Princewill Odidi|22 November 2017
Lets have a frank conversation about Policing in Nigeria. If you live in a gated house or estate, you hire security, you pay them, and you have some sense of commitment from them that they will guard over you. That is the concept of Policing.
The police is meant to be someone you hire to guard you and also provide law and order. If Nigerians become aware that they are the ones who hire the police just like the security guard, they will expect more from from the police. Similarly, the relationship between ordinary Nigerians and the Police is similar to the relationship the security guard in your house has with the landlord or boss. You are the boss, the police is not your boss.
It is a relationship built on mutual respect. Once the police lives with a consciousness that his or her salary comes from the small tax or security fees the people pay to the state, the attitude of the police changes.
In developed societies, that's what they call Community Police. Every establishment should have her own police. You have the University Police, hired and paid by the University, You have Metro Transport Police, those are Police that provide policing in train stations, hired and paid by the train station. You have City Police hired and paid by City Council or local government, and you have state police hired and paid by the state government.
Each of these police organs has her jurisdiction limited to its boundaries. In the event where a crime goes outside state boundaries, then you have the federal police.
Bringing the police closer to the people will mean more security guaranteed. A community police in a village will know everyone in the village, knows the criminals and knows the good guys. Usually, it is when police is run properly that's when the assertion " the police is your friend makes meaning".
The question now is, why is it so difficult for the Nigerian Police to be effective and efficient? The answer is simple. A Country of almost 200 million people running a National police to provide national security is ludicrous. How do you expect it to work?
Someone sits in his office in Abuja to decide if the police station in Obubra needs guns and how many. Decides how many bullets to send to Obubra, decides when to send new Uniforms to Obubra from Abuja, decides if police quarters in Obubra need rehabilitation from Abuja. Someone sits in his office in Abuja who calls himself Police IG, but spends 99% of his time signing and giving out contracts and recieving visitors instead of analyzing the security situation of the country.
Sometimes when we say things are not working in Nigeria, it's not because the people are incompetent, Nigeria has very smart people. It is because the institutions are designed in such a way that it is meant to fail. The organizational structure of Policing in Nigeria is grossly inadequate and designed to fail.
A Community or village police who controls her budget, has its own money to buy bullets and vehicles and sew uniforms for its members, has its own money to determine if they need their quarters refurbished or not, a police that knows everyone within the Community, a Police that knows that her Salary comes from the local peoples monthly contributions called taxes, such a police will live to its duty and protect the people and not extort from them.
At the pace we are going, can there ever be a time when the Nigeria Police can be perceived by society as capable of protecting law and order? If no, how can we fix the Nigeria police once and for all?
Princewill Odidi
is a Social Commentator writing from Atlanta
