THE POLICE AND THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC

THE POLICE AND THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC

The Nigerian police is a security "personnel" and should have the interest of the masses at the back of it's mind, but the reverse is the case. 
These days you find people getting in the employ of private investigators and security personnel. So I ask, does it mean that the Nigerian Police isn't capable of protecting the Nigerian citizens?

Don’t get me wrong. The Nigerian Police is a superb force when it wants to work. Tell me, if a poor man and another poor man has a case, the Nigerian Police would not only conclude investigation on the case; they would charge them to court without wasting time. But when the case involves a poor man and a rich man (whahala), it would be in favour of the rich man. If it ever gets to court that means somebody somewhere is interested in the case. This is rare anyway.

So that means different police for different category of citizens, but if the case involves politicians, this is a different story. The case would need constitutional review, interpretation and adjournment and adjournment and adjournment. Life continues. (no be their fault jare!). The image of the Police in the mindset of every Nigerian leaves a sour taste even when we don’t have contact with them, the impression already created is a bad one.
 
Except when one is involved in a criminal case, no Nigerian wants to have any contact with the police. Even to ask for direction, you dare beckon on them. The Policemen are saddled with crime prevention, protection of the unsecured, investigations etc, but here, the Police deliberately wait for you to commit a crime and prom!

They would arrest you. There is no distinction between a civil case and criminal case in our stations all cases are the same (in most case we don’t know our right, even when we know, double whahala), but why? The Nigerian Police has received accolade from far and wide during peace keeping operations in Middle-East, Africa and Europe, but back home the image is not impressive amongst us.

In the 70s and 80s the Police’s image was tremendous. I recall those days that the slogan ‘Police is your friend’ was displayed, everywhere you go they were really your friend. If a policeman visit your house you will earn the respect of your neighbours. If your friend is in trouble, you could walk to the station and bail him, kids would be proud to say they want to be policemen and women in future, you could scold a child just by beckoning to the police.

Those days that the average Nigerian could find solace and comfort with the police (not as criminal o) but those days are gone, forgotten and never to resurface. The big question is what went wrong? Where did Nigerian Police miss it all? The simple answer to all these lies with the successive military regime that has relegated the Nigerian police to the background, that has starve them of required equipments to function as Police and made them second fiddle in the affairs of policing the nation. The average policeman was made to work from 7am till 7pm Monday to Saturday, and their salaries would be paid 3 to 7 months after.
 
The government has forgotten that the policeman lives in the barracks but his rent is being deducted from his salary monthly, he goes to the same market meant for civilians, his children attend civilian schools and hospitals, all this earthly reward of hard labour is hoped on advance salary that he is not sure of. Psychologically the man is conditioned to have low self esteem, he accepts that which is thrown at him without complaining, and in order to survive he must devise means to make ends meet.
 
The Nigerian Policeman’s life was not insured. If he dies on active duty, the police would give him (befitting burial). No compensation for his immediate family, (in vain they came, in vain they leave), even civil servant goes on training, but due to the shortfall of personnel, the Nigerian policeman is left out of meaningful developments, how then would he contribute to the positive development of his own mental ability and skills?

P. C. Benneth ESQ