Make police reform a priority

As we all know, the police is one of the important organs of a state, especially in the prevention of crime and the maintenance and enforcement of law and order. Without the police, the society would probably descend into chaos and anarchy. So, the police institution is critical to the realisation of a just, peaceful, and progressive society.

Normally, police stations are places people should go to freely, to register complaints or seek protection. A police station is a place every citizen ought to go without fear of exploitation, extortion and harassment and be sure to be treated with dignity and respect whether the person is rich or poor, able or disabled. But in Nigeria, this is not the case. The police system is so corrupt and inept. Police stations are places people avoid if they really want justice and peace. Police stations are for the rich and powerful. Hence poor people are afraid to go there to report cases because they cannot afford the ‘costs’.

The police system has become a tool that the rich, mischievous and powerful individuals in communities use to oppress and victimise the poor, the weak and the less-privileged. This ugly and embarrassing situation can be blamed on the poor emolument of police officers. The basic salary of police officers is too small and this is, perhaps, why they visit their anger and frustration on the people.

While senior police officers tamper with their official votes to compliment their salaries, the rank and file officers rely on what they can make and squeeze out from those who are brought to the stations including the money they extort from drivers and commuters on our roads. What a shame? What we have today in the name of the police force is actually a bunch of angry, demoralised, corrupt officers who do not have the good of this nation and its citizens at heart.

This is not the kind of police system that can guard a true democracy in Nigeria. This is not the kind of police Nigeria needs to achieve sustainable development in this 21st century. But we must admit that the work of the police in our society today is dangerous. Everyday, some police officers still risk their lives for our sake. In the past few months, several police officers have been shot dead at bank robberies and on highways. So the work of the police is such that nobody should expect them to do it properly with little or no motivation from the government.

The federal government should know that commissioning police officers at very little pay is doing great disservice to this nation. It is like giving them licence to go and rob civilians. Although the meagre salary which police officers receive should not be a reason for them to become armed robbers in uniform and convert police stations into extortion and exploitation grounds.

The Nigerian police is in need of a thorough and comprehensive reform that will equip, enable and motivate officers to fulfill their constitutional roles. This reform is needed to restore the credibility and integrity of the police . The reform should aim at putting in place an effective police system with competent, courageous, committed and incorruptible officers.

I am aware that this is not going to be an easy task given the depth of decadence and ineptitude in the police. But I think it is possible. I think it is realisable. In fact, a credible police force is absolutely necessary to move this nation forward. Hence I am appealing to President Musa Yar’Adua to make police reform a priority. Otherwise all his efforts to enthrone the rule of law would end up in futility.

- Leo Igwe,
Nigerian Humanist Movement,
Ibadan.

Boosting economies of local government areas

A fundamental problem with this country is that local government areas depend too much on federal and state governments. But what comes from federal and state governments is not enough to better the lot of the people residing in this local government areas. We can recall the ‘zero allocation’ palaver. Local council areas can, however, turn their economies around if they can concentrate on the human and natural resources within their immediate environment. We should not all depend on oil of a particular part of the country.

Leaders of local government areas can sporadically increase economic activities in their councils, by the realisation of the fact that they are blessed with abundant natural resources and most importantly human resources. They should broaden their definition of natural resources beyond the deposit of gold, crude oil and the likes, and embrace the fact that they are potentially rich and wealthy.

The first step is to make as many individuals and citizens of the councils as possible realise this fact and truth that they are all equally endowed with resources to make wealth from their environment through sensitisation and awareness campaigns. Enlightenment, capacity building and empowerment seminars and workshops on translating natural resources into wealth at the small-scale level, should be organised for a cross section of the citizens to motivate, and encourage them to go into the adventure of translating their immediate natural resources into wealth.

The citizens, having been inspired and motivated should be assisted and supported by the local government councils by organising training programs with “how to...” topics. Such training should be aimed at teaching potential entrepreneurs interested in a particular resource, practical ways and processes of increasing the economic value of the resource. Seminars and workshops that center on “starting and management of small-scale industry”, “marketing strategies for small-scale ventures”, “funding sources for small-scale ventures”, “waste to wealth and recycling programmes” e.t.c. should be organised.

Human resources, our “how to” ideas, and the replication of these ideas, determine how much wealth there is at any time.

In conclusion, if local government areas can employ some of the things mentioned above, then, they would not have to depend on state and federal allocations solely. Their citizens would also have been empowered and rural-urban migration will even be reduced when people living in this local government areas know that they can create wealth for themselves even in their local areas.

- Oluseye A. Komolafe,
seyekom@yahoo.com