President Goodluck Jonathan’s surprise visit to the Police College in Ikeja last week to see the decrepit state of the training institution is commendable but he again dropped the ball by his comments during the visit, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) observed on Monday.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party observed that instead of using the occasion to tell Nigerians what his administration would do to uplift the training institution and many others across the country in similar situation, the president chose to berate imaginary enemies who are bent on embarrassing his administration and also questioned how Channels Television managed to film the rot in the college.
“Mr. President, those comments were totally unnecessary, and they put a damper on what would have been a great moment for you,” a part of the ACN statement read.
“A surprise presidential visit is always a good strategy for leaders to see things in their real state without the usual window dressing that heralds scheduled visits. But it must be properly managed to achieve the maximum effect. Failure to make the best of that moment is akin to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”
ACN further state that the expose by Channels Television showed that the media is alert to its watchdog responsibility, hence it should not matter how the TV station gained access to the college or who was behind it.
The party said the president could still make amends by making a policy statement on his administration’s plans for turning around the fortunes of the Police College in particular, and all the Police training institutions across the country in general, as part of a general effort to improve the overall welfare of the men and women saddled with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of all citizens.
“Subjecting policemen to dehumanising and demeaning conditions, the type exposed by Channels Television, during training means we cannot and should not expect them to be exemplary after their training; nothing good can come out of what we saw in that college.
“Terrible as the state of the Police College in Ikeja is, it represents a tip of the iceberg when compared with the pervasive rot in police barracks and police stations, as well as the generally poor welfare of the Police.
“There is no doubt that the pervasive corruption in our country and the lack of maintenance culture contributed to what has now become a global embarrassment to the whole of Nigeria, not just to the Jonathan Administration.”
The opposition party advised President Jonathan that there is no better time to embark on a “concerted effort to reverse the rot,” saying “it may not be a bad idea for the president, who was reportedly angry and shocked at what he saw during the visit, to order a probe into how the institution deteriorated so badly, with a view to preventing a recurrence.”
