Why do we need 10ft foot gates and 20ft walls around our homes? Is it to keep unwanted visitors out or to keep us safe from prying eyes within our comfort zone? Is it the peace it brings, knowing that no one can penetrate our fortress without going past security. An incident I came across recently highlights how these same security measures can become safety risks. There is a small well managed estate on a quiet street which has at least 20ft walls, electric wires round the walls, 15ft electric gates as well as security guards. Armed robbers stormed the residence some time back when the remote controlled gates were opened at night to let a resident in. The robbers had laid ambush at the gates, so that when it was opened they drove straight in behind the resident before it had closed. The security guards were asleep and were duly disarmed without any resistance. The robbers, numbering about six, took the resident hostage, went through his flat first, used him to get other residents to open their doors since they knew him and recognised his voice at their doors, tied them up one by one, took their mobile phones and cleaned out their flats one after the other.
This was done over a two hour period in the dead of night; no one outside the gates heard or saw anything! So what purpose did the gates really serve? Did it protect the residents or the armed robbers? Once the gates were closed, no one knew what was going on behind them till morning when the Mallams on the road noticed no one had come out of the estate by 10am, and called the attention of passing police men, who tried in vain to gain entrance and after banging on the gates for ages, mobilised a construction firm nearby to use their digger and break down the gates! As we say in Nigeria to such a situation “see wahala o!”
Thank goodness none of the residents were harmed,well outwardly anyway and from what was reported! Obviously no one knows what really went on behind closed doors; a couple of the residents were single women, who moved out immediately!
On a popular estate along the Lekki Expressway, near Chevron, none of the 600+ houses in the estate have walls above 2ft or gates above 4ft, so that everyone can see what is going on in their neighbour’s house. This may not be acceptable to some, but the estate has two entrance gates which are heavily manned by security guards and MOPOL. So far in its eight years of existence, it has not experienced any breaches in its security. The estate is highly regulated, visitors are vetted and no one is allowed to put up high walls, although are allowed to plant hedges and trees if they are bothered by people seeing into their compounds.
I was in Gambia on a working trip a while ago and was given a tour around one of their housing estates. The only house that had high walls around it with barbed wires and a gate was occupied by a Nigerian! Gambia is one of the safest, crime free countries in Africa, but we carry our instilled fear for our safety everywhere we go. We had a laugh about it, but it is a sad reflection of what our country has become security wise and what it has done to our minds.
Gates that obscure the view of houses are a symptom of our times and should really be looked at carefully, whether they are security protectors or security threats?! It should be there to protect and not trap us, the same with burglary proof bars! We have all heard of people who have died in fires in their homes, because they could not get out of the window or doors due to the burglary bars on them. I am an advocate of retractable burglary bars only accessed from a safe point within the room and also gates that allow you to see who is outside your compound, as long as an intruder cannot gain access through the gate. A lot of luxury developments have CCTV cameras, armed security and other security measures to entrance doors, so that it will be a challenge for anyone to breach their security. If however, you cannot afford all these security measures, then don’t live in a remote area without other neighbours around and get good external lighting and quality security front and back door to your house. Small simple security measures go a long way to keeping one safe
May 2015 bring peace and joy to you all. Amen!
Caroline A. Akinlotan
