WATERWAYS KIDNAPPING: FROM THE MENANCE OF THE ROAD TO THE MONSTERS ON THE WATER
Anthony EKPO BASSEY
Woe upon woe, wickedness without end. Yet again, the shadowy scourge of insecurity has struck on Calabar’s waterways. The recent news of kidnapping of passengers from a ferry sparks fury and fear. Innocent passengers, including fathers, mothers, traders and children, snatched by kidnappers like prey plucked from peaceful waters. A tragedy that should provoke outrage has become a recurring routine. This is no longer an isolated incident, it is a deeply rooted rot, a shameful scar that we now wear with disturbing familiarity.
These cowardly acts have happened before. Again and again, like a cracked bell that tolls doom, we hear the same sad story of boats ambushed, passengers abducted, communities thrown into panic, and the government giving the same hollow condolences. A country where the value of life floats like driftwood, abandoned and directionless. We have mourned too many, waited too long, and hoped too hard in vain.
What makes this even more painful is the bitter truth that many of these passengers had no other choice. The roads leading in and out of Calabar are a nightmare dressed as infrastructure, terribly crumbling, cursed, and carelessly ignored. A journey that should take minutes becomes hours of agony, dodging death traps disguised as potholes. Bridges creak under the weight of broken promises. Trucks tip, cars crawl, ambulances stall. With the roads now ruins, the people turned to the water. And now, even the rivers are no refuge.
From the menace of the road to the monsters on the water, the average citizen is left to choose between danger and death. Is this the country we were promised? Is this the future our taxes built? Must every journey be a gamble with no guarantee of return? When traveling becomes a threat, who truly is in charge?
The silence from those in power is thunderous. Their inaction, deafening. Their neglect, dangerous. The government must wake up from its slumber and stop governing from glass towers. We demand not platitudes but protection. The waterways must no longer be freeways for felons. Marine security must be present, persistent, and prepared. Patrol boats should not gather dust at docks while pirates roam free. These waters need regular surveillance, constant protection, and firm enforcement. The sea should sing with the sound of safety, not screams of suffering.
Every day we delay is another day lost to lawlessness. The clock is ticking. How many more will disappear before someone is held accountable? How long before leaders leave their luxury to face the ugly reality that the people endure?
Enough of the eulogies. Enough of the excuses. This is not the time for long grammar or crocodile tears. This is a time for courage, clarity, and concrete action. Let the government prove that it still has a conscience. Let it prove that the lives of ordinary citizens matter more than photo ops and press conferences. Let it show that we are not merely statistics in a forgotten spreadsheet.
We cannot continue like this. Our patience has been plundered, our peace polluted, and our people punished. If the roads are bad and the waters are worse, where then shall we go? What hope remains when land and sea alike are unsafe?
Fix the roads. Guard the waters. Restore the people’s faith. Before the next boat is boarded but never returns. Before the next family receives news that crushes the soul. Before the next story becomes another statistic.
Act now!
