Obi Nwakanma
2 December 2007
opinion
Lagos — The president, Mr. Umar Yar Ardua announced, after his meeting with British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, at the just concluded Kampala Commonwealth summit, that the Nigerian government would invite the British to assist in the transformation of the much-traduced Nigeria Police Force.
The president"s moves come, no doubt, following very obvious needs for police reform in Nigeria, a desideratum to which I pointed once on this column. A number of questions nevertheless arise from Yar Ardua"s announcement inviting the Brits.
Some statements coming from the highest police authorities in the land on matters closely connected to the president's announcement and another merely ancillary to general police work also demands attention. My first point of departure would be just to quickly enter a slight rejoinder to police spokesman, Haz Iwendi"s caustic rebuttal to comments by the columnist Okey Ndibe in his Sun newspapers column.
Ndibe had called attention to the mind-boggling stats of potentially extra-judicial killings by the Nigerian Police Force in the last three months alone. This harvest of deaths, startling by all accounts, has equally drawn the attention of Human Rights Watch, whose reports paint an even damning picture. Ndibe"s reaction on the basis of statements made by the Inspector General of Police, justly asks us to look at the situation closely. Policing is not a license to kill.
Nigerians know that too many innocent people have been executed, framed, and indeed terrorised by the officers of the Nigerian police force.
I have been a particular victim of some unscrupulous members of the Nigerian police, and if the reports, and testimonies of many Nigerians are to go by, my experience is not unique, and there are still too many unscrupulous, ill-trained, and unsuitable officers in the Nigerian police force. Of particular note is that a former Inspector-General of police in Nigeria was indicted and jailed for criminal embezzlement. Another former top officer is even now held for homicide, on account of shooting his spouse to death in a hotel room. These are tips of the iceberg. But they reflect the quality of individuals that have led the police services in Nigeria for so long.
Okey Ndibe rightly calls attention to the incommensurate glee with which Mr. Okiro announced the killing of 785 suspected armed robbers, and notes that this is simply suspect police work which calls to question the goals and methods of the Nigerian Police Force, known for its history of brutality against the civil population. Haz Iwendi it seems to me therefore, misses the point, or chooses to miss the point of Okey Ndibe"s position. There is certainly no justification in the killing of 62 police officers lost in various shoot-outs with suspected criminals. The loss of diligent officers under violent situations in the line of duty is both regrettable and heroic, and Nigerians mourn with their families. But Haz Iwendi seems to suggest that this, by some inscrutable calculation, somehow answers the question of allegations of possible police involvement in extra-judicial murders.
These situations generally mark the crisis of the Nigerian police, whose relationship with the wider civil populace is as problematic as its understanding of its role in a democracy. Nigerians feel no less insecure, in spite of the reported number of killings, and what seems to be the inability of the Nigerian Police Force to develop operational strategies towards both stemming and arresting the wave of violent crimes in Nigeria. This crisis has led president Yar Ardua to seek the support of the British government, and another expression of inelegant glee by Mr. Mike Okiro, the Inspector-General. Addressing the issue last week, Mr. Okiro said, "The Nigerian police was created by the British and therefore inviting them for the purpose of assisting us in certain areas of need should be likened to a son looking up to his father for help. The invitation of the British police should not generate any controversy."
First let me ask Mr Okiro: when did Nigeria become the son of Great Britain? Nigeria was a colony of Great Britain alright, but this father-son trope is both insulting and uncalled for. Let me state for the benefit of those who take this issue very lightly: the anti-colonial nationalist movement was not a picnic. The struggle for Nigeria's independence cost both blood and tears. One of those, unaccounted for to this day, was a Nigerian clerk in the Governor-General"s office, who attempted to stab Sir Hugh Foot, the colonial secretary to death in the heat of the anti-colonial agitation. He was arrested, taken to the Yaba mental home, and was disappeared thereafter. Okiro"s statement is an insult both to his memory and sacrifice.
Sovereignty conferred certain responsibilities on Nigeria, and one of these is to defend very jealously, the integrity of its autonomy as a nation equal in status to any other, including the former colonial empire. It is on account of this that I think that Yar Ardua"s invitation of Scotland Yard to "re-invent" the Nigerian Police Force is as farcical as it is unreflective. A serious sovereign nation does not ask another to establish its most sensitive security systems. National law enforcement constitutes a component in the strategic security of nations like Nigeria, whose growing strategic importance requires greater self-assurance, self-awareness, and self-reliance. And self-reliance is the key here, and must be differentiated from global security coo-operation with other nations.
Perhaps, we are indeed not yet ready to assume the full meaning of our political and economic freedom after forty-seven years, and if that is so, the Yar Ardua government, should as a matter of urgency call upon the National Assembly to declare Nigeria"s political independence in 1960 a nullity, abrogate our charter of state, and invite Great Britain and Prime Minister Gordon Brown to repossess the federation of Nigeria and assume full authority over its government. Otherwise, the president must be cautioned by the National Assembly on this move to invite the British police to re-organize the Nigerian police.
In any case, the precise problem with the Nigerian police is first and foremost because it remained a very colonial institution, which did not transform itself into a civil police agency. Any reforms must begin from that premise. There is institutional decay, and it demands organizational genius, re-tooling, and reconceptualization. First, the Nigerian police must be decentralized. A new federal police agency, charged with law enforcement, under the Federal Ministry of Justice, must replace the old police force.
State police boards, with civilian oversight capability, outside of executive control must replace the state commands. But far more important, beyond the command and control issue is the question of intelligence gathering and Professional standards. A new generation of well-educated men and women should be recruited into police service to replace the current stock of personnel, many of whom lack basic intellectual tools for police work. A new training program that should civilize and deconstruct the constabulary character of the police system ought to be put in place.
But above all must be the willingness of the Nigerian government to fund police and law enforcement activities by providing the most contemporary tools for police work, from Police Laboratories to patrol cars equipped with laptops and secure internet lines that link to a central crime database. Those who watch the American CSI know the current possibilities of the use of technology in crime investigation, detection, prevention, and prosecution. Criminal records should be properly kept. Police personnel should be properly remunerated. Police offices and work environment must be retooled, rehabilitated, and made amenable to efficient police work.
It must recruit the best linguists, engineers, technologists, scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and such highly trained personnel, and it must be capable of producing much of its own tools indigenously, and must partner with Nigerian universities and research institutions in its work. We do not require the Brits to tell us these. Indeed, if Yar Ardua wants, he could invite a Nigerian, Chuwudum Ikeazor, lawyer, former officer of the Nigerian police force, and later of the London Mets, among many who should help reform the Nigerian police. Calling in the Bobbies will not make the cut.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
