Recently, a large number of retired police personnel staged a nationwide protest to express their frustration over the contributory pension scheme, which they claimed is skewed against them.
The retirees claimed that a Superintendent of Police who serves without blemish for 35 years gets a retirement benefit of N2 million. In a volatile economy like Nigeria’s, with the value of the naira increasingly on a downward slide, this amount is not just paltry; it is insulting, disgusting, and humiliating. The fact that numerous others who retire on a lower rank get an amount far lower than N2 million makes the situation more disturbing.
It is clear that the scheme, which is increasingly inflicting much hardship on police retirees and making post-service life dreadful, is unjust and fundamentally broken. By error of omission or commission, the nation has created a situation where retirement is dreaded and not welcomed by most police personnel.
Essentially, the retired police personnel embarked on the national protest to force a change. Days after the July 21 protest, there is nothing to show that things will improve for them anytime soon.
While the police retirees and their families wait in anticipation of change, the fact that their protest has far-reaching implications for the nation’s security cannot be overstated. Fundamentally, by giving scant regard to police personnel’s pensions, the country is creating a situation where the morale of those in service is increasingly dampened.
It is appalling to see persons who have served the nation diligently, spending their youthful age and time protecting lives and property, being treated the way and manner the nation treats retired police personnel. But that is our sad reality.
How can a nation battling insecurity currently experienced in Nigeria fail to prioritise the welfare of its foremost security organisation? It is difficult to understand and possibly explain why, despite the strategic importance of the police, successive administrations have failed to ensure their reasonable funding.
As one of the foremost institutions through which the state exerts its powers, the police are critical in ensuring order in any society. This agency is responsible for maintaining law and order, ensuring crime prevention and detection, and, above all, guaranteeing the security of citizens’ lives and property.
Sadly, despite this onerous task, the police have continued to receive the short end of the stick as far as funding is concerned. This is best situated in the very scant attention accorded to the welfare of officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
Only recently, this newspaper decried a situation in which each police station in the country receives a quarterly running cost of N45,000, which translates to N15,000 per month.
It is clear that such an amount, which translates to about N500 daily to fuel patrol vehicles, get diesel to power generators, and address other running costs, is contemptible and shows how unserious the nation is about issues of security of lives and property.
We observed rightly that the meagre funding has far-reaching implications for the effectiveness and image of the Nigerian Police Force. An average Nigerian Policeman is not fully equipped with the modern gadgets needed for present-day policing, is not well-trained, underpaid and ill-motivated.
The combination of this contemptible funding and the exploitative police pension system has contributed to denying the nation quality policing. No nation treats its most crucial security agent disdainfully and expects adequate security.
It is clear. The nation has sown the wind and has to be ready to reap the whirlwind. How else can one explain the decision of leadership to treat funding for the police with levity, knowing fully well that the country is experiencing wanton killings and frightening kidnapping for ransom, with the citizens, especially those living in the worst-hit areas, living in constant fear?
Without prevarication, to guarantee the safety of lives and property, the government must accord top priority to funding the police and other security agencies.
Most importantly, to ensure discipline, professionalism, and a corruption-free police force, the government must implement measures that allow retired personnel to live decent post-service lives and not retire into a life of penury. For now, most of them believe, and perhaps rightly so, that retirement is a descent into hardship. This fear is largely responsible for the mess the Nigerian police have become.
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