Guardian

LAUDABLE as the Federal Government’s resolve to protect corps members on National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) assignment is, its practical implementation is bound to be tasking. This is against the backdrop of the present state of the Nigerian Police as an inefficient and seemingly over-burdened organisation, in the face of a nationwide security crisis.

Yet the government’s resolve cannot be better timed, coming at a time when corps members appear to be easy targets of miscreants and common criminals across the country. We concede that unless government can guarantee the protection of corps members’ lives and property anywhere in the country, those canvassing a rethink of the NYSC programme cannot be discountenanced.

Probably to foreclose rising opposition to the scheme and to assure parents of government’s concern, the federal government reportedly directed that the Nigeria Police should provide 24 hours protection for all NYSC members serving in all parts of the country.

The Minister of Youth Development, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi had explained in Osogbo at a public lecture that the directive is meant to ensure the safety of corps members. This is coming on the heels of recent attacks on serving corps members. Three corps members were killed in Jos, Plateau State during an outbreak of sectarian violence over the results of a local government election in Jos North. Protesters destroyed churches and mosques. Many innocent lives were lost. Also about two months ago, Grace Ushang, a female corps member, serving in Maiduguri was attacked, allegedly raped and killed by yet to be identified assailants.

The incident, along with several other less grievous but equally worrisome cases have caused public uproar and raised questions about the continued relevance of the NYSC scheme. Many parents are reluctant to accept the posting of their children to parts of the country that they consider problematic.

However, the Federal Government continues to insist that the scheme, on which it spends an average of N43 billion yearly to manage about 200,000 fresh graduates, has come to stay and that it would not be cancelled. The Minister of Youth Development adds that the scheme is in fact living up to expectations.

With the scheme expected to mobilise 300,000 members in the next three years, the question is: how well can the police carry out government’s directive to protect corps members round the clock? It is obviously not a practicable idea. Government officials should resist the temptation of saying something simply because they feel the urge to do so. We hope this is not an attempt to lure the public into a false sense of security.

Police resources are presently overtaxed as reflected in cases of unresolved murders, rising kidnapping and armed robbery. There is also a failure of Police Intelligence resulting in gross inefficiency. Morale is low among both officers and the rank and file, the police lack necessary equipment for combating crime; in addition, corruption is endemic within the organisation.

One way perhaps that the NYSC can enhance the security of corps members is to organise security briefings at the orientation camps, to educate and alert corps members appropriately about security challenges in their new environment. This exercise can also be organized as part of Community Development activities for corps members in the course of the service year. With such regular briefings, corps members would be well sensitised to take necessary precautions. The Police and the State Security Services should be part of this.

Ultimately, the challenge is that of guaranteeing the security of lives and property, a basic right that should be enjoyed by corps members and other citizens alike. Security agencies would have to be better equipped, their capacity for preventive intervention through a pro-active intelligence gathering approach, would have to be strengthened.

In the past, crises escalated and resulted in high death tolls because of the failure to respond, or to respond on time, to clear and recognisable danger signals. This is a major challenge that should be addressed.

As primary beneficiaries of the NYSC scheme and corps members’ expertise, state governments also have a role to play in ensuring the safety of corps members. In liaison with the Police, state governments should assume primary responsibility for corps members’ security.

The Police leadership should be concerned that the new charge upon their organisation is indicative of failure on their part, to protect lives and property. Yet, this is the basic constitutional duty of the police

by Dave Nwogbo

TRANSFORMING the institutional capacity of the police to meet the security and development challenges of the 21st century is the biggest task facing the Nigeria Police. Three critical questions must preoccupy the mind of the IG at this critical time in the life of this nation. How have the police fared in discharging their obligation to the people since establishment? Why does the Police Force elicit feelings of hatred, condemnation and contempt in the minds of Nigerians? What can be done to redeem the battered image of the police? The news that the Police Force has arrested 1848 alleged robbers in the last three months since Mr Ogbonna Onovo, the current Inspector General of Police assumed office is quite cheering. In spite of this huge figure, the Police still has a long way to go. The exigencies of the time require re-orientation, re-training and innovation to re-create a new police.

What his predecessors advertently or inadvertently failed to realise is that the police was created to facilitate, in collaboration with Nigerians and other agencies of government, the creation of an enabling environment for the implementation of government policies and programmes. In performing these tasks, the police is expected to collaborate with the general public to fish out criminally-minded citizens living among us and to champion the crusade against corruption and other obstacles to our national development.

The Force’s unfriendly disposition has made it difficult for innocent Nigerians to enter into useful collaboration with the police, especially in terms of feeding it with useful information that would help in the fight against crime. The tragedy of today is that innocent Nigerians have been made scapegoats by the same police that they sought to help. A police that has institutionalised falsehood, corruption, lawlessness and arbitrariness cannot champion the creation of an enabling environment for development to take place.

