The Sniper and the celebrated scores of his Rifle

Opinion | by Benson Agoha | London

The activities of elite forces during their various missions around the world are usually not among dishes served for mass consumption.  Indeed they are often meals `cooked’ for an exclusive club of High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWI).

Paradoxically, in recent days, thanks to Holy Wood and the exception of one divergent elite soldier’s book, titled `The American Sniper', written by a former Navy SEAL named Chris Kyle, the American Sniper, now a movie celebrating his exploits as a sniper, is still surging at the box office across the pond.

It prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, to declare Feb. 2 `Chris Kyle Day' in the author’s home state of Texas.

Chris Kyle reportedly scored 160 direct hits (or kills) in his various missions – making him the most lethal sniper in American history.  Kyle’s recognition and the performance of the movie featuring Bradley Cooper (below) in cinemas has forced out another revelations – that the worlds most lethal sniper is actually a Brit. How awesome! Never mind `kill' isn't a word we like to hear under normal circumstances.

Chris Kyle's book may be surging at the box - good for the cinema and movie bosses - but the world's most lethal Sniper record is still resident on this side of the pond. And, according to an Evening Standard report, the Royal Marine elite soldier scored a huge 173, watch it,  "confirmed" hits (or kills) and we are not talking of chickens or foxes.

Put it into perspective, this is a shocking revelation of an otherwise priveleged information, from only two friendly sources. And we have not yet heard of the record held by the Russians, or the Germans, the French, the Nigerians, Chinese and more, nor are we ever likely to.

Neither do we care about the scores (kills) from countries and groups known for their irreverent targetting and wastage of prescious and priceless human lives.

Still if our minds are allowed to wander or venture to estimate a global score, one may begin to worry that the world's estimated population of 7billion people may actually not be correct.

Isn't it amazing how, words, hitherto regarded with revulsion, gradually acquires, in the first instance an element of respect, and then general acceptance - often made possible by advances in technology.

Consider the word `hacker' - a disdainful word that no one dared resonate or identify with, but which have now acquired a high degree of respect and general acceptability. So much so that global enterprises now consider is necessary to put a "hacker" on their payroll.  Many hackers now proudly describe how "it was necessary to hack a software, in other get an disturbing problem solved.

Of course, such problems have to have a huge impact on the public. As for the MNC's, like Google, that appoint hackers, one begin to undestand why.  It takes a thief to catch a thief.  So invariably, instead of allowing a thief to wreak harvock to your expensive establishment, you put another thief on your payroll to monitor and thwart theif efforts - hopefully, even before they strike.

What a paradox but let's ride the progressive wave of human existence.