By Douglas Ogbankwa Esq
As it every thing in Nigerian, the Police is most unfunded and disregarded by the Nigerian political class. There is a deliberate ploy to reduce the capacity of the Police to detect investigate and prosecute crime, because once that is done , some of the goons used during elections will be in jail .This goes across all the political parties, as it is a class thing .It is a class interest.
The deliberate ploy to reduce the Police in Nigeria includes, reducing them even in retirement.This article was inspired by my interaction with a Deputy Superintendent of Police, (Supol) whom I interacted with on a Nigerian Express Way recently.The old man could be my father or your father .He is about to retired and he is very scared of retirement.Reason :the pittance he will be earning every month as pension and the chicken change he will get as gratuity.
The case of this Supol is the story of thousands of Police Officers and Men in Nigeria.It is the story of dispair , the story of the wickedness of a few , to deprave many and feast on their sweat.The Police hierarchy has little or nothing to do with this .They themselves are victims of the well scripted ploy of the political class since the President Ibrahim Babangida Administration to reduce the Nigerian Police .This was done because Babangida was scared of the very effective police he meant, that they had the capacity to topple his Government.
Many will remember the altercation between Ibrahim Babangida and then Nigerian Inspector General of Police Retired IGP Etim Inyang ,which stemmed from a disagreement over many things among which were investigations over a high profile killing of a journalist.Etim Inyang stormed out of Doddan BARRACKS , the then seat of Government in Lagos , after which he honourably resigned
There is a Pension Mafia that takes the Police Pension as their major merchandise.
It is important we advocate for the removal of the Police from the contributory Pension Scheme , to encourage them to work hard and for us to have the morale fibre to demand for acceptable behavior from them .
The Nigerian Army, Navy Air force ,State Security Services and others have left the scheme and their operatives have high morale .You can not demand for the best from your Police , when you give them the worst .
If we wanted our Police to work better , we should increase their welfare .Police Men that do 24 hours should be paid over time .Those who travel out of their state of operations should be given Tour Duty Allowance (DTA).Our Police Officers and men are human beings .They have blood flowing in their veins .If we treated them well as a Nation and as a people , they will reciprocate.A Society deserves the Police that it has , because the Police is a creation of the Society .If you do not retire as an Assistant Inspector General of Police and above , you are on a long thing on retirement. A Commissioner of Police at retirement goes home with a pittance monthly. Now imagine, what the other gets .For those who do not know , a Commissioner of Police is equivalent to a Major General in the Nigerian Army (Not the Nigerian Airforce o). The Nigerian Government recently acquired about 5 Tocano Jets for the Nigerian Army .The Cost of one Tocano Jet will give operational vehicles to each of the over 1200 Divisional Police Headquarters in Nigeria. See how the Nigerian Police is being underfunded ?Each Police Division must have at least two operational vehicles for us to have good policing in Nigeria and the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and Officers-In- Charge (OCs) , must be held accountable for their maintenance, while money should be provided for same .
Men of the Rank and File of the Nigerian Police are like national orphans .The barracks are being gradually taken away ,starting with the ones in Lagos Island .The Police Hierarchy should apply the Police Budget the way it is .They should renovate the barracks .As the pidgin proverb goes Who dey cry , dey see road.
About the Author: Douglas Ogbankwa Esq., Lawyer ,Writer and Policy Analyst is the Convener of the Security Situation Room. You can contact the writer via douglasogbankwa@gmail.com
