‘Why Imo people are happy with the state police commissioner’

Chima Chukwunyere is the chairman Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Imo State. He has won several awards including the National PCRC Gold Star Award in Nigeria. He spoke to SABY ELEMBA on how the growing cordial relationship between the police and the Imo people was cultivated and nurtured. Excerpts

As the chairman of PCRC in Imo State, can we say there is a good relationship between the police and the people living in the state?

Well, I will start by saying that the answer is capital yes. The relationship is progressively improving because day after day there is an improvement in the relationship. The evidence is very obvious. Before we came on board there was no platform for the police to interact with the people they are serving. It was only when we came on board that we went to Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) to request for what we called ‘PCRC hour’ and that created an opportunity for the Commissioner of Police, all officers to come and interact with the people on radio, it is a phone in programme where you talk and the people will ask you questions and that has drawn the public closer to the police.

Do not forget the fact that the purpose of innovation in PCRC is not because of this only, there was a wide gap between the police and Nigerians, and nobody ever tried to give information to the police. People who knew what was going on in the state would not open their mouth to say anything or give information. The police by then were hated by the public because of their actions towards the people they were supposed to be serving and protecting.

But when we came on board, we realised that no police man is a spirit and that without information police can never succeed and we went on air to tell the public that police is your friend. And while were also telling the Imo people that police is your friend we were also putting pressure on the Nigerian police in Imo State that you do not call a dog to come and eat shit when you have a long stick in your hand. That for Imo people to accept you as your friend that your attitude to the people you are serving and protecting must be good and again that the people pay your salaries through the taxes they pay. That they deserve some respect. Therefore, the people agreed that it is important to play recording to the rules. I want to tell you without mincing words that there has been a cordial relationship to the point that immediately something happens they will call the commissioner of police and he will.

Also a cordial relationship depends on the head; for instance, the commissioner of police we have now, I call him a quintessential commissioner of police; he is the best. Because in terms of operation he is there, in terms of relationship with the masses, he is there. He is the commissioner of police that goes to the market to address the market women; he is the commissioner of police that goes to the schools to address the school children.

Anytime I tell him that I will be going to the schools to address the children, he will volunteer to follow us and talk to them and would also volunteer to give out his telephone number to people to enable them call him when there is any trouble. There is nobody that has gone to the commissioner of police, Lakanu Taiwo to see him without seeing him, this is a cordial relationship and that is respect and in turn the people of Imo are appreciating what the Commissioner of police is doing in the state.

So you are saying that this type of relationship only started with the coming of Taiwo Lakanu?

This type of relationship was not up to this level. It is progressing, it was not up to this magnitude and this is because he said he has come to serve and he has been succeeding, and without information from Imo people he cannot succeed. He humbled himself to interact with the people at all levels.

I am not saying that the past commissioners of police did not work, they did so in their own level but what I am saying is that Taiwo’s regime is an exceptional case in terms of building a relationship with the people. Imo people are happy with him.

 

What is the focus of Imo PCRC this time?

 

Last year we flagged off campaign against crime, cultism and criminality in secondary schools, it was in Government Technical College (GTC) Owerri with the commissioner of police who also spoke to the students. Since then we have been going to schools to encourage the school children not to involve in social vices because I believe that they are future leaders of this country. And as a matter of fact, we have covered many schools and we shall be going to Alvan Ikoku College of Education to speak at their orientation week. We have been invited and the Commissioner of Police has also been invited to give a talk.

PCRC in Imo is very unique, very peculiar, it is the best. Why do I say so? We have realised that the work of the police is not just to run after criminals, shoot them when necessary, arrest some people and send them to court. Rather the police can go out of their way and educate the people on why our children should not get involved in crime and criminality. And that is why we embarked on this campaign and it has yielded a lot of dividends.

And we have also realised that most children who wear school uniform and promote cultism and violence are not students, and we have also embarked on campaign to communities. We well write to the traditional rulers and all the people concerned including the youths they will gather and we interact with them, the DPO will be there to represent Commissioner of Police or in most cases the Area Commander will go with us to enlighten the people on why the elder ones should discourage their children against violence, cultism and crimes.

And you will agree with me that no thief lives in the air, they are our children, we know them that will be the second phase of our campaign to the communities to speak with the stakeholders on why they should not get involved in crimes.  You can commit a crime and hide but within a short period of years you will be exposed. The best thing is not to be involved in crime.

How many commissioners of police have you worked with?

 

I have worked with ten police commissioners or more and I served two CPs in the interim. Actually, my vision on PCRC was to stay there for three months as the chairman and leave and you know the success of any organisation depends on leadership. When I got the place right and wanted somebody to take over the leadership but nobody wanted to take over the leadership, that was why the election dragged for over a year and six months.

And I have been preparing the mind of the people that in PCRC I have put in my time and I have put in my money to serve to show the people that you can serve the people with what God has given to you without being a politician. And this is why I am rated the best in the country.

I have challenged the politicians that you don’t need to embezzle money and I don’t need to kill, I don’t need to do mischief and I have served the Imolites and I pray that God will help me to maintain the tempo until my tenure is over.