Bring back police recreation room
Recreation room then was a place where members of the Rank and File recreate and while away their time when off duty or on Annual Leave. The place was equipped with gaming facilities such as Poker, Whot, Ludo, Eyo, Draft etc, in some of them a Radio-gram was provided for those interested in local news […]
Recreation room then was a place where members of the Rank and File recreate and while away their time when off duty or on Annual Leave. The place was equipped with gaming facilities such as Poker, Whot, Ludo, Eyo, Draft etc, in some of them a Radio-gram was provided for those interested in local news and music. In the North many listened to news from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa service. Discussions and gossips took place on various subjects such as the Sgt. Major being very harsh on them and posting unfavoured ones to beat area they considered infested by ghosts at night because of its proximity to a cemetery (BEAT: an area allocated to a policeman to patrol). One would gossip that constable ‘A” had slaughtered a cock in the middle of the month and wandered where he got the money to buy the cock!
A recreation room in the barracks was not for recreation alone; it also used to be a temporary accommodation for newly transferred men before they were properly accommodated. Recruits arriving from Police College were lodged there before being posted to various stations. In addition social functions used to be held at the Recreation Room during the Muslim and Christian Festivals including marriage ceremonies. I just wonder whether recreation room exists in the barracks anywhere in the country now. There are of course police Officers Messes in all the state capitals and also Inspectors Mess in some of the state commands. Though I am aware of inadequate accommodation for policemen generally throughout the country, I would like to advise the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr. Abubakar to consider providing recreation rooms for the Rank and File in the barracks to be built in the future. The future recreation room should be equipped with satellite dish, television sets and DVD players. Carpets and cushion chairs should also be provided unlike those years of yore when only bare floor, wooden chairs, benches and mats were provided. Gaming facilities in addition to indoor games should be provided should include table tennis, Badminton and Squash court. These in-door and outdoor games will make most policemen in the barracks available at all times. Police commands with the above mentioned gaming facilities located in the barracks will produce good players in each game in the future among members of the Rank and File who will represent the country in International competitions.
S. B. Mohammed is a retired commissioner of police