In my student days, one subject that fascinated me was geography. Interestingly, when the topic about climate and the desert, the topic about cyclone tickled my fancy and increased my interest in the subject. The first time l witnessed the activities of cyclone, it vividly explained the meaning of vicious circle. However, vicious circle is explained as “problem or difficult situation that has the effect of creating new problems which then cause the original problem or situation to occur again”.
Better explain, when trouble leads to another that agraevates the first, then a vicious circle is noticeable .
As a country, we have consistently been facing the same trend of criminality and the same method of battling and confronting these insecurity despite the noticeable new methods of criminality which prompt positive confrontation from defending forces and gives us an instant positive results which often make those in authority to reel out what sometimes sound like rebranded speeches that become what observers describe as unnecessary and meaningless. Part of our national problem is policy reversal without any justifiable reason or better option. A situation where a security policy was articulated and rightly put in place by one administration, only for another administration to change and reverse it for no justifiable reason.
Years before the emergence of insurgency in the northern part of the country. Insurgency which has cost the country much pain and sorrow of thousands of dead citizens plus uncountable economic loss, was the reversal of former lnspector General of police, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro’s security policy who incidentally foresaw the need to establish an anti terrorist squad which would had nibbed the insurgents in the bud but his successor dismantled the squad only to be confronted with insurgency and he was caught napping for selfishly reversing the anti terrorist policy. This has been the bane of Nigeria, and the country has continued to bleed seriously.
As we stepped into the year 2024, the thinking in the public space is that the insecurity and economic woes and suffering would have come to an end , but instead it looks the country is entering another phase of both insecurity and economic woe. Regrettably the abduction of over three hundred innocent Nigerians in two weeks among them are lnternally displaced persons (lDPs) around Borno state, including katsina, Kaduna, Benue and plateau states are sad reminder of our insecurity past. (To be continued)
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Retirement: The unseen teacher (2)
Indeed retirement is sweet but the economic condition that is prevalent in the country has made it very unbearable, painful and frustrating to many officers who proceed on retirement. The truth is that many officers are the architect of their undoing. Pre-retirement plan can be the measurement for your retirement success, because you plan to succeed or unplan to fail. It is unbelievable to find officers approaching their retirement year with no savings.
They squander every of their income like the tortoise who does not see the need to save during the raining season. Many officers live with the notion that live is a jolly good ride and forgetting that the ostentatious land extravagant lifestyle they were used to while in service will continue even after retirement. Many forget that the friends they made while in uniform only came around them because of what they can get out of them.
Such friends are “Use and dump” when there is nothing for them to gain from you they close that chapter of friendship. It was a retired commissioner of police who once told me of his experience, according to him, while he was the commissioner of police in charge of Lagos State, he was receiving over three cartons full of greeting cards but no sooner did he retire than the cards drastically reduced into tens, even the gifts were no longer coming.
He said the number of friends also shrinked. Officers who forget the awesomeness and lesson of retirement are those who flaunt their lifestyle without any inhibition. These are the ones that either go for more wives or are just procreating when they should be concluding the educational training of their children.
What is a police officer doing with procreation when he has only five years to retirement? Or why would a man prevent his wife from working when his income cannot sustain the family. In an interview with the former CP Rivers State, Mr. Bala Usman, he narrated how the governor wanted to assist the family of policemen who died while on active duty in the state, but was handicapped because it was later discovered that most of the junior police officers were already having over six children while the governor was planning for only four children.
The question is, what is a constable doing with six children, does that mean that by the time he gets to the rank of an Inspector, he would have produced ten kids. Many of them are not ready to abide with the family planning system. They have forgotten that the more the children the painful the problem, considering the weak economy of the country. Procreation is attached to wisdom and not recklessness, especially when one cannot give them the needed education.
One hope that policemen have severed themselves from the archaic mentality of not training their children above what they themselves have attained educationally. A well trained child, equipped with education is not only a pride but brings glory to the family. A good example is then present Inspector General of police whose father saw to it that his son attained the highest level of education even when he could not attain it.
A policeman from the first day of enlistment has 35year, and if an arithmetic arrangement could be carried out, an officer ought to have concluded everything about marriage and procreation in fifteen year of service and ensure their educational training in ten years while the remaining ten years is used for the planning of their retirement. What is wrong if an officer goes ahead to acquire land, properties, engage in small scale farming, or kick start a business.
Officers who have not planned for their retirement are those who become a pain in the neck of suspects and complainants. Their actions, apart from exposing their corrupt tendencies, most often, are seen to be soiling the image of the police force. It is our elder who adviced that a stitch in time saves nine and officers should make hays while the sun shines. (concluded)
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