By Garba Ismail
It will be stating the obvious to say that regularly improving the welfare condition of the police, especially in emerging democratic societies such as Nigeria, is the sine qua non to an effective and efficient crime preemption, detection, prevention, control, and general law enforcement.
The bane of effective policing generally includes but is not limited only to institutional challenges such as inadequate manpower (both in strength and expertise), absence of or insufficient continuing education and training, inadequate equipment, and poor welfare conditions of service of the average policeman.
But of these lot, it cannot be gainsaid that poor welfare condition of service remains an area that continues to warrant the most attention of researchers -the belief being that a well looked after police force leads to morally boosted personnel, and a morally boosted especially the lower ranks necessarily leads to effective policing.
Here in Nigeria, low morale resulting obviously from an entrenched poor welfare system has led virtually to the institutionalization of a dispirited police force. But the much-needed light at the end of a bleak tunnel would come when, on December 15, 2021, in the morale-boosting effort, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a new welfare package – including a 20 percent increase in allowances, for personnel of the Nigeria Police.
Also included in this package are tax waivers for junior officers (with effect from October 2021), the payment of outstanding funds for uninsured personnel between 2013 and 2020, and a general review and upgrading of the take-home pay of police personnel in Nigeria. It is common knowledge that the dismal take-home package of the Nigerian Police is directly responsible for the alarming rate of corruption in the force and especially to the police-society acrimony owing to the rampant extortion of civilians by personnel.
The Nigeria Police is about the least paid among corresponding security agencies in the country and, among the least remunerated even in Africa, factor experts say inevitably fuels corruption, extortion, and abuse of power especially by the force’s rank and file who interface regularly with the civil populace.
A Nigerian Police constable is said to earn between N22,000 and N27,000, depending on his length of service and accommodation plan, while a sergeant’s pay is about N30, 000, after deductions of tax, accommodation allowance, and others. A Police Inspector on the other hand earns around N50,000 monthly.
It is no wonder that across Nigeria, police officers and especially their rank and file, live in abject squalor within and outside the barracks. Daily they depart dilapidated or even uncompleted buildings and by broken-down vehicles, also report to mostly derelict and unfurnished work environments.
Therefore, the approval of a new welfare package for the Nigeria Police is no doubt a most welcome development and the fulfilment of the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari to review the remunerations of policemen to reasonably match their patriotic duty with their take-home pay.
The herald of this en- of-year package was none other than the indefatigable Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi, who disclosed this in Abuja while speaking to newsmen at the end of the weekly virtual FEC meeting at the State House. He said, “We have tried to create a situation where their (police) take-home pay will be enhanced through an increase in their allowances
The minister listed the police personnel allowances and approvals that have been reviewed upward to include duty tour allowance, which was raised to six percent of the new take-home pay. The council he said, also approved the payment of N1.12 billion for the settlement of outstanding benefits of personnel for the uninsured period between 2013 and 2020, which had not been covered under the group personnel insurance programme.
This is in addition to approval for release of N13.1 billion for the payment of outstanding death benefits of 5,472 personnel within the uninsured period of 2013 to August 2021, not covered by the Group Life Insurance; the sum of N1.2 billion as payment of outstanding burial expenses of personnel (for the) period of January 2012 to 2021; annual insurance premium of 750 million naira; and N4, 812,500,000.00 payment for repairs and replacement of damaged police infrastructure in future budgets, starting from 2022.
And to increase the take-home pay of the police personnel, approval was given for a tax waiver for personnel and junior officers in the sum of N18.6 billion that is going to take effect from October 2021.
Others are, approval for the increase of the current rent subsidy, which is currently between 15 and 20%, amounting to N61 billion; the increase is 40 percent of the consolidated policy salary structure (CONPOST) in the sum of N78.3 billion, that is to say, an increase of about N16.4 bn; approval of an additional six percent shift duty allowance for officers on levels 01 to 14 and with effect from 2022, the sum of about N10 billion as supervisors allowances for officers on levels 15 and above.
Approval of payment of about 20 percent of CONPOST, is 20 is the percentage of the total salary, known as peculiar allowance. It is a new allowance created to improve their take-home pay and is a peculiar allowance to boost the morale and take-home pay of the Nigeria Police.
Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi assured that his ministry “will do whatever it takes to ensure that” government improves “the performance and the relationship between the police and the public to ensure that they justify this good gesture.”
One good turn they say deserves another. And as the saying goes, ‘to whom much is given, much is also expected’. It is the hope of this writer that the Nigeria Police will reciprocate these lofty gestures by turning a new leaf in the all-important task of providing effective crime detection, prevention, control, and general law enforcement.
So also, the police should as well improve their relations with the general public to justify “Dan Sanda Aboki Kowa”.
The public should also consider and acknowledge the necessary sacrifices by the police in maintaining law and order for all, and give them the necessary cooperation and assist them with needed information to carry out their assignments.
Ismail, a retired civil servant, writes from Kaduna State
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