FG’s planned recruitment of 10,000 policemen

Recently, the Federal Government announced plans to recruit 10,000 men and women into the Nigeria Police. This is coming just two years after the last recruitment which was considered grossly inadequate in a society plagued by enormous social and political challenges.

This move, which was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari at a National Security Summit on Community Partnership Approach to Internal Security and Crime Management organised by the police in Abuja, is part of government’s responses to the security challenges in the country. The president also announced government’s intention to establish a well-trained and equipped anti-terrorism and multi-agency based task force to address the challenge of insurgency in a sustainable manner.

To many Nigerians, these are laudable moves by the Buhari administration, more so in a country that is, to say the least, poorly policed given the ratio of policemen to the surging population and growing sophistication of the clan of miscreants and social deviants.

Concerns, however, remain, because here is a police force that epitomises almost all the negatives with its core values mired in corrupt, unethical and unprofessional conduct and practices.

Beyond this, Nigerians are also concerned about the social conditions and economic challenges which impact significantly on the psyche, moral conduct, temperament, worldview and overall productivity of the police as individuals and also as a collective.

The living condition of the police, especially those within the rank and file, speaks volumes of dehumanised public servants. This is exacerbated by their low salaries which, rather than stabilising their minds, take them to a fantasy world of self-questioning and conspiracy against the norm.

It is rather disheartening that for the twin problems of poverty and low self-esteem, the police as a public institution has found itself enmeshed in brazen corruption and bribery, making it an object of ridicule and subject of opprobrium in the public court of justice. The institution comes off easily as a carnivore that devours itself and this is better appreciated on the strength of the allegation that money meant for uniforms, shoes and other trappings for officers are either diverted or partly used to purchase same and the officers made to pay money to ‘hire’ them.

We join the rest of Nigerians to welcome the present move to increase the number of policemen through the planned fresh recruitment, but at the same time we want the government to also address the above problems that have, in more ways than one, contributed to the rot, corruption and low operational efficiency of the police force in Nigeria.

Our hearts are gladdened by Buhari’s revelation that efforts are being made to enhance the operational capacity of officers of the police through a training programme targeted at giving them the right civil orientation in performing their roles as guardians of the constitution. This, in fact, is what the force desperately needs at the moment.

We agree totally with Solomon Arase, Inspector-General of Police, that modern policing is a cost-intensive venture, hence the need for adequate funding of the Nigeria Police. Our hope is that, through this, the welfare needs of police personnel will be met and the challenge of corruption that has eroded professionalism and public respect for the force will be addressed.

In view of the present lean resources of the government, we call for the resuscitation and passage of the Bill on Police Trust Fund pending before the National Assembly, which seeks to tax corporate entities to complement the Federal Government’s funding of the police. Lagos State government has made a huge success of this strategy and, in our candid opinion, the Federal Government can do more. So, we urge prompt action on this as the recruitment goes on.