Using Motorsport to Fight Crime in Nigeria

-By Teddy Nwanunobi

Nigeria is a country that is so blessed abundantly with numerous resources in human and nature. With over 200 million people, Nigeria can boast of venturing into any field of life it desires, as well as compete strongly for honours in the chosen field.

With Nigeria’s population, it is only natural that the good, the bad, and the ugly would be found among Nigerians. This has given rise to increased crime in the country. Consequently, fighting crime has become a very tough job for the agencies that are charged with the responsibility of combating and eradicating crime.

Violent crimes, such as: armed robbery, kidnapping, rape and gang-related crimes have become very common among Nigerians. Government, at all levels, has been making efforts to fight crimes, especially among the youths. Government agencies – the police and others – have been discharging their duties, as best as they could.

But the truth about the matter is that crimes have eaten so deep among the youths. The major reason for this is lack of employment for the teeming Nigerian youths.

Sports, however, have been identified by many as a good instrument to fight against crimes in the society. Across the nation, some communities and even local government areas have adopted sports as an instrument to help them fight youth crimes, because it is cheap, efficient and popular.

It is very easy to attract the teeming idle youths to a particular sports fiesta for a day, a week, or a month – depending on the financial capacity of the organisers to host the sports fiesta. While some of the youths would be participating as the principal actors, others would be part of the spectators.

This is exactly what was witnessed in Nasarawa State during the 2021 Easter season. It was the debut of the motorsport fiesta which thrilled the people of the state. The motorsport fiesta was attended by more than 200 racers and racing enthusiasts.

It was the maiden edition, which was facilitated by the President of the Nasarawa State Motorsports Community, Sanni Jibo. Although it was a one-day event, it brought out boredom from both the racers and the racing enthusiasts. The one-day motorsport event, which lit up the capital city of Lafia, was won by Habeed Nagode, who hails from Zuru, Kebbi State.

Nagode beat Capo and Kawu Yola to the second and third positions, respectively.

Speaking at the end of the event, Jibo said the event aimed at bringing value to the stakeholders.

“We are glad the sport is well accepted in the state. One thing we must note is that before the formal running of this project, several groups had been engaging in the sport at different levels within and outside Nasarawa. This event is an attempt to coordinate it and bring value to all stakeholders,” he said.

He said the interest in the sport was already present, adding that the atmosphere the visiting racers, riders, and other groups created confirmed the state as a hotbed for motorsports and diverse wheel sports.

“We are glad the government saw value in the empowerment that the sport can bring, especially its impact on the local economy and the huge potential of becoming a dragnet for tourism in the state,” he added.

Bikers and different categories of skaters were also featured at the event, which Jibo has assured he would liaise with the government and state-based tourism operators to maximise the benefits for all stakeholders by liaising with key motorsport communities with a view to giving the needed depth to the sport.

“The government has shown immense support to this project, and his reception to some of our touring athletes during the event speaks volumes. We would liaise with key motorsports community to give depth and put the state and its potentials to the fore,” he said.

Some of the motorsport communities that were represented at the inaugural Nasarawa Auto Sports competition were: Abuja, Minna, and Zuru.

Yes, it was not a joke. Motorsport event actually took place in Nigeria, and it happened in Nasarawa State. The credit goes to the State for being the first state to not only organise the event, but the first to do so successfully.

Governments at all levels and stakeholders should borrow a leaf from Nasarawa State. More of such event, even in other sports, needs to be organised at intervals, but on yearly basis. Even if the financial muscles would not be enough to organise the fiesta annually, it would not be a bad idea to have it come up biennially.

On the federal and state governments’ parts, functional sports policy that would give the teeming Nigerian youths a sense of belonging need to be put in place.

‘Park-and-Pay’: Has FCT Learnt from 2014?

The controversial ‘On-street Parking System’, popularly known by the residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as ‘Park-and-Pay’ policy will make a return on May 1, 2021. So many FCT car owners have expressed shock at the announcement, which was issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Tuesday, April 13.

The arrangements to re-introduce the controversial policy have already been concluded, sealed and delivered. What it means is that the policy is only making a return seven years after it was vehemently resisted by some residents of the FCT in 2014.

Going by what the Acting Secretary, FCT Transportation Secretariat, Usman Yahaya, said, the policy was to bring about sanity in the city. There is no doubt that the nation’s capital needs some sanity, especially as it regards indiscriminate parking of vehicles within the city. It is a good move to see that the city regains some sanity, no matter the area it starts from.

However, one would like to note some of the issues that were raised while the policy was opposed to when it was first introduced. First, residents had decried the high handedness of the operatives, and queried the ownership of the companies that were used for ticketing and enforcement.

Then, the policy, which was introduced in 2011, required that vehicles parked within the city between the periods of 7am and 7pm during workdays were to pay for the space and time they were parked, except on Saturdays and Sundays.

But as laudable as the policy was, it was marred by the administration, which seemed to have derailed in its mission, as its staffers, acting on instruction, abused the implementation of the policy. For instance, it was the duty of the on-street-parking attendants to man their posts and ensure that drivers parked are duly charged. But they would rather stay away from visible points where they could be contacted, and payment made for an amicable service upon the exit of the drivers. They would call their supervisors who would come to clamp the vehicle for the bigger cash of N5000 and above than for the N50 or N100 tag for 30 minutes and one hour, respectively.

The policy created bad blood between the drivers/car owners and the operators, and by extension, the administration of the FCT which empowered the operators, as the car owners groaned under the policy.

Having noted some of the things that were wrong with the policy when it was first introduced, one would like to believe that the authorities have thoroughly done their homework to avoid the case of once beaten, twice shy.