By Quadri Adeniyi Olorunfunmi
Who is a vandal? A vandal is someone who deliberately damages things especially public property. In general, vandalism may be motivated by malicious greed, the wish to draw attention to a particular condition, a political ideology, the desire for revenge on a particular person, frustration, or misguided playfulness.
Is vandalism in Nigeria?
In November 2013, a data gathered by NOIPolls Limited indicated a general level of apathy towards public property in Nigeria. The poll conducted on the issue of public property vandalism in Nigeria indicated that about 6 in 10 Nigerians (61 per cent) believe that Nigerians generally value public property poorly. Also, the majority of respondents (74 per cent) agreed that there was a high incidence of public property vandalism in Nigeria; while suggesting that the most vandalized public property are: electricity installation (57 per cent); oil/gas (51per cent) facilities; and public buildings (32 per cent).
Furthermore, there was a massive destruction of public amenities during the 2020 protests against brutality and extortion by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, noted that during the protests tagged #EndSARS hijacked by hoodlums, 269 private companies’ assets were destroyed, not less than 243 government facilities burnt or vandalized and 81 government warehouses looted.
Similarly, taking stock after the protests, the Lagos State Government noted that 80 Bus Rapid Transit vehicles were burnt, with 27 of them costing $200,000 each, 57 amounting to $100,000 each and all totaling about N3.9 billion
Also, documents from the NNPCL stated that between January and September 2021, Nigeria lost N898.93 billion to crude oil theft and repairs of vandalized pipelines, among others. In the same year, the country incurred crude oil losses valued at N556 billion between August and October due to pipeline vandalism. Report noted that a total of 350 pipeline points were vandalized between January and July 2021 according to data from the NNPCL.
Moving on, recent news on daily trust reports that “A commercial Bank branch in Ibadan, Oyo State, was vandalized by irate mob protesting naira scarcity, on Friday.” Some of the angry youths were heard shouting out of frustration in Yoruba language: “lori owo wa” which translates despite being our money. Many civil servants inside the government secretariat panicked as many were seen hanging around different spots in case of unforeseen eventuality. Tyres were burnt in front of the secretariat by the angry mob to register their anger. In a chat with journalists, Executive Assistant on Security to Governor Seyi Makinde, CP Sunday Odukoya (rtd), condemned the act, saying the situation in the country affects everybody equally and should not be the reason anybody should hide under such to destroy or vandalize government property.
Vandalism Costs
Schools pay out millions of dollars each year to clean up graffiti, repair buildings, or replace vandalized equipment. That means less money for new books, computers, sports equipment, and student activities. Local governments (and their taxpayers) pay the bills for broken street lights, stolen signs, and vandalized parks. Businesses pass the costs of vandalism on to customers through higher prices.
Vandalism Hurts
People feel angry, sad, and frightened when something of theirs — a mailbox, a garden, a car antenna — is destroyed for no reason. Vandalism indirectly claims other victims — a child is injured because a stop sign was stolen, a person can’t reach 9-1-1 because the public phone is broken.
Who and Why?
Most vandals are young people from grade schoolers to teens to young adults who damage property for one or more of the following reasons: Boredom, anger, revenge, defiance, alliance.
Preventing vandalism
You can prevent vandalism by educating the public, especially young people about the costs of vandalism, protect your house or apartment from vandalism by using good lighting and locking gates and garages, support recreational programs for young people in your community.
I will be completing this piece on the fact that vandalism should not be an option in a country, so as the country can develop with the citizen.
@ Lagos State University
