The reported disinterest shown by the people in the South East and South West geo-political zones in the recent police recruitment into other ranks when compared with their counterparts in the North, has underscored the urgent need to improve the welfare of police personnel as well as making the job attractive to young ones. Besides, there might be some underlying factors why youths from the South East and the South West are showing indifference in the recent recruitment into the police force.
It is good that the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Police Service Commission (PSC) had decried the worrisome development, which if not nipped in the bud will not augur well for the force and the security of the country. However, they should also find out why the youths from the North are showing more interest to join the force while those from the South, particularly the South East and the South West, are shunning it.
If there are factors responsible for the sad development, they should go ahead and remove them and ensure that enlistment into the force is made attractive for all Nigerians irrespective of where they come from. We commend the recent sensitisation campaigns carried out in the two geo-political zones in the South to enable the people from the zones join the force, but they may not be enough and effective in resolving the problem.
We say this because of some inherent contradictions in the force in terms of recruitment, posting, welfare and job progression. The seeming preferential treatment given to people from a particular section of the country in the force can fuel the disinterest by some people from other parts of the country. In fact, the politicisation of the police force can cause the apathy towards enlistment as shown by people from the South East and the South West.
Moreover, the perennial poor funding of the force and its apparent neglect by the government are enough to make the foremost security institution unattractive to young people. Beyond this, the reported corruption in the force and the low morale of the personnel of the force can equally discourage some people from enlisting in the force.
It is unfortunate and unacceptable that youths from these two zones are showing indifference in joining the police. We recognise too that the image of the police is so bad that it can only attract the dregs of the society. Most of the policemen on the roads are slovenly dressed, indecorous, corrupt, and a poor portrayal of what an average cop should be.
The stagnation on certain ranks for some police personnel from the South, especially the South East, while their colleagues from the North progress unhindered cannot make the job attractive for people from the South. The nepotism, poor wages and welfare, the glass ceiling for officers from the South East in particular and other unfair practices have also combined to discourage youths from these zones from enlisting in the force.
The killing of policemen by non-state actors in the South East and other zones can be a disincentive to enlisting in the force. The apathy to police recruitment may be a signal that the present centralised police force is not working effectively. It may also be a wake-up call for the nation to have different layers of policing as obtainable in all federations the world over. As the biggest democracy in Africa, Nigeria should have at least four levels of policing, such as federal, state council and community. Other layers of policing may also be added with time. Nigeria is ripe enough for a decentralised policing system. The current centralised police force encourages structural imbalance and the apparent domination of others by the favoured few. So, the apathy to police recruitment might well be a subtle protest of disenchantment and abhorrence of the current values and practices in the force.
For the police force to be attractive to young people from the two zones in the South, the aforementioned factors that paint the force in bad light must be done away with.
In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari announced that 50,000 men and women should be recruited into the force within five years. Since then, the number of youths from the five south eastern states who applied to enlist in the force is so low that the PSC extended the period to accommodate late applications so that the zones can be fully represented. Despite the shortcomings in the force, we urge the people of the South East and the South West to take up their slots in the force. Their reported indifference will further worsen their under-representation in the force.