Onitsha and Asaba Bridgeheads have become the high point of extortion, sufferings and pains to users due to the indiscretion of the myriad of arm forces who exploit their posting to both ends of the bridge as an avenue of corrupt enrichment.
Have you traveled to the eastern Nigeria by the road recently? If you have cause to ply either the Anambra or the Delta State axis of the bridge, you will be left with none other impression than a typical war zone because of the heavy presence of Army, Navy, Police, Customs, Road safety, special anti terrorist squad, and other forms of uniform officials hustling to outdo one another in their extortion bids. Recently, they employ ordinary citizens to do their biddings in disguise.
Stationed at the very entrance of the bridge at the Asaba axis is a military checkpoint whose initial duty was to check the members of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) who then were on peaceful protest. Since then the checkpoint has remained nevertheless, but despite overstaying its relevance, extortion is now their core responsibility and as a result causes heavy traffic gridlock with impunity that have become a source of pain and anguish to motorists and commuters plying the route.
Recall that precisely in December 28, 2016, a group of people of easterners staged a protest at the premise of Channels television in order to draw national attention to the dehumanizing activities of combine team of military and customs men stationed at the bridge and how they have succeeded in making life torturous for every user of the bridge.
Despite the bridge itself being in a pitiable condition due to over burden and neglect. The place is a beehive of extortionist activities with impunity. Heading towards the bridge at the Asaba end is a constant experience of excruciating traffic gridlock every day. The situation is made worse during the festive periods where people have had to spend three days or more before crossing the bridge.
The sight of extortion there is the highest point of disgrace and disdain for everything that connotes uniform profession. The defiance they display as they force motorists to part with money for either no reason or for the flimsiest begins to make one wonder if the anti-corruption crusade of the present administration excludes the ranks and files of force men.
As a consequence, their insatiable desire for monetary inducement blind them to the sufferings of the hapless masses that have to wait endlessly in a long stretch of gridlock at the mercy and impudence of the uniform men.
When they are not pretending to check vehicular particulars, they are tactfully accusing motorist wrongly. Mere looking at them, they pose as people working to improve the lot of the government but on a closer observation it become glaring that all their effort ends in a bid to whisk some money off motorists at all cost.
The height of their treachery is usually during the rush hours; mornings, when it is obvious to them that people are rushing to meet their engagements for the day and in the evenings when people are returning home and tired. Their psychology is that at such high points people will hastily part with whatever is illegally demanded of them.
While causing double jeopardy to residents of Onitsha and Asaba, they subject other Nigerians who have cause to use the bridge as a gateway to other states to also suffer untold hardship for no reason.
Emeka Umeano, a motorist explained that activities of the uniform men span all through the day. “In the morning they stay at the side of people going to Onitsha. By 5pm they change position to stop people coming back.”
John Ezike, a resident of Asaba lamented by resigning to fate. “There is nothing we can do since the government has refused to look into the sufferings of people by checking the acts of uniform men here,” he said.
It therefore ascertains John Nnia Nwodo, the current leader of Ohaneze Ndigbo’s outburst sometimes ago on whether there is war in the east to warrant such prevalence of heavy military presence or what height of corrupt practices is perpetrated in the east more than any other part of the country.
The unscrupulous activity of men of arm forces at both ends of the bridge is a serious dent on uniform profession’s image and the country. It therefore behooves the relevant authorities to sanitizing the area without further delay in order to curb the people’s agony.
The yuletide is almost here when a lot of people will have to ply the bridge to their different destinations in the both ends of the roads. Therefore this is a clarion call to the government as a stitch in time by the relevant government agencies will save Nigerians who will have need to use the bridge from another session of nightmare and sufferings this season.
