My Response to Nigerian Bad Police and impact on migration

I came across this post reproduced below on WhatsApp. The conversation was a result  of ongoing discussion on Kemi Badenoch  remark on her experience  with Nigerian police. But have another opinion  and my own is replicated immediately  after it. 

After economic concerns, bad Policing is probably the second highest reason Nigerians run from this country.

Police have caused a lot of damage to several homes and people.

Two years ago, I was invited by the police of SFU. I went there with confidence. When I got there, my phone was collected. It ended as pure blackmail and threats of locking me up throughout the holiday period if I don't drop 15m. 

I was allowed access to my phone just to trasfer. So i showed them that all I had was just a little over 4m in my account. 4,250,000 was exhausted from me that day. I was made to sign that I will bring the balance. I just wanted to go out.

When I got out, I went to meet the AIG in charge of FCID to report the matter. He was livid and instructed them to stop harrassing me for the balance. It ended there, so I sued them to court. It's been 2yrs, and they haven't shown up for a day in court.

Earlier this year, we got a letter from Zone 2 that our HR, CEO, and Admin should come. This time, I simply sent the company lawyer and the HR officer.

Again, it ended as abduction. They requested for 1m naira before the HR officer can be allowed out.

So I told them to detain him and charge him court the second day. They had nothing to hold him. It's just some officers looking for companies to extort. They were asking for evidence that we remit pensions and pay taxes. How is that even their business.

 So I made I few calls, they were let out. This time, we didnt pay a dime. Then we wrote the IG. At the end, they said two of the 3 policemen that handled the matter weren't police officers. They apologised and said the last one would be punished. How are they not policemen, and they can write companies and bring them into Zone 2? I still don't understand

I do not know the author but here is my response to the post

But the people who ran away because of bad Nigerian police don't run away from American bad police and shooting.

Let's not colour this..they left for economic reasons.. and that is justified and fine. I am very much okay with people becoming economic migrants. We truly need such people for us to grow and I am very optimistic that once Nigerian Tax reform is passed,many of them will exploit the new low tax environment to to invest in Nigeria. Because it will favour them more than foreigners. And we will benefit from their surjourn abroad when they return home. 

That said. 

Bad policing won't go away but can be reduced with full active citizens participation. And a system that bring justice to victims. 

Bad policing cannot be divorced from our collective behaviours. Many of us are irritant who see Police as enemies and frustrate them. We have a natural tendency to want bad thing for police officers unless in time if chaos where they need to protect us. I am not generalising though. And many police have developed negative mindset against the citizens as manifested in their seeing every one (especially poor, unassuming people) as a potential criminal unless he is a big man. 

At the end of the day, what was not said is that police are citizens like u and I abusing their power in connivance with the citizens. 

We can't sack entire police officers and we can't guarantee that the next batch of Nigerians to be hired will be better. Police did all they can to hire human being but animals among us always find their way in. The bad police did not become bad police officers when they join the police forces, they were already bad people as Nigerians. 

They reflect the entire society and people who are only waiting for opportunities to be part of national rots and unleash their inner greed, wickedness on the society. Just like some politicians.

We need to have a national conversation on police that is insulated from politicians if we want to move on. Because at the end of the day, the subject ended up muddled in politics.

On my own, I will wish we just remove all Southern graduates in police and put northern Alimajiri there. The system will self clean. I can trust an Alimajiri as a policeman than a southern graduate with all his grammar and degrees. The graduates are there, mostly, for economic survival. That is my personal opinion.