It is not an overstatement if one says that Nigeria is one of the most insecure spaces in the world today.
In 2018, our Nigeria was ranked Africa’s most terrorized nations. This is according to a report released by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace.
The Global Terrorism Index 2018 also scored Nigeria third on a list of 138 countries. Africa’s most populous nation was ranked only behind Iraq and Afghanistan. Behind Nigeria was Syria and Pakistan while Somalia rounded up the list of countries that suffered very high impact of terrorism. India, Yemen, Egypt and Philippines occupied the seventh to tenth spots respectively.
Nigeria-based terrorist group, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab in Somalia were also listed among the top four deadliest groups in the world. The deadliness of a group is determined by how many people it had killed! What a sad situation and reputation!
This year, Nigeria was ranked the second most terrorized and attacked country in the world, second only to Iraq, by the global Terrorism Research/ Analysis Organisation.
The above rankings clearly confirm what Nigerians at home and abroad already know. Simply put, we Nigerians are terrorized at home, on our farms, on the roads!
The situation is not helped by the obvious fact that the roads are bad and barely motorable. These bad spots across the country have become ambush points for kidnappers. Worst still, things have degenerated to the point that the kidnappers, bereft of any humanity left in them, have formed the habit of killing their victims even after ransoms have been paid.
This means that as a traveler, you make sure that you are not kidnapped. Pray, fast, do whatever you have to do not to be kidnapped, because if you are, you are on your own.
Recent kidnappings have shown that the authorities are very slow to come to the rescue of kidnap victims. It is on record that many victims have spent months if not years in the den of kidnappers.
For your safety, it is best to plan your road trips in such a way that you can reach your destination during the day time. Night travels should be avoided as much as possible. Already the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had even before the insecurity in Nigeria got this bad, advised against night travels because of the danger inherent in it in terms of safety, visibility and other unforeseen circumstances.
When you engage in night travelling, it exposes you and other travellers to high risks of danger. This doesn’t mean that kidnappers do not carry out these criminal activities during the day but they tend to exploit the darkness much more than they do the day. Anything can happen during a night trip. For instance, if your vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere in the dark night, that makes you a perfect and helpless target for kidnappers and other criminals.
When you travel, make sure to always carry a proper means of identification. This is very important because you never know when security agents along the road may demand for it. It also helps in emergency. Be vigilant and wary of strangers. Avoid crowded places. Have adequate knowledge of emergency exits and stay alert of strange activities within the environment.
Let your family and friends know where you are always, emergency and security situations may arise. Never walk alone when going to events. You are easy prey when you don’t move in groups. Make sure your phones are always charged. Power banks will come in handy. This way, you are always reachable, and can also call out especially in emergencies.
As much as possible, do not take shortcuts especially dark and lonely roads. Alcohol flows freely at events and parties over the holidays, do not to drink too much. Alcohol lowers mental alertness and coordination. You put yourself at risk when you are drunk. Do not leave your drink and food out of sight so nothing is added to them without your consent.
When shopping, shop wisely, and be careful of pickpockets, bag snatchers, schemers who target shoppers. As much as possible, avoid taking children to crowded marketplaces and shopping malls.
Road traffic gets busier at the end of the year. Some roads are accident-prone and target for robbery during the end of the year travel season.
Drive safely and carefully. The last few months of the year, most especially December are the periods of the year with the highest incidents of road accidents. Abide by all driving precautions; avoid driving under the influence of alcohol; stay within speed limits when driving; always wear seat belts even if you are in the backseat; ensure proper vehicle maintenance and check before use.
To avoid any kind of delay that could expose you as easy target for hoodlums on the road, you should ensure that all the documents needed for verification on the road are up to date and complete. Road criminals usually use different forms of delay on the road such as bad roads, traffic, law enforcement officers or even routine checks from road safety officers to rid the travellers of all their valuables, including their lives at times.
When your documents are complete, you will have less of a worry since the routine check shouldn’t take more than ten minutes. When these officers notice any irregularities with your documents, it would take a lot of time and might turn you to a sudden victim to these criminals since the road safety officers are mostly without ammunition to protect you.
Make sure the windows are wound up; doors locked and a bit of space for ventilation if your car doesn’t have a functioning air conditioner. This means, you might allow some air to enter but it shouldn’t be too wide to prevent any form of forceful entering or opening by the criminals on the road.
If you need to make a stop to buy few things on the roads, do it at safe spots. If possible, get all what you would need at the market before you embark on the long trip. You should avoid attracting unnecessary attention for a safe travel experience.
Refrain from unnecessary altercation or argument as this could be a technique used by the criminals to dispose you of your properties. Avoid drawing crowd to you unnecessarily when you engage in some forms of verbal exchange of words on the roads.
For private car owners, you should value your safety and that of loved ones by not endangering them by picking and giving lifts to random people. Criminals love using this humanitarian and benevolent gesture of good Nigerians as an opportunity to cart away their valuables.
Always keep your travel plan to yourself and possibly, your family members. Not all road kidnapping or other crime-related activities are done randomly. Some are carried out based on the information supplied to these criminals about your movement. In as much as it could be a bit difficult to be totally safe on the road, especially on deserted road in a long trip, it is much advisable to move with as few valuables as possible. It is very unsafe to move around or travel with huge amount of money or expensive valuables.
Try as much as possible to be safe at this time that life in our country has become “nasty, brutish, and short!”
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