While it is true that a country’s level of economic growth and prosperity determine the crime rate and the prevalence of peace and security, Nigerians believe that the Police has not done enough to reduce crime rate. In fact, the action and inaction of the Police Force have exacerbated the prevailing culture of lawlessness and impunity in the country. This has affected the level of socio-economic development in the country. One of the factors that attract foreign investment in any country is the safety of finance and human capital. The frightening level of human and capital flight, occasioned by the present state of anomie in the country, gives credence to the fact that the Police has not lived up to expectation. As a developing country that is desperate to join the league of 20 developed nations of the world by the year 2020, the Police has a crucial role to play in terms of the security of lives and property. Without the security of lives, property and infrastructure, no meaningful development can take place.

Furthermore, the collaborative efforts of the three tiers of government are crucial in this regard. Crime prevention is not just a matter of the number of arrests that have been made. Crime prevention is more of an economic planning matter than just the purchase of more guns, ammunition and equipments for the police. How many jobs have the various governments created? How has the Federal Government helped the citizens to cope with inflation? How many industries have been established? How many roads have been built or rehabilitated to ease the movement of goods and services? What is the poverty rate? How many parents in Nigeria today can afford to pay school fees for their children?

These are issues that the government should ponder upon. The organs and institutions of any society reflect the values, norms and characteristics of that society. The point is that the advent of western civilization has eroded our pristine cultural norms and values in favour of materialism and conspicuous consumption. Nigerian elites have acquired the insatiable appetite for unearned wealth. The beliefs and ideological orientation of the elite in any society determine and shape the moral milieu and that is why the whole Nigerian society has been sold out to moral decadence. The Police Force as constituted today is an exact reflection of the values which the Nigerian society cherish. That is why kidnapping, armed robbery, political thuggery and other violent crimes are on the rise.

The tragedy of the situation is that the government is paying lip service to job creation. Even the few available jobs which Nigerians are currently enjoying have been depleted as a result of the harsh economic environment. Industries are folding up and the government does not give a damn. Why is it that job creation was not made a key issue in Vision 20:2020 which is a long term programme? In the short term, that is next 3 or 6 months, how many jobs have the various tiers of government committed to creating? It is because government does not see unemployment as a threat to peace and development. Also government does not believe that Nigerians have inalienable rights which should not be denied them. Until the government begins to respect the natural rights of Nigerians to employment, shelter, liberty, etc, no meaningful development can take place.

No foreign investor will invest his money in a country where his personal safety cannot be guaranteed. Many foreign companies have closed shop citing insecurity as the major problem. Similarly, the potentials of local investors cannot be unleashed in a frenzy of lawlessness where life is ’short, nasty and brutish’ to quote Thomas Hobbes. Although, maintenance of the security of lives and property is the statutory prerogative of the Police, the collaborative effort of the three tiers of government and well-meaning Nigerians are required. The police must take the lead and exhibit a high sense of responsibility, resource constraints notwithstanding. If the police can turn a new leaf today, it can be assured of support from non-governmental organizations, civil rights group and well-meaning Nigerians. The attitude of police officers today points to one thing- lack of respect for the rule of law which it swore to uphold. The Police is not the only institution that is bedeviled by what is happening today in our society and should, therefore, not use the anomaly as an excuse.

The reason for this is not far-fetched and that is because most police officers do not believe in the rule of law. This lack of respect is endemic and has weakened its law enforcement capacity. Very few police officers had the natural inclination to join the service ab initio and see it as service to their fatherland. These few are burdened by the need to maintain civilized standards of behaviour. The rest may have joined because they were in desperate need to get employment. These are the officers that give the police a bad name. The catalogue of atrocities like rape, extortion and extra-judicial killings committed by these group of officers is alarming. A case that easily comes to mind is the gruesome murder of the Apo-Six for which no officer has been held responsible till now.

The tasks before the new IG are daunting but not insurmountable. The IG must not be contented with the reforms already enunciated by his predecessor. If the reforms had succeeded, they would have impacted positively on the police and the public. Given the high level of insecurity, the reforms may be merely addressing the symptoms rather the root causes of crime and insecurity. He must embark on a more fundamental reforms to unravel the root causes of the problems bedeviling the police with a view to fashioning out impeccable solutions for a better police.

The focus of the IG should be to fashion out a police that will see itself as an agent of change and development; a police that is committed to the ideals of the rule of law; a police that is people-friendly; and a police that believes in partnership with government, non-governmental organisations and the public. The IG must work towards earning the confidence of the people, form new alliances with the public, including non-governmental organizations. The moribund Police Community Relations Committee must be revived and new methods of recruitment to fish out dropouts must be devised.

Mr. IG, another opportunity has come for you to re-write the history of the Nigerian Police. Don’t allow it to be wasted. Whether you utilise this opportunity or not depends on what you do now.