Insecurity: What Emeka Oparah Said About Inibiong Umoren’s Tragic Death

These are indeed desperate times…!!!😭😭😭

I’m so sorry and very sad Miss Iniobong Umoren didn’t make it. The news of her death broke my heart this morning. I hoped and prayed she’d be found alive.

As soon as Taiwo Obe called my attention to her disappearance, based on a tweet by her friend, I escalated it to DCP Abba Kyari, who promised to get on the matter. You can, therefore, imagine my optimism knowing Abba and what he is capable of doing. Alas, not this time, as Iniobong, according to latest reports, has been killed and-even more callously-buried in a shallow grave. So sad. May her soul Rest In Peace!🙏🏾

According her friend who first broke the news of her disappearance, she had gone to respond to a “job interview appointment.” She didn’t go on a date with a random man. No. She went in search of a genuine means of livelihood: work. And this makes her case even more painful.

Now, there’s nothing absolutely wrong in looking for work. There’s also nothing wrong with going for a job interview. However, these are not ordinary times. These are desperate times. Things as no longer the way they seem. There are way too many lions in sheep’s skin. Besides, Iniobong’s case is not the first or second or third. Caution and circumspection must, therefore, be the watchword. You cannot make assumptions or take anything or anybody for granted.

Imagine if Iniobong had gone with a girlfriend or a male friend or brother! Perhaps, the result could have been different. Back in the day when we were growing up, we kind of moved in twos. It felt safer, even for guys. And the gals? They moved in twos or threes. Stories of rape or murder or both were few and far between. You invited a girl and she showed up with another girl (friend). So, you’re compelled to hook her friend up with a friend ( of yours), if you must get an ordinary kiss. People were way less adventurous and ironically the country was safer.

In this day and age, with what’s happening in Nigeria, beamed in the news and on social media, everyone, especially young women, must err in the side of caution. Many have disappeared like Iniobong and were never found ever. If at my age and professional standing, I still get invited for “job interviews”, then you can imagine the fate of younger school leavers desperate to genuinely earn a living.

I urge young people to shine their eyes. Go in pairs, if you must. In fact, take a male friend, if you the meeting must be in private. Otherwise ask for an open neutral and location to meet. Let others know where you’re going. Have a confidant, at least, to whom you can tell important things about you. It was dangerous to move about anonymously back in yesteryears and it is even more so today. By the way, ensure the location setting on your phone is activated so you can be easily tracked. It did help in Iniobong’s case, even if the help came a day after the fair.

May the soul of Iniobong Rest In Peace. I hope and pray her killers, now in police net, are adequately punished. My heart goes out to her and friends. I hope and pray people will learn from this horrific experience.

Once again, we all must be extremely cautious, men and women, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, old and young. Security around the country is generally bad. There are too many desperate and evil people masquerading as genuine “destiny helpers”. Be afraid. Be very afraid. It is not cowardice. It is wisdom.