By Promise Adiele
Recently, the World International Security and Police Index (WISPI) through the International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace came out with a report on all police formations across the world and ranked Nigeria as the worst with a score of 0.255. The ranking specifically focused on the ability of the police to respond to Internal Security Issues in 127 countries with emphasis on Capacity, Process, Legitimacy and Outcomes. According to figures contained in the ranking, the Nigeria Police performed abysmally on all four categories and therefore unenviably occupies the last position in the list. Expectedly, the NPF have refuted the report insisting that it was done in bad faith and therefore lacks merit.
Once again, the recent ranking which has put the NPF in a negative spotlight turns our attention to different rankings that originate from diverse bodies and institutes across the world. Some people have queried the validity of these rankings in the world which sometimes turn objectivity on its head. When a corrupt despot wins the best leadership award, when the most unsafe country wins the award as the best country in the world, when average universities win awards as the best in the world and even when mediocre writers, musicians and other artists win all manner of awards ahead of their more accomplished counterparts, one begins to critically interrogate the legitimacy of the bodies that carry out these rankings and awards.
Following the recent rankings, many Nigerians have responded with vitriolic remarks against the Nigeria Police. While it is easy to malign the police, it provides us an opportunity to examine the fundamental issues with our police force. By every conceivable yardstick, the recent ranking is supremely flawed and rightly rejected by the NPF. In as much as we concede that the Nigeria Police is not the best in the world, it is certainly not the worst. Those of us who live in Nigeria and are daily confronted with social malaise of different hue know too well the cruel conditions that confront the Nigeria Police. Given the enervating operational material circumstances within the force, they have done fairly well in combating crime and keeping the social space relatively safe. Although kidnapping has not been totally wiped out, the police have reduced the menace. Car snatching in Nigeria is gradually receding into distant memory as well as armed robbery and other forms of banditry. Even if we may not expressly give the Nigeria Police a clean bill of health, we can say that they have done well in the last two years of the Buhari administration and therefore do not deserve the latest ranking by the World International Security Police Index. (WISPI) One wonders if this kind of ranking is in sync with Western media propaganda to diminish the potential of anything Nigerian. Given the current global trend where acts of terrorism hold the entire world by the jugular, the police all over the world have not performed well. With the exception of Finland, Denmark and Switzerland, the police in all the major countries of the world have failed woefully to combat terrorism, crime and suicide bombing with US, UK, Germany, France and Canada leading the way. Yet these are countries that claim to have the most efficient police force in the world.
With a strength of about 371,000 police personnel, in a population of about 180 million people, the Nigeria police is faced with a huge task to enforce effective policing across the country. Although the federal government has embarked on a recruitment drive of 10,000 police men every year, the Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, has made further request to the government to increase the number to 31,000 yearly for a period of five years. This, according to him, will increase the strength of the force to a ratio of one police officer to 400 citizens. This drive is commendable but there are more fundamental issues to address before the Nigeria Police can effectively rank among the best in the world.
The police in Nigeria, like university lecturers, are among the under-remunerated in the world. Many police officers in Nigeria buy their uniforms, shoes and other items they need for work. A visit to a typical police barrack and the conditions they are exposed to will make a concerned citizen recoil with angst. During the last administration, the then President Goodluck Jonathan visited the Police College Ikeja and exposed the shocking conditions in the place. Like most things Nigerian, the outrage that greeted his visit there fizzled out and our trainee policemen continue to develop under conditions that do disservice to the human psyche. Many Nigeria policemen are poorly equipped, some of them cannot handle basic security gadget, many of them dress in rags as uniform, many can’t express themselves in clear, concise English language and some are enmeshed in acts of infamy in order to make ends meet. Sometimes, one is confronted with the sight of policemen brandishing old and outdated weapons, some of the riffles are so old they are patched up with elastic strings while the armed robbers and criminals they are commissioned to combat wield sophisticated weapons and ammunition. A sight of the police vehicle used for their daily operation is reminiscent of automobile contraption used in the pre-colonial era. Brand new police vehicles with blaring sirens are only seen when senior officers drive around the city, intimidating bewildered road users. A typical Nigerian police officer ravaged by need, lacking inspiration and motivation, poor and utterly harassed cuts a forlorn figure while his fellow countrymen, the political class daily bask in exotic euphoria. This is the kind of contradiction that defines the Nigeria polity.
As a matter of urgency, the government should immediately review the salary and remuneration of the police. It negates professional ethics to see members of the Nigeria Police standing by the road, without shame or self-worth and collecting money from motorists. For a foreigner who is visiting Nigeria for the first time, such acts paint the police in a bad light. Also, the government should put the necessary mechanism in place to check various acts of criminality that go on in police stations across the country. It is downright disgusting that most police stations in Nigeria have turned into banks where money exchange hands as if there is a commodity for sale. For a foreign student doing research in Nigeria on the Nigeria Police Force, these acts contribute to the research data and are eventually published in global domain. A Nigeria police officer should be able to dignify himself among the populace with respectable conduct devoid of self demeaning practices. As part of the recruiting process, the Nigeria Police should visit universities across the country to recruit the best brains and enlist them for further training. The government should vote more funds for the police force and ensure that these funds are utilized for the purpose for which they are meant and not end up in private pockets.
Adiele writes from Department of English, University of Lagos.