There was a time in my country when Armed Robbery was rampant and considered one of the numerous Crimes Against Humanity (Nigeria).

The Authorities took it seriously and so did the people. The Leaders saw this as an act which required the sternest punishment and in full public glare such criminals and those who flouted the law were special attendees in what became known as the Bar Beach Show. You are too young if you thought this refers to the television program with the late Art Alade as you were told by your parents.

Gradually the fear within the populace decreased and although the criminals got more creative and somewhat more aggressive, the awareness of extreme punishment kept many away from making a career out of Armed Robbery.

To take up a career in Armed Robbery now meant that you had no family support systems to warn you against such, you had a fatalistic sense of belief; you had an extreme feeling of hopelessness and desperation in the life you lived. You could not care less for your life and the lives of others. That self-declaration evidently in place, you went forth and terrorized the public ridding them of their properties and sometimes their lives.

Then the Right of Life Campaigners came to your rescue. They were ably supported by the latter-day preachers in support of you. They claimed that everyone had a right to live including you the Armed Robbers and that the Bar Beach Show was not a deterrent in any society. It was declared Barbaric, Senseless and Uncivilized. The Armed Robbers had bought reprieve along with the incentive to continue. Clones of Oyenusi and Anini & Co were back in business with little to fear and better armed.

Yes, the Bar Beach Show was Barbaric, but I liked it.
Yes, the Bar Beach Show was Senseless, but it was fun to see the teeming crowds each time.
Yes, the Bar Beach Show was unChristian-like, but I was amused to see them take one final look up at God wondering what this was all about.
Yes, the Bar Beach Show was Uncivilized, but, hey, this was my civilization not theirs.

I liked the Bar Beach Show.

Stained Poles.
Bullet-ridden Drums of sand.
Shredded Ropes that had recently tied down the buggers to the posts.
Deepened Footprints borne of fear as the rifles were lined up.

What a feeling it must have been for them.
What a feeling it was for me and many others.
Great excuse to skip school on those days.
To watch theirs end as they had ended those of others.

Many ‘ghastly heroes’ had theirs ended on those posts and on such days. Even those who had the most ‘sophisticated’ juju which aided them through their careers, realised the fallibilities of their juju-men.

Today the Right of Life Campaigners practice the same thing in their own civilized countries as a means of deterring crime even where such crimes were committed half-centuries ago. In some places they call this the Electric Chair, Lethal Injection or even the Genocide Trials at the Hague.

What a nice way to continue the Bar Beach Show.

Less gory, less dramatic and less noisy, but same outcome.
Get rid of the buggers who make mankind suffer because the world does not need them.
At the age of 85, for crimes committed when in your 30s, life imprisonment is the same as a Bar Beach Show.

Ask Saddam and his like. Who looks forward to such a day for themselves? Hence there are fewer than there could have been of his type in the world today. That is called Deterrence.

We are back to those dark days, Armed Robbers everywhere. On the Streets and in Parliament.

So. What if?

Just What if the list of crimes committed against Humanity (Nigerians) was to include the sheer rape of the nation’s treasury in record time and record volumes?

What if the ‘job’ of a politician was made so precarious that stealing on the job amounted to the resumption of the Bar Beach Show?

I wonder which of Donald Duke’s nice ‘Suits’ Onari would choose for him on the day.

I wonder which ‘Face Cream’ James Ibori would advertise on the day.

I wonder which ‘Moustache Trimmer’ Peter Odili would use on the day.

I wonder which patented ‘Lip-Gloss’ Oriji Kalu would pout his lips on, that day.

I wonder which ‘Barber’ Sani Yerima would finally engage his services that day.

I wonder which brand of ‘Lift’ shoes Nasir El-Rufai would select that day.

I wonder which ‘Manicurist’ Patricia Etteh would call on, that day.

I wonder if Atiku’s ‘Limp’ would suddenly desert him on that day or even which ‘Damask’ outfit Titi would chose for the cameras.

Finally, I wonder which young fertile, luscious-lipped, big-tongued, bootilicious and curvaceous relative Obasanjo would ask for as a last meal on the eve of that day.

While I wonder what the revamped Bar Beach Show would look and feel like, with these dapper thieves, I also wonder if politics in Nigeria would then finally become a job to serve the people and not rape them blind.
#Copied

tempilo2k: There was a time in my country when Armed Robbery was rampant and considered one of the numerous Crimes Against Humanity (Nigeria).

