By Denrele Animasaun

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” -Greek Proverb

President Muhammadu Buhari announced that his administration is going to recruit 10,000 police officers to boost security and help tackle youth unemployment. He also announced that they will introduce CCTV monitoring system in major cities to check crime (there are no functional CCTV monitoring system in any of the cities in the country, but that is another story).

*Men of the Nigerian Police

Recruiting youths to tackle unemployment really tweaked my interest in so many ways and set some alarm bells ringing. It is true, that Nigeria needs to boost its security but to project that 10,000 new police recruit could replace the deficit in Nigeria police force, is just naïve.

It is commendable and laudable but there needs to be an overhaul of policing system in Nigeria and 10,000 new recruits would not change the corrupt practices and the indiscipline that is synonymous and endemic within the force. Presently, the Nigerian police have between 375,000 and 800,000 officers (depending on who provides the figures) at the moment.

So, Nigeria needs much more than an additional 10,000 policemen to manage the crime rate and civil unrest. It has nowhere enough police officers for its population and way below the United Nation’s recommended benchmark of one police officer per 400 citizens.

The existing Nigerian police officers lack adequate equipment, ill-discipline, inadequate training for modern policing, some of the present crop of police officers are very corrupt, mostly unfit, uneducated, poorly paid and unmotivated. The Nigerian police are often deployed as muscle for the politicians and their flunkies and this leaves an already depleted force not fit to protect or serve its ordinary citizens.

It has been interesting, looking at the Nigerian police academy website. It had the requirement for joining the  police as : “a Nigerian  citizen,18 and 22 years of age, and must have a height of not less than 5 foot 6 inches (1.68 metres) for males and 5 foot 4 inches (1.63 metres) for females. In addition, male candidates must have an expanded chest size of not less than 36 inches (91 cm) and candidates must have obtained a minimum of six credits in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or the National Examinations Council (NECO) in not more than two (2) sittings and includes a credit in both English and Mathematics including subjects relevant to the candidate’s chosen field of study”.  I wish these criteria were the true reflection of the police on the beat, but it is clearly not the case. Many become very portly after a few years on the job and so seem as educated as the entry is stipulating. (Also, why is it that an application to join the police has to be paid for? This practice has got to stop.)

It is a start to refresh the police force but more has to be done  to get the calibre of police that are fit  for purpose and one that is  proud to  wear the  uniform of the force they represent .More training and education need to  be done, the living  conditions of the police barracks has to be urgent addressed . I wrote about this over two years ago, in what the president saw, January 27, 2013 in OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, and I am sure not much has changed since then. I have some of the excerpt below as reference; “The depiction by the Channels TV regarding the appalling state of the Police College, Lagos has indeed given us the reasons why our police are the way they are. It goes further than that: it is a microcosm of how every aspect of our everyday living condition has gone to pot. It is also indicative of how much value the government, the people and our society place on themselves and each other. We know there is money in the country; the politicians are aflushed with it. But this programme does not prepare you for the miserable depths of the inhumane and contemptible sights of the police living conditions.

The mere fact that the disrepair has been so long in the making is intolerable but on the level of disregard for human condition and health, it is a monumental example of who we are as a people. When do we ever complain about the despicable way we are treated day in day out by the rich and powerful? We rather keep mute and pray things improve. We do nothing, we have learned to play the victim so well, and it has become second nature.

Until now the public was not aware of the dilapidated nature of these colleges. So the rot has been festering for so long unchanged. Apparently, no President has visited the college in over 70 years! So that begs the question. Who is present at the police passing out parade?

Does the police commander visit these colleges? Who does the yearly maintenance? Where is the public health body, who should have condemned the college so long ago? To rub salt into wounds of the graduating police, they have to buy their own uniform and equipment, so you wonder why they are “collecting” the dividends from the public on their “investment”?

There is a lot to be done to overhaul the police force first before throwing an extra 10,000 recruits in the mix.

So on the basis of tackling youth unemployment, 10,000 is a drop in the ocean, the Nigeria has a very high youth unemployment, with the Bureau of Statistics putting the rate at over 25 percent, now this is a gross underestimation, it still means that over 25 million of Nigeria’s youth population are unemployed and this is deplorable and a real threat to the very survival of Nigeria. 10,000 new police recruits goes nowhere in addressing the very issue of a forgotten generation.

We need to address the many youths that are not educated, employed or have any skills. They have never had the opportunity to attend school or complete schooling for this very reason. Nigeria has forgotten to invest in its youths and it is a high price to pay for such omission. What we have is a generation of young people escaping poverty by all means possible, prevalence of thuggery and hoodlums, cultists, kidnappers and hustlers.  So where do we begin to right the wrong of a forgotten generation? This is an urgent debate that needs action, it is critical that, the whole society and government tackles this urgently.There has to be an inclusion drive across the nation only then, can change really happen for the young people in Nigeria. This is possible, and there are examples of good practice in Nigeria already.

In Osun State,they have the OYES corps, where young people are engaged in gainful training, develop work ethics, discipline and a sense of purpose. The programme can be replicated to address the mass unemployment of the young people across Nigeria. Pay them an allowance while training, teach them and instill self-worth, discipline  and integrity .

And from these new graduates, will be young people who are prepared and ready for employment in emerging industries and other employment opportunities other than the police. At this stage, recruiting youths to fill a gap in an already indiscipline police force, is like asking the cat to watch the meat. There will be more indiscipline police and power drunk with weapons; this is not a very good combination.