An anonymous policeman called in on ‘Sunnyside’, a phone-in programme hosted by Joyce Onyemuwa on Nigeria Info FM Lagos over the weekend and made shocking revelations about the current state of the police force. The sergeant explained why the current EndSARS protests would fail. The father of two further revealed the impossible conditions under which policemen work and challenged Nigerians to protest to demand better conditions for policemen if any efforts at police reforms must succeed. Excerpt.
Read full text of the audio interview as transcribed below…
I am a policeman and that is why I’m calling. I joined the job 17 years ago, though on merit. But I had mates at that time who spent N100,000 to N150,000 before they could get the job.
If we like let’s take away all the policemen we have today and go to the media to get the best guys, go to the banks to get the best bankers, go to the church to get our pastors and put them there, what is happening now is what will continue to happen.
Let me use myself as an example. When I first got this job, I was already a graduate and I made a vow that I would not live on bribe; that I would live on my salary.
But I regret it and I am regretting it now. I can’t afford to put my children in private school. I am a sergeant. My salary is just N53,000.
I’ve not been able to pay my house rent for the past two years now. Anytime from now, I’ll be evicted from my house. But the point is: who wants to live like this? No security, your children can’t feed well and you can’t wear good clothes. I live in Ikotun and work in Ikeja. N53,000! If I want to transport myself to work every day, how much will remain within a week?
And these are the people you give guns to? They’ll misuse it. They’ll misuse the opportunity. Go and bring the best bankers; go and bring the best media-house guys, and you’re paying them this salary? Forget it. Nothing will work.
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Why do you think the politicians are not saying anything? The same police guys that are guarding, protecting them? You put politicians there. Someone will just go and chew gum and at the end of the day they go home with millions of naira but the policeman who will be in the office for 24 hours or sometimes stays in the office for three days goes home at the end of the month with N60,000? And you want him to be happy? An angry man that you gave a gun to?
Don’t forget that these people are Nigerians too. Take away all the policemen we have today and bring a new set of Nigerians, in fact let them be Master’s degree holders, same thing will happen.
What we can do is this: Give these people good salary and let there be severe penalty for whosoever misbehaves. Call Frank Mba (Force Public Relations Officer). You can store my number. Bring Frank Mba on radio. Let me and him talk. Let’s debate. He’ll come here and speak fine English and you’ll think he is doing the best thing. Far from it! He’s only protecting his office.
None of us is enjoying. None of us is happy, only managing. Some people will say ‘but there are people who don’t collect up to that amount but are still surviving’. But do they have gun with them? They don’t have guns.
The police or SARS guys you’re seeing, they don’t have iron as hands. One on one, you can beat them. But when they have a gun with them, they can do anything. That’s just the truth.
You can’t raise your children in the barracks. I don’t want to raise my children in the barracks; that’s why I rented an apartment outside. But unfortunately now, I can’t even pay.
Seventeen years in the service, no vehicle, no land, no house of my own. I have 18 more years to go. The organisation was created to make Nigerians poor.
I will look for money. If it’s to pay, I’ll pay, and I’ll join SARS. Me too I want to use vehicle. I want my children to go to good schools too.
Repeat what you just said. Why do you want to join SARS?
The guys that are making money now, the SARS guys, many of them drive good vehicles. A constable, corporal, sergeant, they drive jeep. They’re your friends. You see them as good people officers. But someone like me who doesn’t have anything, you see me like someone who is lazy. You see me like someone who ‘cannot hustle’. That’s the language of Nigerians.
The SARS official who drive these cars, how do they make the money?
A SAR officer who is a sergeant like me that collects N50,000 or N60,000 at most like me, how do you get a jeep with that? But you honour and celebrate them. Many of you even get married to them. They have girlfriends… Oh My God!
Do you support the protest?
Why not? I support the protest but the point is, look, the protest will not have any effect if…Tomorrow, I may be out of the force and another set of people will go there – my children, your children, whoever. But if those guys are not well taken care of, nothing will change.
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I gave an example earlier. A politician who goes there (assembly) and does nothing but say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ collects millions of naira while a policeman is there… Come to our office. Stay there for one hour and (perceive) the smell, and see the mosquito and everything. At the end of the month, (the salary is) N60,000. That is N2,000 per day. The cost of transportation will remain? Then you want to send your children to good schools. Everybody in this country wants to have a good life. I withdrew my children from private to government school because I didn’t want to owe any money. They said a lot of things about me but I don’t care. I’ve made a vow. I swear none of my children will join police in this country. That organisation as it is now is created to make Nigerians poor except you’ll live by bribe. Nothing will happen. Let any policeman come up and challenge me that I’m lying. Call Frank Mba. Ask all these questions. Let him say I’m lying.
Unfortunately, Nigerians will say that the police are bad. Nigerians are bad.
Some people will say I’m saying all these because I’m drunk. But I’m a Sunday School Teacher in my church. I don’t drink; I don’t smoke. I have just two children but I can’t take care of them with N60,000. What sort of a house will I pay for with N60,000? Nigerians should at least fight for these people for once.
It might not be because of me, but because of people that will join the job tomorrow.
Tomorrow I may not be on the job, but what about others that are coming after? Nigeria will never get it right as long as you pay these people peanuts. It is easy to abuse policemen. Why is it that we’ve not got it right all these while?
You pay them peanuts. We buy our uniforms ourselves.
You buy your uniform yourself?
Yes. I want to look neat. I have three uniforms. But before I could get these three uniforms, I paid through my nose. You buy your uniform yourself.
You’re a graduate of what please?
I read Electrical Electronics. But there’s no job. You go to places and they’ll ask you, ‘who bring you’? ‘Where is the letter from so-so person?’ Look, Nigeria is finished.
The way we’re going, forget it. I’ve said it times without number. Put these guys on good salary. Let there be rules and regulations to checkmate them. If they go wrong, jail or kill them. Nigerians are law-abiding citizens; they obey laws. If any policeman is collecting good salary, he’ll stay in his office. He’ll do his job well. He will not want to lose that job.
Now, if I’ve spent 17 years with nothing to show for it, the remaining 18 years, what do I think will be the end? What kind of a house of house will I build within 18 years? Tell me. No future.
If you get sick, sometimes half your salary is gone on drugs. You can’t even go to a good hospital because there you don’t have the money.
No health insurance?
For where? Go and ask them.
Are you saying there is no subsidy by government on healthcare for Nigerian police officers?
You know I just told you to bring Mba to the studio. I just told you. I’m challenging him. Unfortunately, he’ll package it. And people think that I’m lying. If you want learn the truth about policing in this country, go to the rank and file. The constables, corporals, sergeants and inspectors. They’ll tell you the truth.
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