As kids growing up, we simply adored and admired the men in uniform. They were well respected and looked up to. I remember my younger brother used to love playing the role of a cop back then. Sadly over the years ,the men in uniform particularly those in black have lost their shine although till date military officers still command a lot of respect largely due to the level of discipline exhibited while carrying out orders or instructions.
They are usually the "go to people" when all else fails even with traffic situations on the roads. The moment they step in everyone automatically "arranges" and behaves in an appropriate manner while following their instructions so as not to "collect" from the military officers by being disciplined.
There used to be this popular slogan as part of a public relations campaign that 'The Police is your friend' but sadly the people view the police these days as anything but friends. The Nigerian Police Force has largely lost its prestige due to acts of corruption by some of its officers exhibited via the collection of bribes and extortion of motorists and other road users. Some have attributed this habit to be related to the colour of their uniform which used to be black and black as black is associated with evil in some quarters. However with a change to black on blue some years ago, there has been no marked change towards less of sharp practices.
Some of its officers particularly those in the traffic division popular called "yellow fever" specialise in targeting buses and mini buses for extortion as it is the usual practise of drivers to have expired or incomplete documentation. This deficiency leaves them vulnerable to exploitation by police officers for personal gains.
Another group of uniformed men encountered while commuting Nigerian roads are men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). Years back the men of the FRSC were dreaded and respected by erring drivers who violate road safety rules , have expired or incomplete documentation or are driving vehicles not road worthy. The dread for them was due to the fact that they did not collect bribes. They ensured that defaulters were disciplined or cautioned within the confines of the law.
From my observation all that changed when one of the past Presidents briefly merged the FRSC with the Nigerian Police Force. Within the short period of the merger, the virus of corruption was transmitted to the FRSC and it spread rapidly. Till date the Corps is yet to recover from the virus.
I felt bad when I had a first hand experience of FRSC officers being financially induced. I had travelled to a neighbouring State and on the return trip, we encountered men of the FRSC who flagged down the vehicle I boarded. One of the officers approached the driver, had a chat with him and left. The next scene that followed was one of the road side sellers approached the driver who handed over an undisclosed amount of money which I couldn't make out from where I was seated. Here comes the disturbing part, the driver neither received any goods or wares for the exchange. It was only after the exchange had occurred that our vehicle was allowed to proceed.
It then dawned on me that the seller was simply a proxy or collection agent for the officers probably to give them some deniability if anything goes wrong with the "collection" exercise or as they popularly say "if things go south". My second really sad encounter was on the day of the passing out parade after the mandatory one year of national youth service post graduation. On our return trip from the event the bus which conveyed us (corps members) was stopped by some men in uniform and we expected a brief encounter and thus a speedy release.
This was not the case as our driver was only freed after he had parted with some "change". This was indeed shocking as there is an unwritten rule amongst the men in uniform not to collect anything from vehicles conveying fellow men in uniform which we were at that time being corps members. It was then that I realised how bad things had gotten.
These are just two of the many encounters which I have personally witnessed with the men in uniform on the roads. Because of these acts, some have opined that their presence on the roads is not needed but Nigerians generally do not like to voluntarily obey laws . There needs to be the physical presence of an enforcement agency at least until this wrong mindset changes.
One of the fall outs of the recent protests across the country is the reduced presence or total absence in some cases of the men in uniform from the roads. This has meant that artificial traffic usually experienced on some routes due to several check points no longer exists. However, this has come at a price. Hoodlums have taken over the high ways in some places engaging in brazen acts of banditry even in broad daylight.
A video was circulated on social media a couple of days ago of a car jacking where a man alongside his nursing wife, baby and mother or mother in law were literally dragged out of their vehicle during the process of the theft. Rather alarmingly this took place within the city and in the afternoon. Other cases of day time car jacking have also been reported in recent times.
The present security situation has shown that we need the men in uniform to be up and about to check mate and act as deterrent to criminal elements in our society. However their activities must be properly monitored and supervised by the appropriate authorities while their excesses are promptly and properly checked.
Citizens particularly drivers should also do the right thing by ensuring that their documentation is intact, up to date and their vehicles road worthy with the relevant safety gear as prescribed in the highway and road safety codes as I have also seen instances where attempts at extortion met with a brick wall because the driver ensured that all documentation were up to date and the vehicle was road worthy with the required safety tools.
Remember the process of bribery or inducement involves a giver and a receiver as it takes two to tango. Don't be the one requesting for it or be the giver.
Shukran
Danke
Merci
Gracias
ขอบคุณ
ধন্যবাদ
Спасибо
for reading.
