When soldiers go on rampage

by Eze Eluchie

When people are trained to kill and are allowed free access in society, there is always the likelihood of violence between such trained persons and the rest of civil society. Even the ‘best trained’ soldiers often times, unleash animalistic tendencies when they think no one is watching – but for Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and social media, infractions and bestial behaviours’ by the soldiers of the United States and European armies in Abu Ghraib, The Collateral Murder video and several other untoward instances, would never have been unearthed and some would have continued with the ‘nice-boy’ image depicted of such soldiers by popular media.

Any frequent flyer through United States airports (and airports or public transport systems across Western Europe) will be familiar with the added perks accorded military personnel and their families at such areas. These perks and benefits serve to show societal respect and appreciation for the soldiers’ service and sacrifice and also reduce the likelihood of conflict between soldiers and the rest of civil society.

That is the reason why in most other civil climes, such militarized persons are, whilst in groups, kept away from civil society (in barracks) and all efforts are made to ease their path through civil society whensoever they have cause to so transit.

When the United States and the European Union, through their so-called ‘developmental’ grants, send funds to ‘preach’ military subservience to civil leadership in emerging societies, they either somehow omit, or those who implement such grants fail, to stress the need to appreciate and respect such service personnel – traits which are engrained in the ethos and fabric of all countries which have successfully navigated the balance between their military personnel and civil society.

After Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, a few months ago, mischievously publicly braided a senior military officer (even ensuring that his media team captured the insults on video and repeatedly broadcasting the unsavory event on all available media outlets) for doing what even low ranking civil servants in the Lagos State public service do on a daily basis – drive through illegally demarcated Bus Lanes in Lagos, any discerning observer would have realized that it was only a matter of time before the Boys will hit back for the insult on their Officer cadre.

Obviously, Fashola had not realized that neither he nor Senior Military Officers, who would have reined in the Boys, will be around when the result of his earlier ill-thought showmanship action would materialize. 

Whilst ensuring that the military is effectively brought under civil authority and that military personnel who deliberately set out to harm civilians and destroy public property are brought to justice in accord with relevant statutes, it is also vital that our contraption adapt sufficient measures, as is the case in other sane climes, to minimize the risk or possibility of civil-military conflicts.

Though the destruction and mayhem meted out to staff and property of Lagos State mass transit service after a Mass Transit Bus had knocked down and killed a soldier is condemnable, it is hoped that the experience will engender a more matured, mutually respectful relationship between the civil society and those who our contraption has trained and equipped with weapons to stand guard over us. In addition, the event will hopefully douse the air of impunity with which the said Mass Transit Bus operators approach other road users - an air which most likely led to the death of the soldier in the very first instance.

    
The lack of understanding of the tenuous relationship between the military and civil authority has been the cause of most military interventions/coups across sub-Saharan Africa. Mastery of the art of navigating between the psyche and mannerism of our armed forces and the larger needs of our contraption will serve to guarantee continued civil rule.

Picture: Some Lagos State Bus Rapid Transit buses burnt after one of the BRT vehicles knocked down and killed a soldier (4^th July 2014)