THE POLICE IS YOUR FRIEND... (PART 2)

Thank you very much for checking out the critical lyric blog, we strongly apologize for the quality of the last visuals, secondly, the brief history was designed to create a launch pad for for the next critique session, building up on a humble beginning, well structured or not, measuring the justification of the present state. Enjoy.

Firstly, if English language is our lingual franca, shouldn't the English language scholars correct the name of our police, i mean it should be the Nigeria(n) Police Force as opposed to "Nigeria" without the "n" at the end, i remember that being possessive noun back in my English language class. Someone please save us the national embarrassment that has lingered for as long as i can remember.

Straight to the point, is the police really your friend? Of course they are also human, only that they are permitted by law to use force where necessary to curb or prevent crime as the case may be. Hmm.
How then do we honestly and effectively rate the police in a country where corruption thrives like the air we breathe?
Over time, there have arisen several cases, proven and otherwise, of the police committing unbelievable atrocities that even the average citizen dares not perform.
Well, i am not here to judge the police, but i want to x-ray the cause of the problem that doesn't let us trust the police a hundred percent, especially here in Nigeria.

Wikipedia defines police corruption as a form of police misconduct in which law enforcing officers seek personal gain, such as money, or career advancement through the abuse of power, for example, by accepting bribes so as not to pursue an investigation or arrest.
When people say they are not well paid in Nigeria, i worry, although part of it is true, but due to the fact that i do not want to follow the crowd mentality and sound like everybody else, i take time out to think things further through and do a little research.

For a nation to be vibrant and successful, certain things have to be put in place right?
It's just like when you want to cook a perfect meal, the necessary things have to be put in place, cooking gas, utensils, oil, seasoning, cutlery etc. Also when you want to make music, the band should have drum sets, guitars, keyboards and not to make little.
Therefore a nation which works should have appropriate infrastructure such as power, roads, schools, hospital, security to mention but a few.
This is a rhythm of systemic principles that cannot be toyed with in order to ensure a a positively anticipated outcome, created by design in a shared vision of credible people (thinkers) with sound mind..
Apparently, science has taken over the world, call it jet age, information age or whatever, but wisdom and positive mental attitude further strengthens us to see that our nose is right under our very nose, opening the horizons of our thoughts and actions with vast consideration of emotional intelligence, as the systems approach helps give fresh solutions to complex problems, combining science and practical common sense.

When all these infrastructures are not available or not working effectively, citizens are are bound to spend the money they don't even have, causing a budget inconsistency, luring them into being corrupt, as no one can predict the level of discipline a man can hold himself up to at certain times when his environment pressurizes him.

John Egbeazien Oshodi (Ph.D.) delivered a fine piece in the Punch newspaper of 22nd May 2013 about compensation for the slain police officers' families. These unequipped, ill motivated, poorly paid officers that have been denied efficient infrastructure and that have not had a genuine reason to be extremely loyal to their nation were cut short in the line of national duty in the heat of insecurity and threat to the stability of their dear nation.


They unceremoniously passed away, leaving behind a family they couldn't even take good care of in the first place to a nation that can hardly keep records of her citizens, nor can adequately take care of her citizens present, not to talk of future. Then out of obvious sentimentality and banal protocol due to the glaring inquisitiveness of the recently aware citizenry, with disdain and shameless hypocrisy and bias, they promise to give the victims' families certain monies according to cadre in the police force, or do we just say hierarchy? like death recognizes your degrees.
Additionally, believe it or not, if the families do get the monies promised them at all, it is probably going to take forever, and half of it will most probably go into shady paper work and protocol (classified procedures).
This is more than enough reason for the police to be grossly irresponsibly, i don't have the solution, but i only seek to constructively criticize, is it a moral justification?
Come on guys, lets help ourselves, only then can we assist the police, remember they are humans, they are among us, and they are our friends..

THE POLICE IS YOUR FRIEND...AN APPETIZING HISTORY (PART 1)

The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder.^[1] Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however,gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing.

Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity.^[2] Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order.^[3] In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property.^[4] Some parts of the world may suffer from police corruption. (WIKIPEDIA)

History of Nigeria Police Force

In April 1861, the British Consul in Lagos obtained permission from his principal in London to establish a Consular Guard comprising of 30 men. Two years later in 1863, this small body of men became known as the "Hausa Guard". It was further regularized in 1879 by an Ordinance creating a Constabulary for the Colony of Lagos.

 An Inspector-General of Police commanded this Force recruited mainly from Hausas and known as the "Hausa Constabulary". On 1st January 1896, the Lagos Police Force was created and armed like the "Hausa Constabulary". While the developments were taking place in Lagos and part of the Yoruba heartland, the areas now known as Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, River and Cross River States were declared the Oil Rivers protectorate in 1891 with Headquarters at Calabar where an armed constabulary was formed.

In 1893 the area was proclaimed the Niger Coast. Constabulary, modeled on the Hausa Constabulary, was formed. It existed for six years and featured prominently in the British expedition to Benin in 1896. In the Northern parts of the Country the Royal Niger Company, which was granted a Royal Charter in 1886 by the British Government, set up the Royal Niger Constabulary in 1888 with Headquarters at Lokoja to protect its installations along the banks of the River Niger. It had a mounted company known as Carrol’s Hoses.

The Royal Niger Constabulary played an important role in British campaigns against Bida and Ilorin. When the British Government in 1900 following the transfer of administration from the Royal Niger Company proclaimed protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria, the Royal Niger Constabulary was split into the Northern Nigeria Police Force and the Northern Nigeria Regiment. In the South, the Lagos Police Force and part of the Niger Coast Constabulary became the southern Nigeria Police Force in 1906 while the bulk of the Niger Coast Constabulary formed the southern Nigeria Regiments.

 

EXTREMISM OF BIASED SENTIMENTALITY....

"Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized"
Benjamin Hayden.

One cold and perhaps frosty morning, precisely June last year, i was at Area 3 junction in the Nigerian federal capital territory, Abuja, waiting for a cab.
Then as i glanced at my left hand side, i saw a young man presumably in his late thirties holding in his hand the days newspaper i happened not to have seen. So i instinctively asked politely if i could browse through it briskly before our cabs came, and he kindly obliged.
The paper carried the news of insecurities in the country ranging from the recent terrorism and heightened level of corruption. After i browsed through it briefly, my cab arrived, so naturally, i returned the paper to the man and i promptly thanked him as i also said "God will help us".
Unexpectedly, the man got angry and was not afraid to show it. He snatched his paper off me violently and accused me of joining the band wagon of biased, sentimental hypocrites, expecting God to come down to help us when we have refused to help ourselves.


While my cab took me on my highly anticipated ride, i reflected on what the man at the bus stop said, and something stayed with me.
Believe it or not, but Nigeria is a country where people pray for electric power to come on, for the roads to be repaired, for a bus or cab to show up, for the traffic to ease out, for salaries to increase, for prices of items to come down, all without physically doing a thing about it.
The international community has called Nigerians many names or rather tagged Nigerians with many titles such as happiest people, most populous black nation, developing nation blessed with both natural and human resources. Well, these are mere flattery titles compared to the contrary that realists would rather say, as the most corrupt and socially irresponsible nation, and to top it, a bunch of opportunistic so called leaders enveloped with greed, short sight, hypocrisy and consistent negligence of the heavenly principles that emphasizes observance of the laws which govern the earth.


A popular Yoruba proverb says that so far a Landlord lives, his house cannot be overrun by bush. Another one says that once there is an elder in a place, a child will be well taken care of, in terms of morals and welfare, depending on the capacity of his wisdom.
The cue from these proverbs balls down on the leadership potential in Nigeria. Sometimes i wonder why there is a lot of neglect for the average citizen while the politicians over-pay themselves and still loot the national treasury. Then i realized that its is an all encompassing spate of selfishness and a total embrace of the default negative stereotype that in some way or another haunts us all, as we are a product of our environment, and thought.
Stephen. R. Covey takes us on a safe journey into the world of principles in his best seller, 7 habits of highly effective people. He carefully explained in a step by step order how to react to situations we cannot control so as not to destroy our minds and our lives with anger, fear and worry over things we have no power over.
Rather, he emphasized the need for building better relationships and healthier psychology through selflessness.



