspiracy against him, as they made it impossible for his government to access bitumen.
And the help came for Lagosians. In 1996, the then Head of State , General Sani Abacha decided to experiment with a young armoured officer who was in his prime, Colonel Mohammed Buba Marwa. He was relatively unknown . A northern from Michika in the present Adamawa state. My people have a saying that the eyes that will lasts the owner of his lifetime will be known from infancy.
On assumption of office, the Three major challenges, knew they were in for hard times. The outcast Bitumen not only returned home, a domain was built for it. The biggest Asphalt company took off in Lagos And in a jiffy , motorists’ and Commutters, had a reprieve. Delapidated roads paved way for asphalt overlay. The roads begun to wear new leaves Lagosians could not believe their eyes, that in their lifetimes, roads could be constructed and rehabilitated . They chorus a miracle.
Marwa was not done with making life worthwhile for the people. In one of his press conferences, he advised men of the underworld to either abandon their vocation or simply relocate from the state.
The predators took the advice with levity, thinking it was business as usual.
But, alas, the hoodlums were wrong. He launched criminals shattering operations, code named ” operation Sweep. An operation that consists of the military personnel, police and other paramilitary, stocked with latest logistics and state of the art communication gadgets.
The operation which was headed by the former chief of Army Staff , then a major Kenneth Minimah extinguished criminals out of Lagos. The heat was so fierce that the Armed robbers hilariously wrote to the Governor, colonel Marwa to allow them some days to operate to enable them to feed their families . He was undaunted until the hoodlums of all shapes and dare-devilness relocated from Lagos. It was rumoured that a governor from one of the states in the south west accused him of sending armed robbers to his state.
In tackling the menace of landlords against tenants, he promulgated rent edict and set up tribunals. Many recalcitrant landlords spent their years behind bars. Jankara judgement procured by them evaporated. Tenants heave sigh of relieve. Lagos became the doyen of foreign investments destination. Businesses boomed , jobs were searching for workers. The nightmare vanished with Marwa’s two year reign in Lagos.
Twenty two years down the line of his epochal exploits in Lagos, history again has beckoned on him. Just this Monday, January 18, 2021, Marwa again was drafted by President Muhammadu Buhari to supervise National Drug law Enforcement Agency NDLEA .
The officers and men of the agency had in a fortnight ago staged protest against the erstwhile chairman, colonel Muhammad Abdallah Rtd long, for his lackluster performances .. The Agency , in her three decades of existence has not been so lucky with most of their successive chairmen, except few of them that exhibited spontaneous leadership.
They groaned under myriads of shortcomings which have made the agency a crawling giant. They were faced with acute staff shortages, dearth of logistics, condition of service at a zero level. They were not at par with other para-Military agencies in terms of salaries and emoluments even though the job hazards is very high.
Many officers were killed in their line of duties unsung. Promotions to deserving officers was a luxury . The staff morale was at its low ebb. No wonder , that Marwa”s first day in office on the 18/1/2021 was a beehive of activities, as officers and men in groups danced to the latest hit in town, that after, a near Messiah is come.
Marwa born 68 years ago , served as military Administrator of Lagos state. A retired Army Brigadier General, was at one time an ADC to former Chief of Army staff, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma; Defence Adviser , Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC, Defence Adviser Nigeria Permanent Mission to United States. He Hold Masters Degree in International Relations from University of Pittsburgh and other masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.
He was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to head Presidential Advisory committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse. No wonder that the Management staff , officers and men of the agency were ecstatic of the arrival of General Marwa to the agency , the appointment that was generally regarded as a round peg in a square hole.
Addressing the cheering crowds of staff on Monday at the NDLEA corporate office in Abuja, , the Vintage Marwa told them he was aware of their plights. He assured them that, having chaired the presidential advisory committee on drug use and a abuse , he was comfortable with the challenges facing the agency.
According to him” I’m a Military man who cherish discipline and hardwork. I’m here to promote the culture. And I implore, the management, officers and men to key into the new philosophy to move the agency forward. I urge you to join hands to change the fortunes of the agency.
” It is unacceptable to me and Nigerians that over fifteen Millions of our people are abusing hard drugs. We should not fold our hands and allow our youths to be swallowed by the evil of hard drugs. We should redouble our efforts to change the narrative and together we shall achieve the task.
” I can assure you that the enthusiasm you displayed with my appointment, by the grace of God I will not disappoint you. I’m aware of your challenges, and with your cooperation we shall address them for the benefit of all of us “he assured.
Dailyindependent
