'Bars' & The Collective National Psyche

Tones and I were just having a conversation about 'Bars' in Lagos.

No..not alcohol serving Bars, but iron bars that barricade most homes and general buildings in Lagos and other parts of the country.

The purpose of these bars is to protect the inhabitants of a building from Armed Robbers and other such 'Visitors of the Dark'.

Tones is of the opinion that they are very necessary for every home to have if you want to be safe.

I agree.

However, I wonder about the fact that in this country, we need to imprison ourselves to feel safe.

What differentiates us from the inmates of Rikers Island or Kirikiri?!

Goodluck Jonathan in his Election Speech, spoke about fighting crime and putting punitive measures in place...sounds good!!

But we also need to SEE it happen by feeling safe in our own homes without the ominous prescence of 'Bars'.

I also wonder about how jaded we've become as a people if our illusion of safety is with us behind 'Bars'.

We really do need an overhaul in our collective national psyche. Imagine the state of mind a child who is being delivered right now in St. Nicholas Hospital or at a Maternity Centre in my village, Patani, is being born into.

Please people, let's vote wisely in this Elections.

Our Collective National Sanity depends on it.