HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR GATEMAN (SECURITY GUARD)?

Gatemen – a low budget version of security men - as they are popularly called in Nigeria is an occupation that has found and met the needs of a whole lot of households across the length and breadth of Nigeria for decades.

Popular opinion will say that this occupation is predominated by those from the middle belt and northern extraction of the country but that does not exclude the fact that other individuals from other parts of the country hasn’t joined the foray especially easterners. Few years ago, it would have been odd or incredulous to hear that this very proud region would ever venture into such an occupation; but as they say "change is the only permanent state of affairs." 

The middle class families could actually boast of having employed a gateman at one point or the other or could even been paying one currently but how well do they know these men manning this positions? These men are often in-charge of opening and closing the gates, washing and ensuring the cleanliness of the vehicles in the home, trimming and mowing the lawns, guarding and keeping their bosses properties within the compound or premises. Sometimes these men even have the privilege of entering the house, mingling, drinking, partying and sometimes entrusted with watching the kids at home in the absence of any adult in the home.

 

‘But how well do you know your gateman?’

Ikechukwu who hails from Nnewe in Aninri formerly in Agwu local government area of Enugu State but was born and bred in Kaduna, is a jolly good fellow in his late 20’s. People gravitated towards him partly because he was amiable and displayed excellent mannerisms. He got a security (gateman) job through a referral at a popular and multi-apartment called Prince and Princesses in the outskirts of town and his qualities paid off. He soon was in the good books of all the occupants and always curried favours from them. He was often open to errands and soon landed himself another job just opposite the building to secure an MTN mast in the evenings which he could easily manage due to proximity. “This must be a man of talents” anyone could have could have concluded.

However, not all that glitters is gold. Most often than not, ‘what is’ is a matter of semantics. ‘Who we know’ can often be misplaced with, ‘who we think we know’ because what happened later on couldn’t have been predicted by even the 2010 SouthAfrican World Cup Octopus. After a cheerful burglary of hanging cooking utensils through the kitchen window of an absent occupant and a friendly recovery of the said stolen items by the occupant with a warning likened to that given to a close friend not to repeat the act and one of the utensils left for him to keep using.

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Ikechukwu was set to deliver another grand attack but this time to be experienced by more tenants and a few others in the neighbourhood. This time around cooking utensils was just an intro to his bigger scheme cause he made away with more precious items including phones and MP3 players; some which he got from some occupants under the pretence that he wanted to make calls with their phones. Those people gave him their phones because they trusted him and he knew. Till date, Ikechukwu is yet to be found and he is not picking his calls either. He took some of his valuables and abandoned his position. 

BIG QUESTION IS WHO DO WE TRUST?

Ikechukwu was almost flawless in character and communication but his motives only he could tell. This should serve as a deterrent to the public. Be careful about the caliber of persons you employ to man your gates because the world we live in now is a huge mess. You should be safe and your family too. Always spell out your boundary to those working under you so they don’t get too familiar. It might seem rash but it is a bitter pill we must all be ready to swallow.