By Helen OvbiageleWoman Editor
Madam,’’ said a colleague, giving me a piece of paper,” read this article I printed out from the internet and tell me if this incident of cooperation and kindness from the Police, is possible in our country.”

The incident took place in south London recently, when a surgeon who was trying to get to work to carry out an emergency operation, was helped by police after he became stuck in traffic caused by the snowy conditions which struck Europe this winter.

According to the report, “a police sergeant was on routine patrol in the cold weather, when the medic stopped him at about 9.45 a.m. The doctor said he was needed urgently at St. Heller Hospital in Sutton to deal with a patient who was in a critical condition with internal bleeding. He had already spent two hours attempting to complete the journey from his home in Purley after being called in to perform the operation.

Using sirens and with lights flashing, the officer managed to get the doctor to the hospital in a marked 4×4 police vehicle in six-seven minutes,” the police spokesman said.

I pondered over the article for a minute, trying to find an appropriate answer to my colleague’s question. Can our police be that kind and cooperative to a member of the public who’s not a VIP and who they don’t know? I couldn’t see it happening, but still…

“”In the first place,Madam,” said another colleague,”our police won’t  be out in such inclement weather for any reason, let alone to help find a solution to an emergency.”

”Isn’t that because they’re not well-equipped to deal with an emergency of that sort?”  I tried to defend. “I’m sure that if they’re equipped with the right sort of vehicles and gadgets, they would be of more use to the public. Besides, I don’t think they’ve been trained to really be there for members of the public  in all types of situations.

They’re confined to fighting crime only, so they can’t help in other areas. It’s left to the government to include in their training, other areas of looking after citizens. This is what happens in many Western countries where apart from fighting crime, the police are acquainted with the residents in their area and can render the relevant help when required.

If there’s anything unusual in the neighbourhood, residents would notify the police immediately. The rapport is that close ..’’

”Madam, you could be right. That could be part of their training to help and protect the citizens. The police are indeed their friend. I wonder why we didn’t copy that from our colonial masters.” Good question. Just how many Nigerians are bold enough to contact the police on any matter? Very few, I’m sure. The other day some residents in an area of Lagos, woke up to find a Mercedes car parked near the gates of one of them.

Three days later, it was still there. No-one had the courage to call in the police because they felt they would be detained and asked to say what they knew about the car. Their people would then have to come pay to get them out again, someone said. So, residents passed on their way though they were aware their lives could be in danger, since they didn’t know the contents of the   vehicle. A week later, the residents woke up to find that the vehicle had been taken away.

Lack of good interaction between our law enforcement agencies and us, is not the only area that is crying out for a reform.

Many Nigerians who are old enough to know, would tell you that our pre-independence days were the good old days in our lives. The country didn’t have all the money we get from oil these days, but there was clean drinking water, health care was brought into the homes of the citizens as there were sanitary inspectors who ensured that you kept your house and environment clean.

Stagnant water and ponds were regularly sprayed with insecticide to stop malaria-carrying mosquitoes from breeding. We’ve been told that malaria kills more people than AIDS in this country. How effective are mosquito-treated nets? Healthcare in this country is dismal.

A week ago, a trailer driver who drove his vehicle from Lagos to Port Harcourt was knocked down by a bus as he alighted from his vehicle. Onlookers rushed him to a hospital, but they were turned away because money had to be deposited before he would be attended to. Same thing in several other hospitals he was taken to. He died in the process.

A colleague of his said his life could have been saved if he had got medical attention immediately. This is a common story all over the country.

Our rulers are aware that that sort of thing cannot take place in the Western countries which are a playground to them. Hospitals, whether private or public, are bound by law to provide emergency healthcare to anyone brought to them, be it a citizen or a visitor. Later, the government would look into it, and bear the cost, if necessary. Some countries insist that visitors get a health insurance before they’re given a visa. Life is that important over there.

What about the state of our roads? The media houses have cried themselves hoarse in a bid to draw government attention to these death-traps. Feeble attempts are made to pacify them for a while, but soon, the shoddy work is washed away.

No-one seems to know how to fix roads well in Nigeria, in spite of all the experts we have in the field.
Right now, the number of private educational institutions is threatening to surpass that of the government, and some of the proprietors at one time or the other, were in a position to move government institutions forward by ensuring qualitative education.

They didn’t. Why? Now they are running private institutions and charging high fees. Of course, it’s only the elite that can afford to send their children there, if they don’t want to send them to Western countries. So, what about the common man? Are his children condemned to our decayed educational system? This is something that needs to be urgently addressed this new year to check the half-baked students that graduate from our institutions every year, so that we don’t create more social problems for ourselves.

Some top companies prefer to recruit people with overseas higher education. That would leave those who went to our government institutions on the unemployment heap for many years.

But, who can blame these employers? They know the quality of education the government offers. We’re now in an election year. Power should be in the hands of the voters. That is, the man on the street. During campaigns, they should exercise their rights and ask those who want to be voted for, what they will do about health, the roads, education, social amenities, security, unemployment, etc, and be ready to monitor, without fear or favour, their achievement when they come into power.

There should be a law which allows constituents to recall a member of parliament who is not performing. I’m sure some activists can lobby and help draft this up so that it will be fair and transparent.

This time round, let’s settle all disputes about the elections, before those who are declared winners are sworn in. No cases should be entertained after they take their seats.

This is a year of decision for NIGERIA.