The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) under the next political dispensation should be renamed the Nigeria Police Department (NPD). The current name (Force) is an anachronism in this day and age or modern world. The signification of ‘Force’ is antithetical to the meaning of the ‘Department.’ The truism of the name has always been evident in the Police Force and its exigency of policing! The Police Department in a modern world should have a human face in the discharge of its duties. The present arrangement of the Nigeria Police Force is a shadow of itself if we dare to compare its policing and professionalism with its counterparts in the western world. The Nigeria Police Force is grossly not meeting the 21st century challenges in policing and human capital development. With adequate funding and accountability, the Nigeria Police will be competing favorably with its counterparts in the western hemisphere.
It is imperative that every state of the federation be made autonomous to manage its own Police Department. As a member of one of the law enforcement agencies in the United States, I have always loved and admired anything in uniform. Police Department is a glorious profession that enjoys public respect and good remuneration in the civilized world. It is extremely scarce to read in the news about any policeman or policewoman extorting money from the public here in the States. It will amount to unnecessarily sentencing oneself to prison terms by engaging in it. The Police Department might have its ugly sides in the discharge of its duties to the public, but it is a prestigious profession that protects the public; cares for its manpower resources and provides adequate retirement benefits for its men and women.
There were recent pictures on social media showing the women in the Nigeria Police Force in one of the States in Nigeria. There was another one showing a picture of a man, a Nigerian-American officer in his esteemed uniform in one of the States in the United States. In these two parallel circumstances, and in the parallel universe, when the men and women in the Law Enforcement Agencies are well remunerated, equipped, kitted and glorified, it will be extremely difficult to ‘give and take’ bribe from the public, and in the system.
The pictures below is the immaculate appearance we want for our men and women in uniforms, and all law enforcement agencies in Nigeria. The department’s badge should be badge of honor, not for harassment and intimidation of the people they’re meant to protect. When this is done, everyone with his or her in appearance will have a sense of esteem and belonging to be in the department. All players in the agency will be so proud to carry out their professional duties with maximum respect and professionalism. The egregious activities in the current Nigeria Police force will be consigned to the dustbin of the country’s history. Believe me! It’s doable!
The Police Department must train its workforce, and if its men and women are well trained to pay a “PRICE” i.e.(Professionalism, Responsibility, Integrity, Courage and Efficiency), the Law enforcement agency will adequately discharge its constitutional mandate and responsibilities with utmost professionalism and respect for itself and the public in general.
Meanwhile, Nigerian government should be cognizant of the protracted problems in the police Force, and be proactive to suggestions from the concerned citizens of Nigeria. The Nigerian Police Force is being poorly remunerated. The department is currently in the shadow of itself. It has grossly been under-funded, and it has been neglected for too long. Here in the United State, in some States of the union, an officer in the Police Department take-home pays per annum are not less than $50,000.00 that is, =N=15,950,000.00 per annum in Nigerian local currency. Nigeria Police suppose to be one of the highest paid professionals in Nigeria. They’re the entity that ensure compliance of the public with the rule of law. The NPF is one of the decayed parts of the system.
When you see a Policemen and women in their expected professional and impeccable appearances, it will engender effectiveness, sense of professionalism and patriotism. Nigerians usually perform brilliantly well when they go out to train with their professional counterparts abroad. But when they come back home, they usually revert to extortion from the hapless Nigerian citizens. They become a weaponized tool of the rich and the powerful to oppress the deprived and vulnerable members of the society. Some of them are bad eggs with the harbinger of criminals among the populace.
Sadly, it is not even uncommon today to see the Nigerian Policemen and women serving as orderly, or as security apparatus to religious men and women, and to the affluent members of the Nigerian society. This is a ridiculous activity that must stop now, and under the next political dispensation.
Security is not convenient anywhere. The consistency and enforcement of expectations provide the basis for effective security. Policing is a task that requires special attention to provide adequate security for the teeming population in the country. Nigeria should not be an exception to the rule of providing security for sustainable development. The welfare of men and women in uniforms with adequate training must be an urgent assignment for Buhari’s administration and the incoming one. The Department of administration in the Police Force must establish a caretaker committee to look into the welfare packages and training of our men and women in uniforms. This must be done with every sense of urgency it deserves to provide a sense of esteem, patriotism and to protect the lives and property of the citizens. Nigeria is losing its finest citizens to the needless breakdown of law and order in the country. The Nigeria Police Force must be funded, re-organized or totally overhauled to engender security, sustainable policing and professionalism in the Nigerian system.
Nigeria must be revived to be a great country again!