He further melted our hearts in his additional effort in his "8 habit, from effectiveness to greatness" by summarizing the essence of life as finding your voice and helping others find their's as well.

Everyone in the world wants to live in America, why? I know three reasons for sure, it is because America is so well structured in such a way that they have become economically sound enough to be respected as world power, there you are free to express yourself and you can be whatever you want to be so far you can dream it and work as hard for it.
This is possible because their fore-fathers understood the principles that govern the earth, and they inculcated  
in them enough positive mental attitude to face any obstacle head-on and make the most of it.
This is why they have less stigma for poverty, diseases and deformities.
Back here in Africa, we really fear what we don't understand and we destructively criticize them, except they happen to us or members of our families.
That is why we are considered the most religious, we pray for everything to happen the way we want without realistically tackling the issue.
This only makes us unfair to ourselves as we become vulnerable to the ugly claw of bias and extreme sentimentality.




Akin Abimbola (akinzogee@gmail.com)

LIVING...FOR DUMMIES: VARYING SHADES OF VALUES.

Similar to the scenario which surrounded Robert Kiyosaki in his fine Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, my friend's dad summarized a simple but critical text for her to carefully meditate upon which read thus, "Grow before you glow".
This simple text apparently exhibits the rhyme feature out of coincidence even if it incites poetic intelligence in some way. The sentence also probably has the tendency to summarize the entirety of human behavioral pattern in direct proportion to the character of our present immediate environment.
As the saying goes "talent is not enough, one must also have a talent for luck", luck itself does not come easy, it happens when preparedness coincides with opportunity.

   

Its funny how life is simple yet complicated. An example is how scientists tell us that air is a mixture of gases, blood vessels have millions of cells, there also exists helpful bacteria, the interesting mystery of the human healing process, imperativity of interaction and not to make little.
Perhaps our population explosion is but for one cogent reason, so that we all can take a stand and try to do our little part in the great endeavour to make the world a better place.

An important recipe for a better place is the instill of values in the younger ones, by style or force, else the kid thinks its right for him to get a second cone of ice cream as well as eating cake and even having a lot more to go with it. Even the holy book advises us not to spare the rod else the child gets spoilt and heads for only God knows where (not pleasant by the way).

Youths of the new millennium are most probably going to sell their souls to be popular, have money and have a million followers on twitter. A teenager will wear expensive apparel which he couldn't even afford in the first place, and still brag about it. In fairness to them, they have a whole lot of role models to take after. The godfathers that misappropriate national funds which disorientates their self concept and causes them to alter the natural eco-system causing a spill-over and negative multiplier effect on the immediate environment.
The aftermath is that goods get over-priced especially in a non-producing economy which has dilapidated infrastructure and restive, unemployed youth that have no genuine guidance, but rather blindly and desperately seek direction.



So what then is the solution? honestly i do not expressly have an answer, but i doubt if we really need to re-invent the wheel.
Many nations have got it right even if they are not perfect, at least they told themselves the truth and they stuck by the principles to create a fine model of a systematic structure. Sounds vague? lets use USA as our model then. Despite their controversies, we still unconsciously consider them world power, the land of the free where even terrorists feel safe even to fully express themselves.



Nigeria to some point has not moved as far as we wish because sabotage is the watch word of many high placed office holders, but even if the entire infrastructure is in place, who are the people to optimally use them?
They cannot be well maintained neither can they be sustained because it will all seem like a waste as the citizens have not been adequately taken care of and given a sense of belonging to guard the nation's property with faith and loyalty.
Would you give a monkey a new shirt?