Guardian

THE recent abduction of 92 year-old elder statesman, Shettima Ali Munguno from a mosque was one episode in the catalogue of kidnappings in Nigeria, that not only shocked all sensibilities, violated the humanity of all as all kidnappings, but also, in particular, mocked the age-long reverence for old age. And the questions is: how did Nigeria arrive at this sorry, pass?

Not surprisingly given this level of debasement in the country, now foreign insurers are exploring the business of special insurance to cover potential victims of “kidnap for ransom” in Nigeria. At the immediate past Meeting of the African Reinsurance Forum held in Balaclava, Mauritius, the, African Insurance Organisation reported that the number of kidnap for ransom cases in the world increased in the preceding year. While Africa’s share rose from 23 per cent to 34 per cent, Nigeria accounts for more than twenty-five percent of such cases worldwide. As a result, Nigerians now has an additional inglorious accolade of “the global capital of kidnap for ransom.”

Of course, this is bad not only for the image but also the economy of the country as the cost of doing business sky-rockets beyond comprehensible levels.

Too bad for the future of a nation.