POLICE REFORM IN NIGERIA; THE WAY FORWARD

 Police reform and security beef up in Nigeria has been on the lips of all and sundry for the last ten years or there about with little or nothing to show for it.

Police in Nigeria are not living up to their expectations and this failure to meet up with the responsibility of policing in a society has been directly linked to under funding and corruption. I wrote this article as my contribution for this year’s public servants day. In this hub are some suggestions on how to move the Nigeria police force forward

HOW TO MOVE THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE FORWARD

Adequate funding: funding is one of the major problems of the Nigeria police force. Lack of funding has too many implications ranging from encouragement of corruption and inability to acquire necessary policing security equipment. If the government can inject the right amount of money into funding the Nigeria police force, then there may be hope in the quest for the police reform. Imagine what a police officer who is under paid will do when he is given bribe. Mass illiteracy is a major problem in the Nigeria police force.

Provision of facilities (communication, forensic tools, cars, etc): success in the preceding point should ensure that facilities such as the latest communication gadgets, crime fighting equipment, forensic tools, softwares for data analysis, etc. Nigeria police force will be much more vibrant if these facilities are provided to the Nigeria police force.

Training: training is what the Nigeria police force needs to after all the above is made available. Yes, you need properly trained men to handle equipment. You will still not get the desired result even if you have the most sophisticated equipment. It is annoying to understand that average Nigerian policemen do not know how to make use of basic computer program or how to pull a trigger when the need arise.

Absenting from partisan politics: playing partisan politic is a dangerous game for the members of the Nigeria police force. You cannot expect a person with interior motive to be fair in their dealings when they have interest in politics. For the Nigeria police force to be effective, they should totally absent themselves from politics of any kind.

Recruitment of qualified personnel: recruitment into the Nigeria police force should be strictly based on merit and qualification. You cannot recruit unqualified people into the Nigeria police force and expect to effectively curb crime. I know people of questionable character that are recruited into the Nigeria police. Until this method of recruitment is changed, you cannot get what you expect from the police as law enforcement agents.

Creation of public awareness on the provision of The Police Act: it is sad to note that a lot of Nigerians do not know the provision of the Act that governs the police. This explains why a police man would just molest anybody on the street because it is obvious that we do not know what the law says concerning our right as citizens of this great country Nigeria. Remember that ignotant of the law is not an excuse. The law is there for you to get yourself acquinted to it.

I strongly believe that if all the above steps and some other suggestions that are everywhere are implemented, Nigeria police reform will not go like most other reform projects that have been embarked upon by past administration. President Goodluck Jonathan should live up to his name and bring in some goodluck into every facets of governance. Together, we must move Nigeria forward.

Long live Nigeria!