All fingers at the Nigeria Police

Even when scores of officers and men of the Nigeria Police are being cut down daily on active duty, a report released by the World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI) produced by the International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace rated the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the worst in […]

Even when scores of officers and men of the Nigeria Police are being cut down daily on active duty, a report released by the World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI) produced by the International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace rated the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the worst in the world.

According to the report, the ability of the police to address internal security issues was measured, and the police in 127 countries were assessed across four key areas including  capacity, process, legitimacy and outcomes.

The Nigeria Police, the report said, underperformed in all the four areas mentioned, scoring just 0.255. Europe topped the global rankings while the best performing  police forces in Africa according to the report are Botswana with the highest point of 47, Rwanda, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Ghana, South Africa and Mali, in that order.

Funny enough, the same report said there are 219 police officers to every 100,000 Nigerians, well below both the index median of 300 and the sub-Saharan Africa region average of 268.

This it interestingly said, limits the capacity of the force to measure up to its law and order mandate.

Now, it appears to me that in compiling their findings, the authors of this report failed to put into consideration, Nigeria’s population peculiarity, compared to several other countries, especially in Africa. Considering the fact that the report said there are 219 police officers to every 100,000 Nigerians, same cannot be said of many other countries with similar development index as Nigeria. As it were, the more the population, the more the need for not only more police officers but also more of other professionals-doctors, nurses, engineers, journalists, soldiers, etc. In a situation where the number of such professionals is inadequate to the population, it is not the fault of that organization but should be directed at the government and agencies responsible for building enough manpower for the organization.    

The reported also noted that in terms of process, legitimacy and outcomes, the story is not different, which makes the force fall short of the required standard. Again, I stand to dispute this assessment because the Nigeria Police has on many fora proved to be one of the best in the world as shown by their performance in peace keeping and other foreign missions across the world. On the domestic front, most Nigerians know that when the police want to work, they really work well. For instance, they have succeeded in smashing many criminal gangs, dislodged criminal syndicates and rescued many victims from kidnappers. The actions of a few bad eggs should not be held on the majority. Even the hardest robbery gangs have been dismantled by the Nigeria Police at one point or the other.   

The police cannot and should not be blamed for the high levels of political terror which have been an issue for Nigeria since 1993, as in the report which gave Nigeria a score of 4 on the Political Terror Scale every year since then. The police is an internal security organ under the chief security officer of each state, and in the case of Nigeria, governors of the states, and they cannot go out of their way to undermine the political authority of the governors. The case of political terror therefore cannot be held on the police as it is known that some governors have at some point, even used their powers to thwart police operations by blocking arrests by the police. 

“Terrorism remains one of the greatest threats to internal security. Terrorism has increased dramatically over the last three years, with more than 62,000 people being killed in terrorist attacks between 2012 and 2014. The biggest rise in the last year occurred in Nigeria,” the report added. This to me is laughable because the synergy among Nigerian security agencies on counter-terrorism operations makes it clear to everyone who cares to know that the police force is only a unit in such operations and should not be held solely responsible for the rise in terrorism.

Besides, it sounds rather ridiculous to me to put the police forces of developed countries at the same assessment measurement with those in the developing countries as they naturally do not operate in the same environment, especially given the political, technological and infrastructural dissimilarities. Therefore, it is my view that this report should be revisited with a view to placing the Nigeria Police at its rightful place.

Benedict writes from Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State.

Let’s respect Nigeria’s living heroes

Nigerians have the habit of pouring encomiums on citizens who contribute to the development of the country mainly after their death, including the nation’s armed forces who lay down their lives to maintain the nation’s territorial integrity and secure lives and property of citizens. But I’d rather we  appreciate such efforts and sacrifices and shower such praises on those who deserve it while they are still alive. We should be celebrating the nation’s heroes in their presence, not wait till they are no more.

Mitchell Benedict, Karu, Abuja      

Is NBC going wild?

The recent fine on a radio station by the  National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for broadcasting what it called “vulgar lyrics” in rapper Falz’s ‘This is Nigeria’ viral hit song is anything but funny. Falz’s hit song, ‘This is Nigeria’ which has more than 12 million views on Youtube with a commentary on Nigeria’s numerous crises, is a cover version of Childish Gambino’s viral video, ‘This is America’, which primarily addresses being black and gun violence in the United States and touches on police brutality, and which instead of being banned, received praises and several nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Award. The NBC ban cannot hide knowledge of Nigeria’s current realities.   

Desmond Yakmut, Apapa, Lagos

CEOs, learn to surprise your staff

I was dazed to read a recent story of one Walter Carr, a young man in Alabama, United States, who walked 20 miles for his first day of work, and got surprised with a personal car by the Bellhops Moving Company CEO, Luke Marklin, in awe when he learned of the journey the young man had made to get to work. That is United States, where we usually rush to draw comparisons with Nigeria. Feats such as that performed by this CEO would not only draw tremendous respect and admiration from his workers but also spur them to greater productivity and confidence in their future and the future of the company. Our CEOs in Nigeria should learn from him and strive to give their staff a sense of belonging, hope and confidence instead of only always pushing to milk them dry, without anything to look forward to, even if a worker suddenly drops dead.

Kenechuckwu Okwudili, Aba, Abia State   

Swarming VIOs and motorists

There is a disturbing trend among the so-called Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) operating on major roads along the FCT. The VIOs have a penchant for constituting impediments to traffic movement by pouring on the highway in large numbers purportedly to search vehicle documents, especially in dangerous bends. This they do at tremendous risk to motorists and even themselves as they could be crushed by fast moving vehicles or cause serious accidents. While it could be argued that they are carrying out their statutory duty, their leadership should please try to educate them to carry it out with more sense of decency.

Stephanie Morka, Maitama, Abuja