Osun residents break into warehouse to loot
palliatives. (Infostrides)
Following the wave of #EndSARS protest, Nigeria's
youth-led anger-driven demonstration against the
inhuman dispensation of the Nigerian Police Force,
some citizens began to mobilize to invade
government establishments and stores. Why this
first set of persons did that has remained unclear
but poverty easily comes to mind.
On Oct 6, 2020, videos from Lagos monarch, Oba
Akiolu's palace went viral on social media. In it,
hundreds of civilians were packing marked food
items from a giant stack. These provisions were
donated by CACOVID, a charity organization working
with the Federal Government and World Health
Organization to lessen the impact of Covid-19. The
items were to be distributed to Nigerians as
pandemic palliatives but they had been hoarded
here.
These trending videos invited more people and in
no time, the store was cleared. Reports state that
the King's staff of office also got stolen. The sack
of Oba Akiolu's palace inspired a chain of
synonymous reactions. The video inspired more
people to invade government offices & warehouses
in Lagos and in other places like Jos, Ilorin, Ede. A
Lagos Politician whose house also got invaded
claims 'he was planning to share the items on his
birthday' which was to come up two days after his
home got invaded.
Nigeria has a frightening poverty presence.
According to Aljazeera, Forty percent of Nigerians
live below the poverty line. That is why people
risked their lives to get packs of noodles and rice.
Whilst most people were lucky to get away with
their loot, some died as a result of an accident or
police bullet. For context, a bag of rice now
alternates between thirty three thousand and forty
two thousand Naira. For the average Nigerian, that
is unaffordable.
The revelation that the government hoards food
meant to cushion the effect of the pandemic has
been met by condemnation across several fronts.
For a country with such a tall level of hunger and
lack, hoarding food in a time of hardship is nothing
less than criminal. Femi Falana told Arise News:
“ How can a government hoard Indomie? It's
intolerable, it's provocative. Our government will
have to apologize to the Nigerian people.”
But State governments have denied the accusations
by saying the stolen items were reserved for special
purposes. Some claim that it was 'in preparation for
a possible second wave of coronavirus infections.'
Kwara state Government said: “The palliatives
recently donated by the Federal Government are
being kept for further distribution to victims of the
recent rainstorm.”
John, an Ilorin resident who took part in the looting
at the state warehouse, spoke to me about what
prompted him to take part in it. “I joined because
of a lot of reasons that boils down to a point. I
joined because I felt I had direct access to getting
food which ordinarily is a bit expensive to get. You
need to see the stuff I was able to get away with,”
he claimed.
Like many others, John's motivation leans toward
lack. Many people in his shoes only see a chance
— to fill the gap of their need.
Saheed, a University student said he had been
anticipating the discovery of such a warehouse in
his city of residence right from the time he heard
about the sack of Oba Akiolu's palace in Lagos. As
fortune would have it, he was one of the first
persons to access the warehouse when the looting
began in his city.
'I went straight inside to start packing stuff and then
the police started firing their guns.' Out of fear he
ran out but the security personnel later called them
to come back for their loot.
Saheed dashed in again
and this time, he packed more than the first time.
'It was too much. I packed so much that I couldn't
handle them alone. Later, I cooperated with a
stranger together with whom I was able to move
my stuff." At the end of the day, Saheed and his
stranger-partner were able to get away with 50kg of
rice, 6 cartons of noodles, 2 bags of sugar, 2 bags
of semovita, and 6 packs of Spaghetti. How they
pulled that off remains a kind of mystery. He claims
to have given some to people out of his own share.
On social media, a lot of people have Okayed the
decision of frustrated persons to 'take what is
theirs.' Arguing that in the end, the stock always
belonged to the people. However, people who
believe otherwise have also aired their opinions.
One of them is Zainab Ajumobi who lives in Lagos.
Zainab understands what may inform their actions: '
They are not exactly bad people.
They are just the
product of their environment which is corrupt and
unjust.' Yet she disagrees with their actions. 'The
fact that the government did not distribute it to them
in the first place does not absolve them of the
crime of stealing. That is a strong word but that's
what it is. They are now the same as the corrupt
government officials.'
More than 483 persons have been arrested for
crimes associated with looting, and law
enforcement officers are still on the trail of others.
The question of looting keeps getting dragged into
the court of morality. When I ask John if he feels he
has done anything wrong, he disagrees.
'I don’t feel guilty because it’s something that was
originally meant for the masses. So what’s the big
deal in saving the government the undue stress of
having to share all those foodstuffs? I’m not a
criminal for taking what’s rightfully mine.'
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Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse
journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not
represent the company Pulse and contribute on their
own behalf.
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