The Police and His Birth Right

I haven't been writing in a long time and truly, I can't say exactly why. It isn't about being lazy actually; maybe I just haven't had time or simply put I haven't being writing. Thank God, I am writing again.
The Nigerian Police by all standards is one of the most popular institutions we have in Nigeria. Sadly, this popularity isn't informed by the ground breaking record it has kept in crime bursting or intelligence management nor civil conduct.

We all have one or two tales to tell about men of the Nigerian Police. For emphasis sake, 'men' in this contest caters for every sex adorning the police uniform. I would have dedicated a portion of this article on the shameful conduct of women in the police but for all these gender noise; besides, shame has nothing to do with sex!
The lucky ones amongst us are those who haven't directly had something to do with the police or have dealt with the civilised and disciplined few; you must be indeed very lucky. Some of us haven't being so lucky, we have had our bitter share of the ugly tales; no thanks to the ills that has not only eaten deep into the police force but also into the individuals whose decision to join the police was not informed by the drive to serve this country but were only beneficiaries of slot of certain big men in their local governments or misfit to the corporate world.
By chance you probably would have seen this popular sticker that reads: If you think the police is bad, when next you are in trouble, call a Thug!!
Oh my God, what is the difference? Thugs most times might come in handy as they are delivering based on payment made to them. I would call God in my case if I can’t personally fight back. Or maybe call the police to fulfil all righteousness.
That's one way to see it though, the problem of policing in Nigeria is far too complicated and gross to blame in on the average police officer alone. This would only achieve a lamentation trail that is not about to end anytime soon.
How well is an average police officer catered for?
How many civilians are under the direct responsibility of a poorly paid, undertrained and almost frustrated police officer?

What is the take home pay of this officer whose children also deserve to be schooled and cleanly dressed like some children of other workers he is supposed to protect?
What value is attached to his life especially in death?
Providing an answer to these questions would further reflect how far we are from resolving these policing problems. Another interesting trend is the fact that despite being understaffed, government officials across all arms don't seem to see the danger except the few times they read from the pages of newspapers or a close relative is affected by the policing crises. They allocate to themselves savvy officers with properly serviced arms and regular tips to keep his concentration intact; like you would have guessed, they don't keep just one officer! They have extended this goodwill to their rich colleagues who help them wash clean their loots and also to visiting foreigners.

I do not mean foreigners should not be protected; all I am saying is I would like to see a situation where an officer of the Metropolitan police would be sighted at the gate of a Nigerian big man in the name of protecting him.
This is a country of about 150 million people expecting to be protected by a paltry 330000 (Source: http://247nigerianewsupdate.com/?p=5553) police men. Mathematically, approximately 455 would Nigerians have had look up to a police man for protection; this is not to be fellow Nigerians.
Recent finding revealed that of this miserable figure, about 100000 officers which represents 30.30% are attached to individuals(quoting DIG Parry Osayande (retd)). By implication, about 625 Nigerians now look a policeman for protection.
Of the remaining 230000, another huge percentage has chosen to abandon their duty post to mount illegal road blocks to extort, harass and sometimes, kill those they are stationed to protect. I fondly advice my friends to go to a police checkpoint to report when they have problems rather visit empty stations.
The brazen confidence with which the police officers collect tolls from motorcyclist and other transport operators has reached such a height that one can certainly conclude that the proceed get farther than the pocket of the collector.
We have heard few cases of police officers arrested for bribery offenses but we really can't tell how such cases have ended. If this mad rate is anything to go by, then it should be correct to say that atleast 5 police officers should be dismissed on daily basis.

This takes me to the proposed way out. I want to keep it simple; total overhauling and strict orientation.
Better welfare package and improved training programs.
Enrolment should be pegged at minimum qualification and merits be upheld.
There must be a proper account for the ammunitions policemen carry and also their lives as individuals.
When all of these and many more are put in place, the penalty for breaching trust by a police should be tougher and all processes of trial must be open, free and fair.
All erring police officers must be publicly blacklisted and also gazetted for future references.
I hope my proposition doesn't sound like a movie? Every positive suggestion these days have always passed for movie script.
As a parting advice, let's all play our roles in ensuring a secured system by being vigilant and mindful of conducts that could expose us to criminal attacks. The lesser you get yourself into troubles the lesser you would rely on the police.