‘Police Radio, TV‘ll tackle criminality in Nigeria’
Abbas Jimoh Daily Trust: How was the NPBS idea conceived? Wesley: Having lived in Europe; especially the United Kingdom, for about 25 years, the idea was conceived in 2010, but after doing my feasibility study on the security challenges in the country, I presented it to the Nigeria Police Force management in 2012. The NPBS […]
Abbas Jimoh
Daily Trust: How was the NPBS idea conceived?
Wesley: Having lived in Europe; especially the United Kingdom, for about 25 years, the idea was conceived in 2010, but after doing my feasibility study on the security challenges in the country, I presented it to the Nigeria Police Force management in 2012.
The NPBS is currently receiving wide acceptability both in Nigeria and outside the country. For instance, after my interview with Fox News in the United States, we have had partnership with 228 radio stations in the United States and Canada.
There were lots of bombings in Adamawa, Maiduguri, Yobe and other parts of the country and there were also crises in the Niger Delta. I decided that one of the best ways to nip the ugly situation in the bud, to throw a bomb that could go to any distance through the media. With that, I came up with the idea of educating the society through the media. It is a platform for education, health and security, but security is the main issue.
So, we are thinking of running a platform in which over 78 per cent of it is going to be purely in security and trying to make people know their rights as citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And as well, for the police to have a voice to counter any false rumour, false impression in the society and make the country a safer country through effective information and communication policing.
DT: Apart from that, what else did you set out to achieve?
Wesley: My focus is all on security because if the environment is secured every other thing follows. For instance, if there is security of lives and property, foreign investors would be willing to invest in the country.
DT: Is the image of the Police also part of your consideration?
Wesley: You have to rebrand the image of the police by bringing the community and the police together. We have to bridge the gap; we have to build trust. For the police, see something, say something, have a voice. If the public has a voice and the police know their right, and the public know their right, it makes everybody to work together perfectly because you can see something and say, “Oh, call the police.”
I remember, about 17 years ago, I went to Germany and my cousin drove down to see me and we got talking. And just because we were both blacks and we were just laughing, somebody who was at the window, an old woman, saw us and within the next couple of minutes, we saw German policemen. They asked us about our documents, they wanted to know why we were there and they wanted to know what we were doing in the country: that is effective policing. They see something and say something.
DT: What specifics do the NPBS entail?
Wesley: It is about media: television, just like you have television about security matters; online media, and as well, a radio station where local languages are spoken and an emergency command control and communication centre.
DT: What is their usefulness?
Wesley: The usefulness of the television is about people watching the television and seeing what is going on. For example, if you have to travel between Abuja and Kogi State or Abuja and Kano, if you watch the television, you should be able to know the security situation between Abuja and Kogi State, whether the road is free or not.
The radio station is about educating people in local languages. For instance, look at what happened in Yola recently. The problem was that there was no avenue of contacting the police at the beginning of the incident. So, we have been working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and have agreed to issue the 112 emergency command control response number where you can call. Whether you have money on your phone or not, just dial that number and it will ring straight at the headquarters where we will set up the emergency command control centre. The centre takes the call and pushes it back to the state; the state command dispatches it to the nearest divisional police officer who will in turn send men of the Nigeria Police to the crime scene. The same goes with the online, where information is passed across for easy access and dissemination.
DT: What preparations have you made in terms of power supply?
Wesley: When you talk of power supply, don’t forget it can be sourced from different angles. There is the renewable energy, and coming from the West, I don’t think there is going to be power problem.
DT: Is this a public-private-partnership?
Wesley: It is a public-private-partnership with the Nigeria Police.
DT: In terms of service delivery, are you targeting the entire country or some parts?
Wesley: It is a national stuff in the 36 states and Abuja. We want to make sure we get it right in Nigeria before moving to other African countries.
DT: Have you reached out to the states?
Wesley: We had a presentation with the Nigerian Governors Forum.
DT: How was their response?
Wesley: It was good: we had people like Governor Rochas Okorocha who said gone were the days police went around with guns. He said media was now the tool. We also have people like Governor Nasir el-Rufai who also embraced it. The governors were impressed after the presentation between the NPBS, the forum and the Inspector General of Police at the Presidential Villa. We have all the governors who see their vision in line with what we are doing and want to be part of it. We had a presentation with Local Content; we had a presentation with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other organisations who want to be part of it.
DT: What response do you have for sceptics?
Wesley: Like I said, it is all about educating the society; real time information, and as well, an input in bringing investors because it is going to be a platform where every investor is going to look at.
DT: How would the concept revolutionarise the Nigerian security apparatus?
Wesley: It is going to be a checkpoint as well for the police. It is not just for the benefit of the populace. The police have to be checked as well because when you see something, say something and you call the media. Don’t forget there are smart phones which you can use to video whatever is going on either on the highway or within your environment and pass it across. There is no hiding place for the police, no hiding place for the public.
DT: What about allegations of police taking bribes on the highways or within the local community?
Wesley: A journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Once the awareness is created, the police as a body or an organisation would start checking itself because if they know that somebody is going to video something and send it to the NPBS and NPBS is going to establish it by broadcasting it to the nation. I am sure nobody wants to get his name damaged. So, with that, I think the police will be at the point of being alert. If it is a habit: it is going to change.
DT: Who are those to man the service?
Wesley: We have highly educated staff from other agencies that are going to join us. For instance, we have ex-BBC staff, CNN and from foreign countries. But majority of our staff would be Nigerians.
DT: So, they are not all going to be police officers.
Wesley: Not at all, but we are going to be working with them and there would be training for them because after some time, you would be seeing a policeman or a policewoman in front of the camera as newscaster.
DT: Will the Nigeria Police fully take over NPBS some day?
Wesley: Yes: it is going to be after a period of 20 years.
DT: How would NPBS impact on elections in the country?
Wesley: It is going to be through policing the nation through effective information communication, saving lives and property and doing the right thing, creating awareness for people to know that someone is watching like a watchdog because you see something and say something. Through the technology being installed, the applications on peoples’ phones and the drones, issues of election mismanagement would be a thing of the past with timely information.