Gov Ayade shaking hands with Green Police officer on 11 November (Photo Credit: GHP
Princewill Odidi|16 November 2016
For sometime I had decided not to meddle on the internal affairs and policy thinking of the administration of Governor AYADE strictly for respect of his office, and to give him time to articulate his programs within an approachable framework.
Within the same time I receive so many inbox messages from friends and followers on what I think about the matter, ranging from green police to expanded political appointments. Let me be frank with you. I will still not meddle, but let me clarify some policy and administrative issues to the understanding of the common man in reference to the Green Police.
The word police can be used both as a noun and as a verb. If used as a noun, then Governor Ayade may have stepped beyond the bounds of his authority. But if used as a verb, he has the authority to set up the green police. A noun is the name of a person place or thing, while a verb is a doing word. (Definitions: courtesy-Primary School 4 Corners).
Wikipedia defines "Police" when used as a noun as the civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order. If this is what green police was set up to achieve then laws may have been violated. synonymous to the reference above are, police force, police officers, policemen, policewomen, officers of the law, law officers, authorities, constabulary;
However, when the word police is used as a verb,
synonymous to "guard, watch over, protect, defend, patrol; Then no laws have been broken.
The green police can also be seen as the extension of forest guards, we can also call them forest defenders or forest patrol.
It's just like the chairman of a motor park. If the motor park drivers association decides to call their chairman "Governor " or President " have they broken any laws? Answer this question yourself.
Finally, does the Nigeria Police have a monopoly of the use of the name "police"? Attorneys in the house can better answer that.
In my humble layman's judgement, What matters is not really the name, but the terms of reference and the supporting legislation establishing the outfit. To those who have succeeded in dragging me to this conversation, I hope you find my clarifications useful.
Princewill Odidi
Writes from Atlanta
