case .The irony of this statement is evident in the hostile and aggressive manner that
Nigerian policemen bark out orders to fellow compatriots on our roads and in their stations
while discharging their duties. We are familiar with exclamations such as hold it! Park well!
Put on your inner light! Etc. These commands are rendered in bellicose tones and the
motorist is expected to respond with immediate alacrity in order not to draw the ire of the policeman .An average policeman in Nigeria is unfriendly, perennially angry, haggard,
ill-trained, ill-equipped, and constantly cuts an alienated picture in the eyes of the public.
He is also poorly clad in heat-absorbing black uniform, fagged out, grossly underpaid and
housed in the most squalid, ill-maintained and decrepit habitation known as barracks.
During the last nationwide protest organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress, a
detachment of policemen in Wuse area of Abuja made attempts to dissuade protesters
from marching into a cordoned area. They were not properly dressed as policemen. Most
of them sported jeans trousers and T-shirts. The only paraphernalia that made them pass
for policemen were their rifles and bullet-proof vests. Similar scenarios are commonplace
across the country and are emblematic of the complete breakdown of ethical values and
discipline in our police force. Who really is in charge of our policemen? Who disciplines
them?
The word 'police' conjure different meanings to different people depending on how
pleasant or unsavoury one's experience with the police has been. To some, it is an agency
that visits untold hardship on hapless road users by setting up illegal tollgates otherwise
known as checkpoints.
At these checkpoints, illegal extortion of money from innocent citizens is brazenly
perpetrated with unsanctionable impunity. They do not only collect bribes, but volunteer to
provide change to the motorists in event of him/her possessing only higher denominations
of naira notes. Police checkpoints are business centres run by the police and surreptitiously endorsed by
the police authorities. In Lagos, commuter bus drivers part with varying amount of money
daily to these officers .In a bid to ensure that they are not 'taxed' twice in one location, an
access code is sometimes given to the 'co-operating' drivers so that they will be spared
from 'double taxation' on their return trip. This practice is very popular with the police patrol
team stationed around Jibowu area and Agege motor road. Sadly, this shameful practice
has become the norm and the police authorities are turning a blind eye to this.
A trip to Ladipo automobile parts market in Lagos mainland will further throw some light on
the state of decadence prevalent in the force. At a particular spot, there is a convergence
of these men in black and their counterparts from sister security organizations. They
provide illegal escort services mainly to buyers of used automobile engines and other
sundry wares like refrigerators, television sets etc. They are also hired for a fee by
commercial bus drivers to accompany them in a bid to keep street urchins and touts from
demanding tolls. Few years ago, the police high command had come out to roundly
condemn this practice and warned against it. Yet, it remains a thriving business.
The police have become a beggarly outfit. Majority of patrol vehicles in its fleet are
gestures of corporate social responsibilities and sheer benevolence from philanthropic
organizations and corporate bodies. They are either donated by state governments,
bankers’ committee or public spirited individual .The vehicles are wont to deteriorate to
unserviceable state within a short period of time as they are not routinely maintained and
serviced .The gate of a particular police station in my neighborhood has this inscription-
‘Donated by the Welders Association’. Policemen and military men do not pay transport
fares when they avail themselves of intra-city transport services. The police have become
an orphan that ekes out a living on charity. What happens to budgetary appropriations
meant for the police? Supporting the police is a noble cause, but the stark reality is that
modern policing has gone beyond dependence on voluntary donations and handouts.
The police in Nigeria are an endangered species that may be heading toward extinction if
very urgent and radical steps are not taken to tackle the festering decay bedeviling the
force. The Police Service Commission and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs must come
up with a pragmatic blueprint that would restore the police to its pride of place in the
nation’s security landscape. Constant training and retraining, proper housing, occupational
hazards insurance scheme, robust salary structure and an effective pension scheme must
be given priorities so as to boost the ebbing morale of the rank and file.
Professional and ethical discipline should be the hallmark of the service. The new acting
Inspector-General must not tread the same path that his predecessors treaded. He must
stamp out corruption in the service. He must wage a war against illegal extortion and police
brutality on our roads. Erring officers must be shown the way out and summarily
prosecuted. The blatant use of command language which was the order of the day during
military rule must be discarded. The police must learn how to behave and function in a
democracy. In sane climes, policemen are civil, decorous and friends indeed. The
Inspector-General, in concert with his commissioners, should revamp the battered image of
the service and provide exemplary leadership.
Special squads should be set up and trained to handle the new wave of crime such as
terrorism and cyber-crimes that are currently holding sway in the country.
Akanimo Asuquo Sunday
Lagos, Nigeria.
akanimosunday@yahoo.com
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