By Christy Anyanwu
Samuel Balogun was born in Nigeria, but he relocated to the United States of America over 40 years ago.
He enlisted in the Detroit Police and served meritoriously in various capacities before retiring a few years ago.
As Nigeria celebrates its 62nd Independence anniversary, Balogun spoke about the state of the nation, laying emphasis on the security situation of the country, advising that having state police is the way to go. Excerpt:
Could you tell us briefly about yourself?
My name is Samuel Balogun. I am a retired police officer from the City of Detroit. I worked as a patrol officer at the police department, and in various units for the first 13 years of my career. These include the Harbormaster Unit where we dealt with Watercraft such as boats, jet skis etc, as well as maintaining law and order in the State Park known as Belle Isle. Also, I worked as a regular patrolman, enforcing traffic laws and educating the public on how to drive to prevent fatalities. I eventually worked in the Vice Enforcement Unit, maintaining proper ordinances, and rules and regulations of operating bars, restaurants and liquor stores, as well as dancing license for adult entertainment. Aside from these areas, I worked as a Media Relations Officer, preparing talking points for the Chief of Police and other executive staff members. Before retirement, I was promoted to the rank of Neighborhood Police Officer, (NPO) due to my experience in arbitration and negotiations, strong community involvement, as well as possessing problem-solving skills, and knowledge of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). However, since retirement, I have worked in protecting many dignitaries of the State of Michigan under the leadership of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
As an experienced retired police officer in the United States, how do you see the security situation in Nigeria?
Those protecting this country are under-paid. For instance, a sergeant in the Nigeria Police earns about N80,000 a month, and when you pay someone that low, it gives a chance for corruption. Again, there is no zeal for the job. Throughout my years as a police officer in the United States, if anything happens to me while on duty, maybe a police officer dies in line of duty, every police officer in the country will come to the funeral ceremony. His family will get insurance money. Also, there is a fund for his kids. But here in Nigeria, when a police officer gets killed while working; there is no adequate compensation or arrangement for burial. The officers themselves have to contribute money for the burial of their colleague. So, it means when I see armed robbery taking place somewhere, I’m going to run for my dear life because if anything happens to me, my family would suffer. From my interaction with some police officers, I was told that sometimes they had to buy their uniforms, boots etc. Even if you call a police station during emergency, they would tell you there is no petrol in their vehicle. So you see, the whole system is messed up. There has to be a way for the government to re-engineer everything.
What do you have to say about the training and strength of the Nigerian police compared to that of the American police?
When you look at the strength of the Nigeria police , it is a little over 200,000. In America with the same population as Nigeria, we have more than a million police officers. So, when you have 200,000 officers protecting 200 million people, it doesn’t make sense. Again, out of those 200,000 officers, there are those assigned to the governors, chiefs, VIPs, millionaires and others who can afford security, and so when you break it down, you have less than 50,000 police officers fighting crime. Everybody seems to be talking about corruption of the Nigeria police. I will be corrupt if I’m not getting paid adequately. You see an armed robber coming with a gun, you run because if anything happens to you, nobody is going to help you.
So, I’m trying to have a security company in Nigeria. I’m bringing in experts. But with my security company, we still have to work hand in hand with the Nigeria police, because we don’t have the power to arrest, they have the power to arrest. But if they are not getting well paid, if the service is not good, it won’t work. I think things should be properly organized. There should be mass hiring. When I say a million officers in America, I am talking about police officers, we still have ATL and other security agencies that work together.
What is the first step the government should take to address security issues in Nigeria?
First, I think they should hire more officers and the training should be better. There is a saying that the way you dress commands respect. You are wearing bathroom slippers and you are chasing a criminal, how can you run after a criminal in slippers? So, your uniform should command respect. In America, there’s allowance of about $1,100 every year just for our uniforms, boots, etc. If there’s a roll call and they discover that you are shabbily dressed, you’ll be penalised. Also, for equipment, a lot of police officers here do not walk around with bullet proof vests. In the United States, except you are doing an undercover work, you must be properly kitted with your uniform. You must have your bullet proof vest on. Every officer is issued a bullet proof vest, at least it gives you a level of protection. But here, even the barracks look like a dungeon.
From your experience, do you think we need state police in Nigeria?
What Nigeria is doing now is federal policing, which has its disadvantages. In America, every city has its own police, but overall we work together. In Michigan, we have Michigan state police that can arrest anywhere in Michigan; in Florida, you have Florida state police that can arrest anywhere within Florida. So, in Nigeria, every state should have its own police, it’s the best way to go. Who knows the state better more than the locals that live there? I believe that having the state police in Nigeria will work.