The Police is not my friend

I guess I can tell myself, "welcome back". To all who had been waiting for another post, and probably got tired of expecting, I tender an unreserved apology. The hiatus was caused by a combination of factors including writer's block, the pressures of work, a bout of the dreaded typhoid/malaria, an armed robbery attack, and...uhm, woman trouble. But you know how life doesn't wait for you to be ready before it gets you up and running again...and that's why the page is back.

I had occasion to visit a police station recently (the reason for my visit is talk for another post), and I saw the blasphemous poster plastered with big letters saying: "The Police is Your Friend". I burst into laughter. Then I got really pissed. I spent some part of the break period reading the newspapers, and everyday, I read stories of precious lives cut short either by police brutality, or police stupidity, or a mixture of both. I read of preventable road accidents, of unsolved murders, of unwarranted arrests, etc, and I cannot help but wonder, who the hell came up with that phrase, "the Police is your friend"? My mind tells me that the person is obviously not Nigerian, or even if he was, obviously lived in an era long ago when the Nigerian Police was efficient (which would have been long before I was born, because they have yet to solve the Dele Giwa murder, and that's almost as old as I am); otherwise, he would have said otherwise. And if it was a PR spin campaign commissioned by the Police, then they just wasted millions of Naira because of all the forces operating in this country, the Police is the least trusted and most hated. Point to note, I wanted to, on completion of my National Youth Service, join the Nigerian Police Force, but my mother said that if I did, she'd disown me...can you beat that? And who can blame her? Records and reports show that the Nigerian Police have probably killed more people than armed robbers have; they have concerned themselves more with blame-throwing rather than solve crimes; they have been more serious about changing their uniforms rather than changing their approach to the protection of lives and properties; they are quicker to mount road blocks and practice extortion than rescuing kidnap victims - but they are quick to apportion all the glory to themselves, even when the families of the victim pays to get their loved ones back (who can blame the either? If I had the option of paying ransom to rescue my wife from kidnappers or waiting for the police to act, that's a no-brainer for me - I'll pay!).

Please do not misunderstand me. The Force is not all bad. Maybe there are some good eggs among them, I cannot say. But I do not believe the police (sorry, the Nigerian police) is my friend.