The police should be well-provided for
For many Nigerians, it was very shocking to learn that the police lost a total of 435 officers and men within the first six months of this year. The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, made the disclosure while speaking at a session held with members of the Police Community Relations Committee and traditional rulers in Osogbo, Osun State. Yet as tragic as that news may seem, the figure could even be higher given our inaccuracy in keeping record.
That such a calamity could befall the Nigerian Police is rather pathetic, considering the fact that this is the institution that the public looks up to for protection. But even more worrisome is that if the decimation of the police force continues at this rate, then the United Nations' recommended ratio of one police officer to 400 citizens would be jeopardised in our already grossly under-policed country.
It is indeed noteworthy that last year, the former Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Caleb Olubolade disclosed that the number of the serving police officers in the country was 370,000. And there has been no new recruitment since then to have increased the number even when Olubolade spoke about some plans that were never carried out before the government he served was voted out.
While we must therefore commend Arase for the uncommon honesty in disclosing the number of policemen who have died in the line of duty, it is also important that he ensures that the families of the deceased officers are well taken-care of, with their entitlements paid to their next of kin. The pertinent question remains: are there adequate compensation schemes to take care of those left behind by police officers killed on the job? This is a question Arase and his team must answer.
Even those Nigerians who for one reason or the other do not like the police must admit that their job is a dangerous one as they confront the brutalities that the rest of society only imagine or watch on television from the comfort of their homes. Yet, all they get for their efforts are criticisms from the same people they are expected to serve and sometimes lay down their lives for. To the extent that there is a strategic relationship between the well-being of the police and the security and safety of the nation and the citizens, it is only when we take due care of the rank and file that we can legitimately demand that they perform their duties with optimum zeal.
However, while the welfare of the police is important, we must also look at other critical issues like the alertness of Nigerian police officers, the kind of training they acquire, their dedication to duties and how equipped they are for what ordinarily is a difficult job made even more so by the operating environment in our country. Those are the challenges that Arase would have to deal with. But the need to recruit more men into the force is more important now than ever before.
Just recently, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Police Service Commission (PSC) to recruit about 10,000 men and women into the force against the backdrop of checkmating crime, and criminal tendencies among youths arising from the problems of massive unemployment in the country. But as they get ready to recruit, emphasis should be both on training in weapons handling and in character. An average policeman should be alert to his environment, he/she should be tutored in intelligence gathering and be properly equipped with modern weapons and gadgets to be able to function effectively.
Until all these and other issues like good pension and compensation packages are put in place, the Nigerian police would regrettably continue to suffer and lose more of its men and officers unnecessarily to the detriment of the entire society.
-This Day
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