Nigeria: ‘Criminal’ Leaders Enjoying Police Protection
By Sanusi Muhammad
Most Nigerians from facts at their disposals to support their claims, consider the political elites and their counterparts in the civil service as the thieves that have over the years thrown them into the web of abject poverty, frustration and retarded the progress of the country through corrupt practices, theft and other cases of malfeasance that may sooner than later snowball into a full blown bloody revolution to tidy the system and post those heartless leaders to their ancestors.
While the situation remains disturbing with no solution at sight, the same perceived criminally minded leaders that deserve no pity are enjoying Nigeria Police protection probably in fear of mob action or jungle justice from the frustrated and the deprived.
If truth must be told, a sincere politician in leadership and internally convinced of his stewardship to the people does not need any police protection and seclusion from the very people that mandated them to leadership. But, knowing what they are and the perception of the majority, they seek for armed police protection to survive the odds. But then, for how long shall that deceit last?
Nigeria is one of the countries under-policed in the world with an estimated 200million people managed by about 400,000 frustrated policemen and women with outdated training techniques, obsolete equipments and poor welfare package.
Based on the aforementioned, it is therefore not surprising that Nigeria has become notorious for the level of insecurity in the land.
Social vices like armed robbery, kidnapping, arson and random acts of violence in the society are all on the increase, and the people, the economy seem to be the worst for it.
Despite the presence of the 400,000 policemen and women in the country, the political elite and some corporate bodies seem to enjoy the luxury of being privately secured by a good number of policemen and women out of the meager 400,000 to the detriment of the general public.
A onetime Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arese, had estimated that of the 400,000 policemen and women, about 200,000 are on elite duties. He made effort to recall them to the mainstream policing during his tenure, but he was not successful and his successors too could not decisively put an end to the monopolization of police protection by most politicians and other economically buoyant persons including foreign nationals.
It sounds absurd and unbelievable that as the Inspector-General of Police, Arese could not muster the courage and guts to recall his men and women to the mainstream policing until he retired. Something must be wrong somewhere.
The level of corruption and indiscipline in the Nigeria Police and the polity seems to be beyond redemption and reformation. Probably, a bloody revolution may change the narrative for the good of Nigeria.
The recent #EndSARS protests across the country must have exposed the paucity of security men and women for the larger society. That reminds me of an episode that is still fresh in several minds when Boko Haram insurgents attempted in 2013 or thereabout to overtake Yobe State Government House due to their superior fighting techniques and courage.
Ironically, one of the major demands of the #EndSARS protesters was for government to improve the working conditions for the Nigeria Police and for the notorious police unit, the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to be scrapped due to its notoriety, and for negating the primary duties of the police.
Following the widespread protests and the resultant mayhem, the Inspector-General of Police hurriedly directed that all police personnel attached to some prominent Nigerians and corporate bodies be withdrawn immediately. He equally ordered the deployment of legitimate force against riotous and violent protests to protect lives and property.
The fact that some of those affected by the withdrawal of police personnel refused to heed to the directive which necessitated the withdrawal of police protection from the likes of Babachir David Lawal (former SGF) etc.
While the withdrawal action is commendable, there is need to equally recall that such directives were given in the past but neither implemented nor those responsible for the implementation disciplined for violating an order of the Inspector-General.
The irony in the monopolization of police protection by those in the news and making the news is that most of them had, at some point or even presently been guilty of creating the insecurity situation bedeviling the country through bad and ineffective governing styles and policy implementation, thereby creating a very fertile ground for the very crimes and criminality they seek police protection against.
Just imagine, during the Covid-19 lockdown, in one of the states in the North central zone, a supposedly elected local government council chairman, approved the sum of N100,000.00 to each of the council counselors for extension to members of the public in their electoral wards. The counselors through ‘wisdom’, gave out N3,000.00 to selected households based on political party affiliation.
Shamelessly, that was all that the local government council could offer the threatened members of the public and that chairman expects loyalty and appreciation from the cheated. What a dummy!
Monopolizing the police is therefore in furtherance of the inequity and injustice in the land that must be condemned and resisted. You cannot create a problem and seek protection against it. The idea of politicians having too many policemen attached to them and their families is deplorable because they create a safe world for themselves and leave the majority bare of protection. It equally points to why most sectors are dysfunctional.
They ferry their children to better schools abroad and force the education sector comatose. They travel for medical tourism and the primary and secondary hospitals in the country become mere consulting clinics, often bare of health workers, most of whom have left the country for greener pasture elsewhere.
It will be a soothing balm if the recent order by the IG is implemented and maintained for the good of the system. Ideally, police security can be enjoyed by a selected privilege few holding sensitive positions like the president, vice-president, state governors and their deputies, national assembly principal officers and judges.
No any other person should be entitled to police protection other than from the conventional policing that we all benefit from.
These days, even certified rogues and clowns are seen with police escorts and blowing sirens to scare the people away. What is the big deal in that? What does that got to do with food on the table for the downtrodden whose wealth is stolen with impunity by the police escorted vandal mistakenly in power?
What we all know is that a democracy without effective and functional policing system cannot be viable. if the Nigeria Police deems it necessary to disrespect the order of their IG, then let the remaining balance of the 200,000 of their men and women be attached to others that can afford and we know how to manage our security system. We shall opt for jungle justice and normalize the situation for better.
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Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