The Authorities took it seriously and so did the people. The Leaders saw this as an act which required the sternest punishment and in full public glare such criminals and those who flouted the law were special attendees in what became known as the Bar Beach Show. You are too young if you thought this refers to the television program with the late Art Alade as you were told by your parents.

Gradually the fear within the populace decreased and although the criminals got more creative and somewhat more aggressive, the awareness of extreme punishment kept many away from making a career out of Armed Robbery.

To take up a career in Armed Robbery now meant that you had no family support systems to warn you against such, you had a fatalistic sense of belief; you had an extreme feeling of hopelessness and desperation in the life you lived. You could not care less for your life and the lives of others. That self-declaration evidently in place, you went forth and terrorized the public ridding them of their properties and sometimes their lives.

Then the Right of Life Campaigners came to your rescue. They were ably supported by the latter-day preachers in support of you. They claimed that everyone had a right to live including you the Armed Robbers and that the Bar Beach Show was not a deterrent in any society. It was declared Barbaric, Senseless and Uncivilized. The Armed Robbers had bought reprieve along with the incentive to continue. Clones of Oyenusi and Anini & Co were back in business with little to fear and better armed.

Yes, the Bar Beach Show was Barbaric, but I liked it.
Yes, the Bar Beach Show was Senseless, but it was fun to see the teeming crowds each time.
Yes, the Bar Beach Show was unChristian-like, but I was amused to see them take one final look up at God wondering what this was all about.
Yes, the Bar Beach Show was Uncivilized, but, hey, this was my civilization not theirs.

I liked the Bar Beach Show.

Stained Poles.
Bullet-ridden Drums of sand.
Shredded Ropes that had recently tied down the buggers to the posts.
Deepened Footprints borne of fear as the rifles were lined up.

What a feeling it must have been for them.
What a feeling it was for me and many others.
Great excuse to skip school on those days.
To watch theirs end as they had ended those of others.

Many ‘ghastly heroes’ had theirs ended on those posts and on such days. Even those who had the most ‘sophisticated’ juju which aided them through their careers, realised the fallibilities of their juju-men.

Today the Right of Life Campaigners practice the same thing in their own civilized countries as a means of deterring crime even where such crimes were committed half-centuries ago. In some places they call this the Electric Chair, Lethal Injection or even the Genocide Trials at the Hague.

What a nice way to continue the Bar Beach Show.

Less gory, less dramatic and less noisy, but same outcome.
Get rid of the buggers who make mankind suffer because the world does not need them.
At the age of 85, for crimes committed when in your 30s, life imprisonment is the same as a Bar Beach Show.

Ask Saddam and his like. Who looks forward to such a day for themselves? Hence there are fewer than there could have been of his type in the world today. That is called Deterrence.

We are back to those dark days, Armed Robbers everywhere. On the Streets and in Parliament.

So. What if?

Just What if the list of crimes committed against Humanity (Nigerians) was to include the sheer rape of the nation’s treasury in record time and record volumes?

What if the ‘job’ of a politician was made so precarious that stealing on the job amounted to the resumption of the Bar Beach Show?

I wonder which of Donald Duke’s nice ‘Suits’ Onari would choose for him on the day.

I wonder which ‘Face Cream’ James Ibori would advertise on the day.

I wonder which ‘Moustache Trimmer’ Peter Odili would use on the day.

I wonder which patented ‘Lip-Gloss’ Oriji Kalu would pout his lips on, that day.

I wonder which ‘Barber’ Sani Yerima would finally engage his services that day.

I wonder which brand of ‘Lift’ shoes Nasir El-Rufai would select that day.

I wonder which ‘Manicurist’ Patricia Etteh would call on, that day.

I wonder if Atiku’s ‘Limp’ would suddenly desert him on that day or even which ‘Damask’ outfit Titi would chose for the cameras.

Finally, I wonder which young fertile, luscious-lipped, big-tongued, bootilicious and curvaceous relative Obasanjo would ask for as a last meal on the eve of that day.

While I wonder what the revamped Bar Beach Show would look and feel like, with these dapper thieves, I also wonder if politics in Nigeria would then finally become a job to serve the people and not rape them blind.
#Copied

Am realy not happy that the author of this article didn't reference the current administration and Gross financial mismanagement that's happening under our very nose's. The Stella Oduah case realy got me thinking about what the future holds for us young nigerians.