BY BRIGHT JACOB
The threat by members of the rank and file of the Nigeria Police Force to embark on an industrial action has been described by analysts as “serious”, with the potential to aggravate the already fragile security situation in the country.
Members of the lower cadre of the police force decided to call a strike because of the non-implementation of the new police salary structure and other unfavorable working conditions that centered on their welfare. The call, however, turned into a back-and-forth between them (junior officers) and their superiors.
The police authorities initially denied the news of the impending strike action and called it fake news. It was, however, obvious that they were in the know about the strike, as a police signal, dated March 15th, with reference number “CB: 4001/DOPS/FHQ/ABJ/Vol” directed all Assistant Inspector-Generals and Commissioners of Police to call their men to order.
The Police wireless titled “Purported strike by members of the rank and file” also stated that the IGP had directed the immediate computation of salary under the new structure, and promised tax relief as well as the provision of kits and accoutrements.
In a shocking turn of events, however, an anonymous and open letter allegedly written by the junior officers and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, began to make the rounds.
The officers in the letter, demanded for N100, 000 minimum wage and vowed to embark on the industrial action on March 26, when the All Progressives Congress would converge in Abuja for its national convention.
The disgruntled officers called the bluff of the IGP and vowed there was no going back on the strike action. They lamented the injustice from the inequitable payment of salaries, noting that a Level 3 officer in the EFCC earns N280, 000 monthly against a constable who takes home N45, 700 per month, and a Level 8 officer in the EFCC who receives N490, 000 monthly against an Inspector who earns N109, 200 monthly, as well as a host of other conditions of service they want corrected.
Reacting to the demand by the junior officers to be paid N100, 000 minimum wage, Onaiwu Oduwa, a senior lecturer in the University of Benin, noted that the burden of Policing Nigeria had become too much for the Federal Government.
He maintained that policemen in Nigeria were underpaid, and it was unfortunate that state governments and private individuals were the ones funding the police. He called for a quick overhaul and implementation of their salary structure, and also mooted for community policing.
“They lamented the injustice from the inequitable payment of salaries, noting that a Level 3 officer in the EFCC earns N280, 000 monthly against a constable who takes home N45, 700 per month, and a Level 8 officer in the EFCC who receives N490, 000 monthly against an Inspector who earns N109, 200 monthly, as well as a host of other conditions of service they want corrected”
“The burden of policing Nigeria is too much on the Federal Government. It’s the state governments that are doing more for the police. Their operational vehicles and gadgets are from the state governments. Community police is the right thing to do. I don’t know why our government keeps dodging it,” he said.
Continuing, he said, “The Federal Government should give at least 1% or 2% of federal allocations to the funding of police.
The same percentage should also go to education. The government should prioritise education and security of the people instead of giving them peanuts (in the name of poverty alleviation) which never gets to them.
“The least paid police officer should earn nothing less than N200, 000 and N300, 000. Why won’t the ones earning N40, 000 not take bribes on the streets?” he remarked.
Asked what a strike action would mean for Nigeria and her already fragile security situation, he said it would aggravate it and pointed to some of the consequences of the #ENDSARS protests.
“It will aggravate it. It will just be similar to what happened during the #ENDSARS protests when police officers were being killed and chased away. At that period, no police officer was ready or willing to work anymore because their stations were burnt down. Then what happened next? Hoodlums took over, and armed robbery and kidnappings increased,” he said.
Onaiwu told our correspondent that the Federal Government should meet the demands of the officers, as, according to him, “A labourer is worthy of his wages”.
He noted that policemen risked their lives to keep us safe.
“If you have agreed to increase their salaries, give it to them. They are risking their lives protecting Nigerians. Government should do the needful,” he stressed.
On why the police high commission hid the facts of the strike action at first and denied it, Onaiwu said it was merely an operational procedure used worldwide by security agencies to prevent panic among members of the public. He said certain information within security circles was not meant for the public.
“It’s the same thing all over the world. When it comes to the issue of security, some things are classified. So, when you declassify them, that information would be in the public. The government will do damage control to reduce the heat the matter would generate,” he submitted.
According to Onaiwu, “If they allow the information about the strike to get out there, they know the citizenry will be in a state of panic. So, as much as possible, they try to conceal whatever information that is supposed to be classified because they are matters of national security and information such as the police going on strike is not supposed to be in the public domain,” he added.
On who is to be blamed for the strike action, the university don said it shouldn’t just be the president only, but every other person, from the top to the least. He also said previous governments were not exempted from the rot in the police force. “The rot is not in this administration alone. It has always been there, but it seems to be more prevalent now,” he noted.
He also said the police force must be made more attractive and police infrastructures must begin to work.
“In Dubai, the type of vehicles the police use are the Prado Jeeps our ministers and governors drive. There should be the dignity of labour. Look at our police stations, they are nothing to write home about, and that’s why policemen don’t give their best. Also, their training and training facilities must be top-notch. There’s a way you will build infrastructures so that when people come in, they’ll be motivated to work. If you are coming to a place that shows unseriousness, you can’t expect them to do their best,” he disclosed.
Reacting to the looming strike, a legal practitioner, Honesty Eguridu, on his part, said any strike action by the police would have serious consequences.
Eguridu also used the events of the aftermath of the #ENDSARS protests to describe the outcome of what a strike action by the police would resemble.
“If the police go on strike, it’ll be a serious problem for the country because we cannot overlook what the policemen are doing. Whether they’re effective or not, they ward off a lot of criminal activities.
“You know what happened immediately after the #ENDSARS protests when policemen got angry. A lot of them decided not to perform their duties, and you saw that the rate of crime went up, and a lot of people were attacked in Lagos and even in the traffic. Armed robbers went on the rampage and started moving from house to house,” he said.
The Point recalls that the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the last time the police went on a strike, and it was during the tenure of Musiliu Smith who resigned as a result of the fallout of that strike.
We asked Eguridu who should be held responsible should the police go on strike? He said the president. He said, “The buck stops on the president’s table. He is the commander-in-chief and is responsible for security.”
He explained that the president appointing the Inspector General of Police notwithstanding, the president should be held accountable.
He also clarified the IGP could be blamed, too, because he directly oversees the police. According to him, if the president failed to act on any issue brought before him by the IGP, he (IGP) could cry it to the National Assembly, and failure to do so would not exonerate him from any blame.
Eguridu also said the common man would bear the brunt of the strike action by the police. He was of the opinion that it was the common man armed robbers would easily attack while the rich would be safe in their gated estates.
“If the strike should happen, it’s going to be a very serious problem for the nation, and unfortunately, the common man will still bear the brunt of it all, because it’s the common man armed robbers would easily attack.
“The rich people can afford to hire private security and they can afford to protect themselves, but the common man cannot.
The rich are in gated estates and robbers may not be able to get to them easily. So, despite the fact that they’re not effective, they’re still working and the government must do everything to forestall the strike,” he concluded.
