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Praise The Guts Of Some Some Junior Police Officers By Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa
The Nigerian Police Force has just earned the inglorious title of the most corrupt entity in the Country. You may then wonder why anyone would sing their praises. In spite of what I had written and will continue to write about them in the past, we have to look deeper and sort out whom amongst them can salvage the Police Force. A deeper reflection into their ranks shows some junior officers trying to break the yoke at the risk of their livelihood or even their life in term of facing friendly fire.
These junior officers came out openly and complained that they were making returns to senior officers. They went further and claimed they had to pay to get assigned to “juicy” posts, take care of the maintenance of vehicles and equipments. Moreover, if any of them is injured or killed on the job, they have to take care of his/her family. Their allocations meanwhile were tied up in freezers, televisions, mattresses, foreign banks and local investments by crooks.
As if nobody noticed them, they said all these in a Congressional hearing for the whole Country to hear their plight. The papers and electronic media carried the news, yet nobody tried to figure out who these senior officers are but we heard that some junior officers were dismissed for taking 20 naira bribe on the road. Who are the senior officers collecting thousands and millions of naira in twenties? Until we fish them out corruption will persist in the Police Force.
The junior officers had threatened strike action because of unpaid allowances and poor working conditions. When they finally went on strike, Musiliu Smith’s head rolled; a first. Since then not much has changed but money and new recruits have been injected. We had gotten a glimpse of how the money collected on behalf of our police was concentrated in the hands of Tafa Balogun. Ribadu dealt with him accordingly and was disgraced out in the open in spite of the backing of some former police bosses. So, that Musiliu Smith was retired because of that strike and not for corruption, made Lagosians proud and he was given a rousing welcome back home.
A few years ago, policemen were deployed to Benin City to return a state of chaos created by armed robbers, indiscriminately dispossessing people of their hard earned money. They were raping girls and women just as they have done in many cities across the Country. The police took charge alright but they had no place to sleep. Our policemen were making boxes to camp on the streets while their administrators were counting money in their air-conditioned offices.
Sometimes we get the most useful gist from lower cadre staff like drivers and orderlies, some of whom fleece their bosses the same way, but they got wiped out. As individuals, we may need to start asking about the heroes among them living near to us and give whatever we can. It may not be money all the time, materials and empathy may be a way of appreciation. It is easy to give to beggars on the street, what about those too ashamed or too proud to beg?
Some of these junior police officers are university graduates who decided to join out of a mission or to be gainfully employed. Indeed people like Ojukwu who joined the army in those days were not expected or welcomed there. Ribadu was also a road junior officer at one point on the street of Lagos. While there are still hooligans recruited into our Police Force, we also have some fine junior officers.
Therefore, it is surprising to many but not to some of us that Ehindero is in trouble based on tips and allegations of some junior officers again. We had seen how a political party used PTDF to channel money to pet projects; we may now see how police bosses channel money to various interests. Is Power Holding Company or NEPA going to be next or it is going to be Customs or I am moving too fast ahead of myself?
Now we know why they prefer seasoned police officer and not some radical to head the police. These young officers are threatening more revelations. Who is trying to clean up the police, the young officers we disrespect on our street struggling to make returns or the senior ones waiting at the helm to collect the returns? I beg, adjust your seat for another movie after Obasanjo v. Atiku documentary, grab a bag of guguru and epa ojare! It is time for Okiro v. Ehindero movie.
We are now made to understand that like any other company, there are camps in the police force even in retirement. It has now got to a stage where the code of secrecy may be subjected to scrutiny because too much money is going to senior officers and some retired chiefs while the junior ones catch the blame. It is like a pension system where contributors are dwindling while takers increase. The burden is getting too heavy for some junior officers to bear, so they squeal.
It seems it is true that President Yar’Adua caught Ehindero unawares by not allowing him to stay a couple of more months longer as asked by the former President. He got used to resigning and being asked to stay a bit longer. But it got even worse as the former President became dismayed by the allegation of Ghana-must-go bags around Ehindero. Where the first acting police boss, Ogbonna Onovo fits around this is still not clear, raising suspicion of some ethnic bias. Like Smith, nobody has accused Onovo of corruption. These are complicated matters that are beginning to surface but we can not wait.
So police corruption is as complicated as our Country itself. It seems that the police have become the weeping postal boy for many wrongs in Nigeria. On top of that, they take good whooping from the soldiers at almost every irritation including lack of access to 20 naira bribe on the street. There have been so many commissions looking into police/army fracas without solutions. They are not even immunized against militants, religious or mob justice. It has got to a point where many of them always have civilian clothes ready in case there is need to mix into the crowd.
In case you are wondering when I became police sympathizer, I do not think I am. I just want it cleaned of corruption like any other body. More importantly as the police are the first line of defense or reflection of any country. Anyone in their situation may sometimes mischievously get confused about where their loyalties lie. Some people have gone as far as saying we need local police to compete for excellence with one another in order to stamp out endemic corruption. Others think they may just turn into Hamas and Fatah militias clamoring for turf.
While these junior officers got the attention of the media and the legislators at some point, we sometimes wonder what became of them after their revelations. We do not know if they are still in the Force, if they were the ones fired or if they have been isolated for breaking the secrecy code. The children and wives of the injured and dead are not followed up on their miserable stories and we hardly know about their welfare. |