Onuoha Emeaba of the Feature Desk in the report examines the recent strike embarked upon by the rank and file in the Nigeria police and posits that the action appears to have elicited he sympathy of the public.
When the news first hit the street, it was dismissed as mere empty threats. Of course, it couldn’t have been otherwise. For the news itself was attributed to “faceless” policemen. But the tone of the threat suggested that something serious was going to happen. Perhaps the greatest miscalculation was made by the leadership of the force. At least they have tried in their usual ways probably by intimidation to cow the rank and file into back pedaling on the strike action.
Minister of Police Affair, Mr. Steven Akiga said this much when he noted in a recent news conference to address the strike palaver that the Police High Command swing into action immediately the issue was brought to the force. They got it all wronged, for the aggrieved policemen under the aegeis of Junior Police Officers Association (JPOA) in disregard of the threat of being charged for mutiny, had perfected their strategies.
Surprisingly by January 31, the threat to go on strike was no longer ‘faceless’ one. Men of the rank and file in the Nigeria police had gone on strike, not only did they desert their duties post, the policemen equally harassed any of its colleagues who attempted to go to his duty post. In fact prior to the strike action, JPOA had warned that appropriate action, including death would be visited on any of its men who flouted the order.
Again, there was another miscalculation by the Police High Command. While they taught that the strike would be limited to Cross River States were the faceless threat had emanated in the first place, other states were caught in the same hug, for instance at Eleme junction, in Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital where policemen normally cluster for traffic duties, none was available that day for duty. Especially, it was chaos all over as the absence of the policemen gave touts the leeway to take over.
Reports says the strike action was probably felt more in Cross River State. In Calabar the capital for instance, most banks and companies were said to have closed shop for fear of molestation by robbers, and possible attack by armed robbers. For those who have been following the trial of discontents within the police force, it was surprising that the strike action centered around non-challance to their welfare from the early hours of the fateful day till the evening.
The policemen in their 10 point demand urged the Federal Government to raise the salary and allowance of the police constables at par with that of a local Government Councilor. They also demand that all police Officers from the rank of Constables to Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), who have stayed up to five years in a particular rank should be promoted.
Other demands by the policemen included that all police graduates within the rank and file as well as the inspectors must be promoted to the rank of ASP within the shortest possible time preferable not after than March, 30, 2002. In addition all those with NCE qualification must be promoted to Inspector on or before January 31.
The demands which were endorsed by JPOA chairman Inspector Akpohome Ovie, Publicity Secretary, Sgt. Owunaru Nnaji was to say the least, an unprecedented action in the annals of the Nigeria Police. Now the action expectedly sparked off debate as to whether the policemen could be charged for mutiny.
Although the Minister of police Affairs, Mr. Akiga described the action as mutiny and ordered that the sensitive points abandoned by the striking police officers be manned by the military, the ranks and file of the police were remain perturbed, even the reported arrest of the ring leaders and threats of prosecution appear not to have silenced in the angry policemen. To them, the strike action is one of the dividends of democracy in Nigeria, “At least our plights have been acknowledged by the authority” a policeman who craved anonymity told South-South Express at the Aba Central Police Station, Abia State, and expressed delight that they embarked on the strike.
“But people may see it in different ways, from the government angle, they may think it is wrong for the police to go on strike, but will it be good for someone to keep quiet and die”.
The anonymous policeman however advised the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Bukar Ali not to make good his threat of prosecuting the four policemen alleged to have masterminded the strike because as he stated if he tries anything funny like prosecuting the officers, we are going to resist it.
“Can you imagine that the inspector General of Police, Mr Muslia Smith informed the international press that the least paid policeman earns ₦17,000 instead of ₦7,500” the policeman who begged for public sympathy said that today.
As if he was endorsing the thinking of the Junior Police Officers, President Olusegun Obansajo who immediately released the sum of ₦1 billion for the payment of their salaries, also indicted the top hierarchy for negligence. Speaking at a media chat with editors last Monday, Obasanjo had acknowledged the point condition for the Nigeria Police but said that the top hierarchy know why it is so. Obasanjo was like indirectly calling the Inspector General of Police Mr. Musliu Smith to account for the billions of naira released to the police in last year’s budget. But the Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. but the Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Steven Akiga like other members of the top echelon of the police insisted that the strike was not necessary, explaining that the force has Its own system of channeling their grievances to appropriate quarters. Mr Akiga statedin his speech that the action of policemen was a display of flagrant indiscipline which amount to mutiny.
Traditional rulers of Nde Agho autonomous community in Abia State, His Royal highness Eze Barrister Samuel Nwosu Onyeama said in an interview that the strike does not amount to mutiny at all. “They didn’t intend to disturb the government of the day, they want to be heard because government take care of the senior echelon of the police without looking at other ranks”, he said.
Onyeama who is former speaker of old Imo House of Assembly during the second republic and a member of the constituent Assembly said that the police has the right to form their group. The society is not statie, what happened in the colonial era when the police were cowed should not operate now, adding that I is time we give people opportunity to fight for their right using legal and constitutional means.
The learned Monarch however, admitted that since the police force came into being in the country there has not been any history of strike. “But people may see it in different ways, from the government angles, they may think it is wrong for the police to go on strike, but will it be good for someone to keep quiet and die,” he quired stressing that the man who keeps silence when oppressed die.
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