March 7, 2010
The Federal Government of Nigeria on Thursday March 04 2010 described the Nigeria Police Force as a failure. The Minister for Police Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Lame says:
“The current rate of crime across the nation, rising cases of extra-judicial killings, human rights violation, robberies, high profile assassinations and deliberate failure to comply with government directives are testimonies to the sheer incapacity or wilful defiance of the police high command to these recommendations and assignments at hand”-
In which the Inspector General Onovo responded by saying:
“The task ahead was not to apportion blame but to think on how to collectively move the Force forward. Since crime was always committed by youths, it would be better if jobs could be provided for them. Also, policemen are not the one manning our borders through which different sophisticated weapons are being brought into the country”. (So, don’t blame the police for the insecurity in the land?)
This is not funny, but I am afraid I have to laugh in criminologist’s way …hahahohoo!.
These people just don’t get it. Nigerians in the helm of power just don’t seem to get it.
You sometimes look at some of the ideologies being used by the Nigerian leaders to administer the country and you wonder why the country is not progressing. You actually begin to wonder if the Nigerian so called leaders live on the same planet with their counterparts in many other democratic, civilized and developed worlds where socio-economic and socio-political ideologies are administered unsentimentally for the benefit of their people and the interest of their beloved country.
We told them that, there is no where in the world where national police ever work in a multination and multicultural country like Nigeria they refused to budge as if Nigeria is on different planet from other countries where police meet nation’s aspiration of protecting life and property.
We told them that what you police is people’s culture and crime culture and not just the crime itself they refused to listen.
Dr. Lame and his cohorts are only fooling themselves and fooling Nigerians. National police in a multicultural and multination country like Nigeria will never work. Nigerian national police as presently constituted will never be effective and efficient in crime control till kingdom come. Pay Nigerian rank and file 3million Naira a month, if you like you can even pay them in dollars or pound sterling, give them all the modern policing gadgets and send them on daily training in America or Britain it will never make any changes in their ineffectiveness and inefficiency. National police in a democratic or any form of government will only serve the interest of people in government not the country or the people in general.
It would altogether be wrong to attribute rise in crime in Nigeria to poverty and social deprivation…yes. It has some influence, but the main cause of rise in crime in Nigeria is because the country is not cultured- for instance, are those looting the treasury poor as well? - The fact that the country is not cultured makes the work of policing difficult for the so called Nigerian national police.
Nigeria is not a nation but a country of many ethnic nations; each having its own distinctive culture. Nigeria is also a (pseudo?) democratic country; therefore we don’t need a national controlled police force but a police force that is being controlled by each ethnic nation (community police). For example, If Yoruba had her own community, states or ethnic police force it is the culture of Yoruba people that it will be policed and any non-Yoruba coming to stay, live or work in Yorubaland just have to abide with this culture or else he/she becomes a criminal automatically… the same applies to any other ethnic nation’s police force. This is what applies all over the world and this is what brought about the world known axiom of ‘When you in Rome you behave like a Romans’.
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Theory of culture does not come into being out of the blue it arises out of the hunches and intuitions of society who try to make sense of the world around them without outsider’s interference. Culture is a social practice; it’s not something that individuals possess but a social process in which individuals participates to meet identity protection. Apart from what is known as ethnic group’s culture, there is crime culture as well. In crime culture, anybody who claims to be a politician in Nigeria has joined the culture of looting the treasury which Nigerian politicians are known for all over the world. Ditto the Nigerian national police that are known to have a culture of corruption, bribery, ineffectiveness and inefficiency tendencies…this are what the police fight and not shadow chasing in the name of crime control.
Policing is not just a job; it’s a job that requires dedication, commitment and patriotism. It’s a professional job that requires strong commitments to serve your people, your cultural ethnic group (not your country). Just like the law of the land; police job is uncompromising job that has to be respected by the people.
Police job is therefore, a coordinating job and a job that requires cohesion and working as a team, but can anyone seriously sees people of different background, ideology and mentality working together without any conflict of interest or personality clash? This is the problem of national police in a multination and multicultural country like Nigeria; it will never work.
As I always asked; who is afraid of manageable, accountable and professional states or community police where rank and files in the force will be very dedicated, committed and patriotic to serve their people, their community and their ethnic nation (not your country) without fear or favour. In this day and age, countries all over the world- including old communist/socialist countries, i.e. Poland- are now moving into 21st centaury policing including decentralized, democratic and community police to fight crime in the society efficiently.
In Nigeria, we need a police that will turn up in your house if you have been burgled, raped or assaulted. We need a confident police with the power to arrest the local government officials that are embezzling the money meant for provision of infrastructures in their locality. We need a feared and respected police that would make everybody equal before the law- from the president to the beggars on the street. We need a criminal justice system and law enforcement agency that will enforce the law without fear or favour- not those spineless and yes sir! boots lickers officers who do not know what their job entails.
Each states commissioner should have his/her own budget NOT the NPC & IG totalitarianism- that controls every aspects of policing- the reason there are too much corruption and inefficiency in the force.
However, what is certain is that we cannot go on as we are? Decentralization of police services for the benefit of the people and the security of the country is the only way forward. Those with silly mentality that states, community or ethnic group policing will break up Nigeria needs to understand that equity, peace and justice is what unites nations and injustice and insecurity is what breaks up a country.
We are our own problem! Nigerian self-centred leaders are the problem of Nigeria and Nigerians progress and prosperity.
