IT was truly courageous of Senator Hamman Misau to blow the lid off the alleged corrupt practices in the Nigerian Police Force. This courage to speak out is commendable because it is usually not the norm for us northerners to speak out against a system that overwhelmingly favours fellow northerners.
That is why, over here in the North, there is overwhelming support for the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Northerners oppose the mooted state police system, but support Nigeria’s continued “unity” and non-restructuring, among others.
Presently, there are states that are considered areas of “plush postings or assignments” for police officers because of the cozy arrangements that abound there and these states are usually identified as the following: Anambra, Imo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Ogun.
With respect to other federating states, no insult is intended here but economically, those other states cannot match the aforementioned states for ease with which capital move and the availability of cash on demand.
A careful examination of the posting pattern in the Nigerian Police Force indicates that somehow, these states have mostly northern police officers as their Commissioners of Police to the exclusion of the indigenes of those states who usually get the “crumbs” as Police Public Relation Officers.
What Senator Misau told Nigerians was that this state of affairs was heavily flawed and skewed to favour the highest bidder and when that bidder was not forthcoming, then the kith and kindred of the ruling class gets the meat.
Adole Jonah
Minna, Niger State