The Hero Question: Reality Check

The rate of insecurity in my country has become exceedingly alarming over the past few months. Every now and then, we hear stories of bandits storming churches and unaliving people like they are chickens. Some videos are just so gory that they can traumatize you. The issue of insecurity in my country did not just start today, it started years ago. Some years ago, Boko Haram, a terrorist group, was the cause of constant tension in the country. They carried out their evil deeds in broad daylight, confident that no one would do anything to them. For a long time, they walked around freely while the government watched and tried to reduce their evil activities through negotiations.

Many years later, the only thing that has changed is not the cessation of these killings, nor is it that the government has become more proactive as they should. Instead, it is the terrorist organization. Back then, it was the Boko Haram, now, it is the bandit causing havoc around the country. The most disturbing and scary thing about this whole thing is that no one knows where they will strike next. These guys have started kidnapping school children, but instead of curtailing them in the first place before they became this powerful, or at even better, getting rid of them through violent means, they decided to use negotiations.

“Take these bags of rice and this huge amount of new notes that we have folded in a brown envelope in exchange for the school children you kidnapped.” So absurd! Now, the deep question is that if the government is not ready to help, who should? Who should step in to fill the blank spaces. Because that space is very very blank. This brings me to today’s Hive Learners’ prompt; The Vigilante. If you had the money to become a crime fighting vigilante would you do it or would you rely on the corrupt authorities and leave them to do it, knowing well that they might not do anything?

Before I started writing, I briefed through a few entries from other participants. In all the entries I read, everyone agreed on one thing; that they would use their money to fight crime. The fact that all of them are from my country makes the whole thing even more surprising. The idea of stepping in to fill that gap makes a lot of sense. To be honest, helping the country battle insecurity makes a whole lot of sense, but what no one mentioned is how risky it will be in a country that cares less about its citizens. And this is not about unpatriotism or apathy of any kind, this is the truth, naked as it should be.

Looking back, many times, civilians have stepped up to fight insecurity. They decided that they had had enough of the government’s negligence, so they decided to fix things themselves. And how did they end? Their heroic acts led them nowhere. The country they sacrificed their lives for is not only still the way it was, but worse. Way worse! It would be nice to use my resources to protect my country and its people, but sadly, some countries are not worth playing Batman for.

You can decide to wear your hero cape and keep funding projects to get rid of insecurity, and the next moment, someone rats you out, and then the people you're trying to take down will come for you – the source of their headache. That's the kind of country this is. So, it's a hard no from me. The only way I could do this is if I remain totally anonymous. If it's possible to anonymously help eradicate the issue of insecurity in my country with my resources, then that's a different story. I will definitely do that.

Image in this post is mine.

Thanks for reading.