Yes, abuse of position of trust is corruption and this is prevalent in our parties. Nigeria’s political parties must therefore look inwards and seek ways of ensuring that there is a level playing ground for every member. And to avoid a repeat of such an unflattering report in future like this one from TI, our parties must return to their traditional roles of seeking to influence government through their members with aligned political views. They must also stop forthwith, all forms of witch-hunt and intimidation against vocal members and perceived enemies.
For the Nigeria Police, I am not under any illusions, it is a long walk. TI’s verdict therefore is something that is already known to Nigerian people. The police force represents everything but the same purpose it is meant to serve. The problem of Nigeria Police is not all about the quality of persons that populate it or the culture but also of funding which is a creation of the Nigerian state. The state that does not fund its police and yet still expects optimal policing is a misnomer or a fallacy. For instance, for 2013, the budget of the Nigeria Police is N311, 148, 387,311($1.6bn). This budget is meant to police a population of over 160 million with a force strength of 330,000 officers and men. This contrasts sharply with the budget of Austin, a county in the state of Texas with a population of 843,162 people. The Austin Police Department has a budget of $284.4m which is about N45, 504,000,000 with a staff strength of 2,300.
Whereas it cost an average of $123,478 to keep a policeman in Austin, Texas, it cost $5,893 to train and maintain a Nigerian policeman within the same period. It cost 21 times the same amount used for an average Nigerian policeman to train and equip a policeman in Austin, Texas. The implication of this comparative poor funding can be seen in training, moral, conduct, equipment and skill of the average Nigerian policeman. Worse still, an ill-equipped policeman in Nigeria is expected to police about 500 persons whereas a policeman in Austin who is well equipped and has access to modern technology will be policing about 366 persons. Thus it will be sheer madness to expect similar level of performance between a local Austin police and his counterpart federal police in Nigeria.
Every day, one is confronted with a plethora of woes of officers and men of the force. I am aware that more often than not, the individual police officer sources his or her kits from boots to uniforms and other accessories. It is also common knowledge that their take-home pay cannot really take them home in the real sense of that word. In barracks and duty posts, issues of low morale, welfare, training, lack of modern equipment and more echo. I acknowledge the fact that some state governments have done well for the police yet it is not anywhere near the ideal or what our expectation is from the force.
Under these circumstances, corruption will naturally grow and fester. Officers and men of the Nigeria Police live among us and are part of us, with needs and aspirations like any of us. They say every society deserves its police, perhaps our police is a reflection of our reality. But we must halt this reality if we hope to build a virile nation where safety of lives and property, law and order is a national priority
The political crisis in Rivers State today is direct fallout from failure of the police which is predicated on the many challenges facing the force. We are all witnesses to the flagrant disregard and disrespect of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, an elected public officer by Mbu Joseph Mbu, Rivers State Commissioner of Police (until a couple of months ago). Mbu as confirmed by the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives has consistently worked at cross-purposes with the governor, thereby compromising the security situation in the state. This is explainable. Mbu and the police he represents will prefer to serve those who have the power to appoint or remove them instead of the Nigerian people as contemplated by the Nigerian constitution. Nigerians also watched the theatre of absurd that played out in Rivers State when five out 32 members attempted to impeach the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly. Sadly, while the assembly was on fire, the commissioner of police, like Emperor Nero, fiddled. Nigerians also saw how four Northern governors who were on reconciliatory mission to Rivers State were pelted and held hostage by hired thugs at the Port Harcourt Airport under the watchful eyes of the police. And in Rivers State, most people are of the view that the police high command is exacerbating the crisis in the state because of certain interests that must be protected at all costs.