Not good enough

The Police Service Commission (PSC),  February  in Benin, reported a dismal performance in police recruitment examination. It said over 90 percent of the candidates who sought enlistment as police officers did not score up to 30 percent in the test country wide.

Mr. Austin Braimoh, the commissioner representing the mass media and the south-South zone in the PSC, made that staggering revelation at a one-day town hall meeting organised by the commission and the Edo state police command. “One of the challenges the commission is facing today is that for a long time, those who are applying for recruitment into the force are most times academically challenged as over 90 per cent do not score up to 30 per cent in the recruitment examinations. So with this kind of situation you can imagine the kind of policemen that will be presented to the public,” he said.

On his own part, the Edo state Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu, lamented the lack of interest from Edo people, especially the males, in joining the police force. He described as “ugly and dangerous” a situation in  which “only the females seem to be interested in joining the police force”. He said the aim of the town hall meeting was to work on the relationship between the police and the public and also enlighten the public on the ongoing recruitment exercise. Braimoh said, “The commission has the responsibility of familiarizing the public with the current recruitment exercise and improving citizen relationship with the police for effective policing. From now, you do not need to go to the National Human Rights Commission if your right is violated by a serving police officer; you go straight to the Police Service Commission, you do not need a third party.”

Two issues were raised by those two officials. One was poor recruitment examination scores, a trend, not just a one off case and it is nationwide. The other was lack of interest among the males specially in enlisting in the police. Braimoh wanted the citizenry to imagine what kind of police force not academically sound policemen would make. And Commissioner of Police Ogbadu said a police force made up of predominantly women would be “ugly and dangerous”.

Let’s begin with the recruitment exam failure rate. At 90%, this is awful, to say the least. At the same time, it is understandable. Nigeria’s education system has collapsed, more or less. School structures are falling over our heads and good teachers are leaving the system for greener pastures. This is happening at not only the primary and secondary levels of education but also the tertiary level. Therefore, what we are seeing in the police enlistment examinations is a reflection of the malaise in the national education system. Before long this cancer will spread to every supra structure, if left untreated or not removed entirely.

As to the problem of the males not wanting to enlist in the police, well, firstly, it is a matter of interest. You can’t force anyone to be what they do not want to become. Secondly, a police force dominated by women would be refreshingly nice to have, wouldn’t it! But more seriously, the lack of interest is tied to the picture personnel of the force present to the public. Often we see police men and women in torn uniforms, who are poorly paid, extort motorists and kill on highways. Who would willingly walk into this world of destitution? Yes, the welfare of police officers may have improved over time but still not enough to attract our young and ambitious men. For them cybercrime and kidnapping are far more rewarding. Again, the solution lies in making the force look and work better than it does now.