Tunde Salam
London UK
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“The current rate of crime across the nation, rising cases of extra-judicial killings, human rights violation, robberies, high profile assassinations and deliberate failure to comply with government directives are testimonies to the sheer incapacity or wilful defiance of the police high command to these recommendations and assignments at hand”-
In which the Inspector General Onovo responded by saying:
“The task ahead was not to apportion blame but to think on how to collectively move the Force forward. Since crime was always committed by youths, it would be better if jobs could be provided for them. Also, policemen are not the one manning our borders through which different sophisticated weapons are being brought into the country”. (So, don’t blame the police for the insecurity in the land?)
This is not funny, but I am afraid I have to laugh in criminologist’s way …hahahohoo!.
These people just don’t get it. Nigerians in the helm of power just don’t seem to get it.
You sometimes look at some of the ideologies being used by the Nigerian leaders to administer the country and you wonder why the country is not progressing. You actually begin to wonder if the Nigerian so called leaders live on the same planet with their counterparts in many other democratic, civilized and developed worlds where socio-economic and socio-political ideologies are administered unsentimentally for the benefit of their people and the interest of their beloved country.
We told them that, there is no where in the world where national police ever work in a multination and multicultural country like Nigeria they refused to budge as if Nigeria is on different planet from other countries where police meet nation’s aspiration of protecting life and property.
We told them that what you police is people’s culture and crime culture and not just the crime itself they refused to listen.
Dr. Lame and his cohorts are only fooling themselves and fooling Nigerians. National police in a multicultural and multination country like Nigeria will never work. Nigerian national police as presently constituted will never be effective and efficient in crime control till kingdom come. Pay Nigerian rank and file 3million Naira a month, if you like you can even pay them in dollars or pound sterling, give them all the modern policing gadgets and send them on daily training in America or Britain it will never make any changes in their ineffectiveness and inefficiency. National police in a democratic or any form of government will only serve the interest of people in government not the country or the people in general.
It would altogether be wrong to attribute rise in crime in Nigeria to poverty and social deprivation…yes. It has some influence, but the main cause of rise in crime in Nigeria is because the country is not cultured- for instance, are those looting the treasury poor as well? - The fact that the country is not cultured makes the work of policing difficult for the so called Nigerian national police.
Nigeria is not a nation but a country of many ethnic nations; each having its own distinctive culture. Nigeria is also a (pseudo?) democratic country; therefore we don’t need a national controlled police force but a police force that is being controlled by each ethnic nation (community police). For example, If Yoruba had her own community, states or ethnic police force it is the culture of Yoruba people that it will be policed and any non-Yoruba coming to stay, live or work in Yorubaland just have to abide with this culture or else he/she becomes a criminal automatically… the same applies to any other ethnic nation’s police force. This is what applies all over the world and this is what brought about the world known axiom of ‘When you in Rome you behave like a Romans’.
articleadslinks
Theory of culture does not come into being out of the blue it arises out of the hunches and intuitions of society who try to make sense of the world around them without outsider’s interference. Culture is a social practice; it’s not something that individuals possess but a social process in which individuals participates to meet identity protection. Apart from what is known as ethnic group’s culture, there is crime culture as well. In crime culture, anybody who claims to be a politician in Nigeria has joined the culture of looting the treasury which Nigerian politicians are known for all over the world. Ditto the Nigerian national police that are known to have a culture of corruption, bribery, ineffectiveness and inefficiency tendencies…this are what the police fight and not shadow chasing in the name of crime control.
Policing is not just a job; it’s a job that requires dedication, commitment and patriotism. It’s a professional job that requires strong commitments to serve your people, your cultural ethnic group (not your country). Just like the law of the land; police job is uncompromising job that has to be respected by the people.
Police job is therefore, a coordinating job and a job that requires cohesion and working as a team, but can anyone seriously sees people of different background, ideology and mentality working together without any conflict of interest or personality clash? This is the problem of national police in a multination and multicultural country like Nigeria; it will never work.
As I always asked; who is afraid of manageable, accountable and professional states or community police where rank and files in the force will be very dedicated, committed and patriotic to serve their people, their community and their ethnic nation (not your country) without fear or favour. In this day and age, countries all over the world- including old communist/socialist countries, i.e. Poland- are now moving into 21st centaury policing including decentralized, democratic and community police to fight crime in the society efficiently.
In Nigeria, we need a police that will turn up in your house if you have been burgled, raped or assaulted. We need a confident police with the power to arrest the local government officials that are embezzling the money meant for provision of infrastructures in their locality. We need a feared and respected police that would make everybody equal before the law- from the president to the beggars on the street. We need a criminal justice system and law enforcement agency that will enforce the law without fear or favour- not those spineless and yes sir! boots lickers officers who do not know what their job entails.
Each states commissioner should have his/her own budget NOT the NPC & IG totalitarianism- that controls every aspects of policing- the reason there are too much corruption and inefficiency in the force.
However, what is certain is that we cannot go on as we are? Decentralization of police services for the benefit of the people and the security of the country is the only way forward. Those with silly mentality that states, community or ethnic group policing will break up Nigeria needs to understand that equity, peace and justice is what unites nations and injustice and insecurity is what breaks up a country.
We are our own problem! Nigerian self-centred leaders are the problem of Nigeria and Nigerians progress and prosperity.
Tunde Salam
London UK
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