Abba Kyari and The Rest of Us, by Ogbeifun Louis

What happened to Kyari should not be viewed narrow-mindedly. It is not about him, but about this country. We have seen dollars in hundreds of thousands stuffed in caps and rigas. For me, therefore, it is a moment of deep reflection on what next.

To the best of my Knowledge, this Kyari guy represents one of the best in smashing organized criminal syndicates like the Parry Osayandes.

Unfortunately, a dog that got its mouth smeared with poop is the dirty one. Once caught, the person involved should begin to think of how to defend himself or herself in the open court.

This is not the first time a police officer will be indicted in this type of criminally buoyed enterprise. I thought previous lessons would have served as a caution to security agents to be very careful on how they romance with people of shady characters.

I have found out that when the chips are down, those criminals we thought were strong will turn to lilly-livered parrots and could sing more than Canary birds.

People know this. So, why do they keep on recurring and happening to those that are good on thier jobs and when shall it end?

I remember DSP George Iyamu and his relationships with armed robbers of the Lawrence Anini, alias ‘Ovbigbo’ era. Then there was no GSM. The stony-hearted Anini and Monday Osunbor went to town singing, implicated Iyamu who was also seen as a crime burster in his time. These guys don’t go down alone. They will die with all those that benefited from their illicit wealth. In the end, Iyamu was executed with Anini and others on March 29, 1987.

I also recall the case of the former Inspector General of Police , Tafa Balogun, who was jailed for six months in 2005 for failing to disclose his business interests in a multi-billion Naira business deal. Tafa Balogun was also a fine officer on the job.

What is happening points to an endemic cancer destroying some of our best and our collective failure in purging ourselves. That can’t be good enough.

We should weep for Nigeria more than Abba Kyari. This is a national embarrassment. What the FBI has simply told us is, be it the police, judiciary, intelligence gathering, et cetera, our best seems not to be good enough.

Those the country couldn’t prosecute ended up in overseas prisons. That didn’t portray us in good light. Isn’t it time to, as a nation begin to purge our institutions before outsiders do it for us?

For the rest of us, when we go to social functions and people pose for photographs with us and those photographs find their way to all manners of online spaces, one day, it might be used against us. Let us be careful who we take photographs and romance with. It is profitable to be wise and careful because the world of crime is becoming deadlier, complicated and unpredictable. Don’t let your teeth ache for the apple you did not eat.

What has happened to Kyari is not a good omen. Heard he is on suspension and may be on his way out of the Police. One again, one of the best has gone down and that is minus one to the police and celebrations in the underworld. I can tell you that those underworld characters are by now popping champagne.

We must talk about how to eradicate this behemoth. The time in now. Not tomorrow.

Grace and peace!!!

Comrade Ogbeifun Louis writes from Abuja