06/12/2025
A heartbreaking lesson from Nigeria for all of us across Africa.
I have been following the disturbing case in Nigeria involving a kidnapped couple and a so-called "mediator" named Harrison. The story is tragic: the mediator allegedly withheld part of the ransom, leading the kidnappers to hold back the husband while releasing the wife.
While this happened in Nigeria, the lesson applies to many of our nations.
This tragedy highlights the extreme danger of citizens trying to fill the gap left by the State. When governments fail to secure their territories, desperate citizens turn to private individuals—vigilantes, negotiators, or "middlemen."
But here is the truth we must face:
Security is the primary duty of the Government. It is the "Social Contract." We pay taxes and surrender some rights so that the State protects us.
When we allow private individuals like Harrison to take over security duties:
1. We encourage an industry of crime: Kidnapping becomes a business transaction with middlemen.
2. We lose accountability: Who regulates a private negotiator? No one.
3. We absolve our leaders: As long as citizens are "handling it" themselves, our governments feel no pressure to fix the police or the military.
To my brothers and sisters in Nigeria and across the continent: Let us stop normalizing the privatization of security. We cannot simply "do it ourselves." We must organize, mobilize, and hold our governments to task. They have the mandate; they must do the job.
