Earlier today, pipeline blasts and explosions shattered the salient lives of young and old Lagosians. www.bbcnews.com/africa reports devastating blasts in Lagos, economic and financial capital of Nigeria where innocent school children were among the hundreds of lives lost.
The morning confusion added to the boiling pot that this African most populous city have come to accept as a way of life with each succeeding administration promising to ameliorate their plights. Yet, a life they have become too familiar with, an economic imbalance, social unrest, pollution, poor policing or rule of law, water shortage and anemic power supply. The litany of hardship is innumerable.
It is very sad and deplorable that the government both at the State and Federal levels have not provided security to stem the constant sabotaging of the main stay of Nigeria's economy.
While I am almost tempted to paint the problems afflicting Nigeria with a single stroke of brush, perhaps indicting the whole power structure in Nigeria, by that I mean all governments from top to bottom, I choose instead to present this as a national malaise.
For too long we have a cancerous indulgence that public property should be looted with reckless impunity, without social consequences. Whether it is the treasury or physical structures such as pipelines, it makes no difference. IF, and this a big IF, if it is determined that the blasts are pipeline sabotage, then those responsible must face justice.
Under the current administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua, every single effort must be made to ensure looters are not rewarded. Prompt review of all security infrastructures must be made to meet current challenges.
Finally, lets remember that the cost of economic sabotage to the environment always out weighs the benefit.