The novelty that goes with writing this weekly column over the years is the readership that it has developed all over Nigeria and beyond, most with positive critiques and in the process freeing me to share in my journeys and exposure. Some of the critiques from readers have been that the sharing has not gone far enough, particularly to the ruling class, because of the way we have been continuously repeating same mistakes that have made the nation look like a failed state and a laughing stock to the rest of the world, especially Africans.
I have realized in all my travels, shamefully, that the rest of the African continent no longer look up to Nigeria the way they did some decades ago partly because of the security situation in Nigeria, which has become a talking point, and most insurance institutions abroad no longer insure businesses that have to do with Nigeria or some businesses that want to travel to Nigeria, coupled with the fact that the Nigerian Police can no longer guarantee security most of the time.
Recently, I met an old friend in Yaounde, Cameroon, who had his university education in Nigeria in the 1970s and he faced me with a very simple question that touched me, he said, “Old boy, what is happening to the Nigeria?”
My answer was simple: we are all working on it hoping that it will get better some day. He particularly touched on the situation of the Nigerian Police Force and he told me about an encounter he had with the police between arriving at the airport and his hotel in Victoria Island; the story I cannot print, but he reminded me of the Nigerian Police Force that was the envy of many countries when he lived in Nigeria, the police force that was adjudged to be one of the best in the world that performed to world class standard during the many United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world. The pity of the whole matter is that those under 60 that are in power today do not know about this particular police.
Over five years ago, I wrote a piece in this column, titled “Policing (or Lack of) and Nigeria”.
I’ll repeat some of the article and to disagree with some of the critics that the sharing of my journey did not go far enough because of the issue of the Nigerian Police, one of the most important parts any nation’s development is a matter that concerns every citizen.
One evening, during a recent festive period in my hometown, I decided to visit a friend in the neighbouring town, and, as is customary for me in my hometown, I drove myself. All over my state, I happen to be known as the Desert Warrior. So, as I drove to my destination, I came across a police checkpoint where about four policemen were stationed.
As soon as they noticed me, they began chanting, “Desert Warrior, your boys are here.” It was the festive period, so I chose to pull over, and as I did, one of them ran over, and I gave him N2,000 for all of them. Immediately I did, he put one of the notes in his pocket and held up the other shouting to his colleagues that the Desert Warrior had given them N1,000. I almost reversed to challenge him, but he was carrying a gun, and I didn’t want to be the victim of an accidental discharge.
This only goes to show just how corrupt the average policeman is, even to his fellow mates. So, how far down can we go before something is done to check the level of policing in our country, Nigeria? If they are not sufficiently trained and equipped to carry out their functions, how then do we expect them to solve complicated cases?
How many cases of corruption have the police, EFCC, or ICPC successfully prosecuted? How many people have our courts and judges put away for corruption? We live as if we make our own laws as we journey through life. We still see laws as those produced by colonial masters to punish us, hence, we must beg and bribe our ways through the law courts when we cannot bully our way through.
How did the police get to this stage? In the second half of the 1980s, DSP Alozie Ogugbuaja, in an extraordinary treatise decrying the poor funding of the police institution, informed a coup-weary nation that it was in the over-arching interest of the Nigerian Army to keep the police down as an ineffective force. Ordinarily, a well-trained and well-funded police force should be able to detect a coup in the making, prevent a coup, or investigate a coup. Whether by commission or omission, this poor funding of the police force has continued to this day.
Worse is the practice of embezzlement and fraud within the highest echelon of the institution, exacerbating the already precarious and dangerous position the police are in. The consequence is that the police force is now ill-equipped to execute its primary mandate in any mandate or form. Our police cannot even mount the simplest of sting operations or infiltrate a gang in pursuit of law enforcement, or for the purpose of breaking them up.
Presently, it has been reported that over half of the police force is engaged in personal and private security details for politicians, public servants and the rich. Under such circumstances, it is little wonder that gangs and militias can form, fester and grow into major terrorist organisations like Boko Haram, separatist movements like MASSOB, tribal militias like OPC, Arewa Youths, MEND, etc.
Today, with all due respect, our police force is a pitiable sight. A good number of them are left on the various highways where they beg for money with their guns in tow, harassing and intimidating hapless motorists. Their police stations and barracks are places you do not want to be seen going into or exiting. Some of them claim that the upkeep of their stations are sometimes funded in part by the illegal tolls they collect on the highways, and the bail monies they collect from victims of their frequent and sometimes frivolous arrests in the communities they were meant to protect in the first place. Some also claim that they are supposed to replace their uniforms from their meagre resources, which explains why some of them who are not corruptly resourceful appear in tattered uniforms.
Furthermore, the security challenges facing this nation are made worse by the porous borders and inadequate security that exist with our neighbors. Migrants from such countries like Cameroun, Niger, Chad and the Republic of Benin pour into Nigeria in their millions and do not return to their countries. This phenomenon bloats our population so much so that we cannot keep up with the census, but rather give estimates that are frequently being revised.
This is bad for socio-economic planning, it is bad politics and it breeds courtship with danger. A case in point is the migration of hostile Fulani herdsmen, some of who are unauthorized aliens in the country. The action of these marauders can pitch this nations into another civil war. These are civilians with arms carried in the open, and our police look the other way. Incredible! This cannot happen in other ECOWAS countries. Any Nigerian caught in these countries without any valid immigration papers will be dumped in jail before he can say his name.