The officers and men of the Police Force should be well-provided for, argues JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA
At times, you look for the story, other times, the story finds you. I had just sent in my article on the need for state policing, without addressing the pathway forward for the National Police. As if one needed a reminder, I encountered a Nigerian police officer, that in many ways represents the average officer. In his story, you get to have an understanding of why the police is what it is and how, if things continue as they are, we are only going to get a worse Nigerian Police than the one we have now.
I was driving in Abuja when this police officer stopped me. He said, “argh! I dey see you for TV, show me love my brother”. I felt like he had seen me on TV really, because he sounded certain. But I told him, “you don dey confuse me with Seun Okin o. I no dey TV. Use another style my brother. Lol”. He said, “bros, God don bless you, you sef bless me”. I was weak because I didn’t think that needed any comeback other than an act of giving. However, that’s not even the story.
I had some notes in my pocket, so I handed them to him. Amidst that, he started ranting. He was probably thinking, “he will go say this on TV”. He ranted about their pay, the fact that the police camouflage costs N80k and he is not able to afford it, asking rhetorically, “how much be my salary?” He shared concerns about his family and the difficulty of raising them. Then he said, “my brother, see your police shoe na”. He asked that I take a look at his shoes.
Out of curiosity, I stretched my neck out the window to have a peak. My fellow Nigerian, when I saw his shoes, I told him, please let me park. That was the first time I ever parked without a police officer telling me to, in that context. His shoes weren’t just worn out. They were tattered. I have seen better shoes on mentally disturbed people on the road. His shoes reflect the prevailing stories of abandonment and inadequacy of the men, and sometimes women, that we expect to protect us. The officer couldn’t tell a more sorry story than the one reflected by his shoes. It was heartbreaking.
He starts to say, “I no fit steal. Dem no dey steal where I come from. But this thing no easy my brother”. This police officer was carrying a gun. I knew the implication of him turning into a criminal officer. By this time, I had collected his account number to transfer something meaningful, instead of just what I handed him earlier. He said, “make my wife call you thank you?” I was just lost in thoughts.
I knew my state police article was going to be published by THISDAY the next day, then I realised, state police or not, the National Police needed saving. From the perspective of this officer’s shoes, those shoes tell the story of the average Nigerian Police Officer. And the longer we don’t see it, the worse it gets, and we will all continue to pay for it.
As I drove away, I understood their almost perpetually low morale. The officer I saw, and the ones you need to start taking an extra look at, do not look like they are in such high spirits to want to defend the people. Their motto reads, ‘Police is your friend’, and many Nigerians have come to question that. The average Nigerian Police officer is not known for fitting into that expectation of ‘friend’. I see why. They appear more like our punishment for setting them up for a job that has little to no regard for their welfare, sets them up to raise their livelihood, in one form or another, by begging or forcing it out of citizens via various schemes, some as dangerous as outrightly kidnapping citizens and emptying their bank accounts. This piece is not about their failings, we know those, it is about the inputs the Nigerian society made to get the outcomes that, if you choose to be sincere, we just about deserve. We are reaping the police that we sowed.
Our police officers do not earn enough to take care of themselves and their family. In retirement, they do not get paid enough benefits to make them look back at their career with pride, and were they to die on the job, their families will most likely be left with regrets and if lucky, a token from the NPF to get by. Why is this the case? The easy answer is corruption. That the money intended for them and their welfare gets to be cornered by those who are meant to be looking out for them. This is true. But it is not the whole truth.
The Nigerian Police just does not get enough funding. To address this, the Nigerian Police Trust Fund (NPTF) was set up in 2019. In the six years since then, it has not made an impact on the issues it was intended to address; the welfare of officers, their training, equipment and infrastructure. What looked like a good idea on paper has so far floundered in implementation.
The Senate passed N124.4 billion budget for the NPTF last month. This sum, representing the highest it has ever gotten, is for the 2024 budget cycle. It got less than half of this, N57billion, in the 2023 budget. It is concerning that the sum has been approved outside the budget cycle it was intended for. You’d have to hope that there are measures in place to ensure that the money does not end up like the trillions of others that found their way into private pockets instead of what they were intended for. Spending money is and will never be enough, we must look at our officers and their welfare and ask how much of these expenses are reflecting in their lives. They are people with dreams too.
Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing
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