Eko Hot Blog recalls that On the 25th of May, 2020, the whole world reeled in shock following the breaking news of an American citizen who was brutally murdered by a Minneapolis police officer for allegedly buying cigarettes with a phony $20 bill. With the subsequent release of a video clip of the incident which eventually went viral, the whole world, especially those of coloured descent, recoiled in horror over what was believed to be a blunt and flagrant act of racism.
Indeed, the brutal murder of George Floyd, to say the very least, has translated into a hornet’s nest, drawing widespread criticism from concerned individuals of different creeds and beliefs, who believe that such a display is reflective of a level of barbarism which human society has fought so arduously to defeat over time.
While some have condemned the George Floyd murder on the ground of racial abuse, other quarters of the society have blamed it on a longstanding social menace, which goes by the name- Police Brutality. Regardless however, of the different narratives surrounding this regrettable loss to humanity, one can say with every inch of certainty that this young man, who used to be one of us, but came to premature end in his prime at the hands of the very persons who had taken a sworn duty to protect him from the same brutality which ultimately claimed his life, has left us with valuable lessons which could aptly harmonize our fractured commonalities as a people.
In Nigeria today, the subject matter of police brutality is no new knowledge to us. As a matter of fact, ours is a society where even the average, innocent, law abiding citizen is afraid of the police. The only time anyone ever dreams of employing the help of the police force is when he has the consequent financial muscle to grease the wheels of justice in his own favour. Suffice it to say that the black uniform today, has now become a metaphor for oppression, extortion as well as all the other overbearing tendencies commonly associated with our indigenous police force.
In all honesty, brutality by men in uniform does not end with the police, as even our Nigerian soldiers who are trained to be of utmost professional conduct have on more than multiple occasions been culpable of maltreating civilian citizens over baseless and very infinitesimal reasons.
A good while ago it was commonplace to hear slogans like “The Police is Your Friend.” On the face of it, that is a very comforting thing to hear. It is a re-assurance that we can team up with the very agents entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the law to fight the social fiends seeking to prevent us from enjoying our right to personal liberty and all the other inalienable fundamental rights as law abiding citizens of this great Nation.
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However, these comforting words of friendship by the police, we find, have never left its comfort zone of theoretical base to find practical essence through exemplified action by those who continue to offer these words of friendship to us freely. The stark reality before us, is that the police is more of an enemy to us than a friend.
In the light of this reality, it becomes pertinent, perhaps imperative for us to address the subject matter of police brutality with the brutal honesty it deserves, if we are really going to live in the better society we’re all gravitating towards.
How then, do we tackle this menace of police brutality? The most definitive step in this direction will require concerted efforts from the relevant stakeholders and government apparatuses in a noble bid to refine police personnel on the highest standards in Human Resource Management. To this end, the recruitment process has to be at the tip of the spear deployed to bring this social bane to a screeching halt. There’s no gainsaying in asserting in the words of Amma Darko that the average policeman is bored of his job, his life and his entire world. The job now becomes a necessary evil which he uses to earn a living. When these sentiments become the psychological drive upon which the job of a policeman revolves, it eventually finds expression in the manner which the job is done, one of which will include abusing the very persons he has been charged to protect. But the job of a policeman is far beyond such personal sentiments of putting food on the table, as important as that is. It is a job inspired by the highest level of patriotism; one which may require you to put your life on the line when it matters the most. It is the noblest of all professions. Therefore, the recruitment process has to factor in these important details in order to fish out those who can do the job with the passion and commitment that it deserves.
In the corporate world where relationship with clients is pivotal to the success of the business, we find so much energy and resources expended in an effort to train the workforce on all the proper mannerisms in line with the demands of customer service. In the same vein, while much emphasis is paid towards equipping our security agents with the combat skills required to fight crime, great care also has to be paid to complementing these skills with the attendant idiosyncrasies needed to inspire this friendship which the police have professed for so long a time.
The issue of emolument also has to be comprehensively addressed. Available records would suggest that in recent memory we had had revisions in the wage structure of the police force, but it still isn’t enough; especially in view of the monumental lopsidedness of remuneration paid to public servants and government functionaries in the country. Greater incentive has to be paid to those whom we’ve asked to tarry so we can sleep safely at night. This is in view of the notion that when much dignity is paid to their station, they will be inspired to return the same dignity to the people.
As horrible as it may sound, one can say with a certain degree of confidence that George Floyd, in the manner of his passing, has paid the ultimate price for us to re-evaluate our values as a society; and this isn’t just about getting emotional in the heat of the moment to whip up sentiments on the media spaces. It isn’t enough to join the platitudes of criticism against racial abuse and police brutality on social media and then allow the matter to die a natural death to the mists of time. We must pledge our efforts in all sincerity to work conscientiously towards achieving real change. It is high-time we equipped and charged our most fundamental institutions to execute their mandate on the high planes of decency, faithfulness and trust. The ultimate goal is to preserve the sacred and sacrosanct values which gives birth to the nucleus which binds us all together- our common humanity.
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