FG to Increase Police Salaries

May this bring sanity to my brothers,like the army.
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28 May,2010
The Minister of Police Affairs Alhaji Adamu Wasiri has disclosed that the Federal Government is considering an increase in the salaries and allowances of officers and men of the Nigerian Police.

He stated that the government will also soon embark on the massive facelift and rehabilitation of Police barracks and offices across the country.


The Minister who stated this in Makurdi while fielding questions from newsmen informed that the move is part of the new welfare package being put in place and aimed at boosting the moral of men and officers of the Police Force in order to elicit greater efficiency from them.

Alhaji Wasiri who regretted that dilapidated condition of most Police barracks in the country opined that the condition of most police barracks in the country has become a source of worry for the government.

While this look like a good development and will hopefully reduced the intractable corruption in the Nigerian police force,The Government should also do like wise to other Civil Servants because both the police and the public workers do attend the same market and buy same products. If one side should be favored then this definitely twill cause imbalance.

Habits die hard especially bad habits. As I see it the increase in pay and allowances may not change anything. What may not be generally known is that the top Officers of the Force are generally the problem. Every thing from promotion to postings, duty assignments etc are all done on money-for-hand basis. You are not promoted till you 'talk';you do not go on escort duty till you 'talk'; you cannot be a big man's orderly till you 'talk'; you cannot go on patrol till you 'talk'. When funds are given to the top for security patrols, the top takes 98% even though it is the minority and is always well away from harms way. So if you raise the wage and allowances of other ranks, the top will device a way to siphon it away. By all means give them more but you need to shake and rattle the top from states deputy Commissioners upwards.

I agree with you that the corruption and failures seen in the Nigeria police emanates from the top and barely from the rank and files. "Show me your head and I will tell you who you will become".

Increases in pay alone have not helped much in the past. The whole system of motivation should be adopted - good pay, decent housing, adequate "tooling", reasonable insurance cover, encouraging pension and gratuity scheme, regular training and retraining, etc. The recruitment process should also ensure that only men and women of integrity and sound mind, who possess some minimum level of sound education, are recruited.

Will this ever stop them from collecting #20.00 from poor motorists?Will it make them defend the poor unguarded masses from the brutality and injustice they get from the affluent? The police is a disgrace to armed forces and a stringent measure should be taken to curtail their excesses.i pray that this increase in salary and allowance will have a positive effect in their lives.