When Protectors Harm

For many years, we have been operating a democratic system of government. Democracy is the system of government by the people, of the people and for the people. In simple terms, citizens of a country come together to choose a selected candidate who will govern and protect them at all costs. I find it excruciatingly painful when the people who are meant to protect us are the ones making deliberate efforts to destroy us. This brings me to today's Hive Learners’ prompt. The topic is “Government Sponsored.”

Every now and then, we complain about the ills in our country. From insecurity, to lack of employment opportunities, to bad roads and other amenities. These ills are mainly why citizens have migrated to other countries in search of greener pastures. As a citizen in this country, merely thinking about these ills can ruin your day. For instance, you budget a total of 10 thousand naira to spend at the market. Surprisingly, when you got there, you realized that the cost is twice what you budgeted. What about the level of insecurity? Every now and then, we keep hearing terrible news about kidnappings and killings.

There's no point hiding the fact that the country is dealing with so many problems. Unfortunately, no one is doing anything about it. It becomes even more complex when these ills are caused by the government, whose main job is to protect us. The Hive Learners’ community asks us to discuss one evil thing that, for one reason or the other, the government of your country supported regardless of the tragic costs. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this topic is police brutality. The government will tell you that the police are your friend. But every citizen of this country knows that the police are your worst enemy. It is better to get involved in a difficult situation with a poisonous snake than to do the same with a police officer.

Just because you're in a position of authority doesn't mean you should oppress others. Police are known for oppressing and harassing citizens, because, after all, they have a gun in their hands. More importantly, they have the authority to command respect. The police are meant to protect us, right? These same people are the ones bursting into homes during the day and sometimes at night to harass citizens. I've seen many videos of police breaking into a citizen's house, not because the citizen committed a crime, but because they want to make money in an illegal way.

Topics like this remind me of the End SARS saga. In 2020, the youths decided they'd had enough of police brutality. So, they stepped forward and raised their voices. And what did they get in return? Bloodshed and death. The government opened fire on innocent citizens, and after everything, the government came out with their pot belly and claimed they care about their citizens.

It's sad that citizens are being made to suffer by the same people who should be protecting them. I just hope that this whole thing changes one day.

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Thanks for reading.