The Igbo adage that the bad condition of a patient is usually a fertile land for the doctor is currently playing out at the control post (especially the Owerri\Onitsha Network) and the Owerri\Orlu road axis where officials of the Imo Civil Guard road are supposed to be manning traffic check beats.
Since the Imo My Pride Task Force cleared the illegal structures at control post Owerri as well as curbing loading of vehicles and handed over to officials of Imo Security Network to occupy, it has been field day.
The Imo Civil Guard officials have since turned to vehicle loaders after which they take their commission from the driver whose vehicles have been loaded. Again food vendors, bread sellers, returned to business.
The modus operandi is simple officials of the ISN would stand by a loading vehicle under the guise of discussing with the driver while the conductor does the actual loading. At the end, the official receives his commission and the vehicle zooms off.
At the Owerri\Orlu road roundabout the business is brazenly carried out which a times have led to clashes between uniformed “Agberos” and agberos on mufti.
Most of the staff of Imo Civil Guard now works till late in the evening when the food venders begin to arrive. Each vendor settles the officials with a plate of food so as to do business without molestation.
Observers expressed disgust over the entire scenario and question why the demolition exercise was carried out in the first place since the purported illegal structures are gradually coming back to life.
Others wonder why the officials of Imo Civil Guard betray the trust reposed on them and call on the commandant Donatus Ejifugha to call his officers to order as their actions are now viewed as sabotage to the efforts of the state government.
