N is for Nigeria Police Force

 

At times when i think about Nigeria, i seem to want to give up in despair. Why? I just take a look at our law enforcement officers. Or simply put….Policemen.

If you take a census of 1, 000 young people and ask for a show of hands of people that like (as in really like and respect) police officers, I’m so sure that you may not find more than 10 hands. Moreover, the only reason they would raise their hands is because their parents are police officers….lol…just joking. Let’s face it, sometimes, some of the so – called police officers can be terribly annoying… but something happened to me recently that changed my view about police officers. OK let me gist you:

A friend’s office was having a party to which i had been invited. It was an all-night event and i was determined to attend, cos absence from such a party had some consequences. Anyways, i left my house around 10:30 p.m. heading for V/I, i hadn’t gotten too far when i noticed a little traffic jam some metres ahead of me. Being the security-conscious Lagos driver that i am, i slowed down to a halt and gently put my car in reverse to go look for an alternative route. This was somewhere beneath Apapa bridge and my brain began to chart escape routes and emergency actions in case it was a robbery attack/ attempt. As i reversed my car, i didn’t know that i was so close to a gutter, and then, Wham! my rear-right tyre fell into the gutter, as i was contemplating what went wrong, Wham!! my front-right tyre fell into the same gutter. i couldn’t believe it, in my rush to assess the situation, i opened the door and jumped out of the car, without putting it the gear on “Park” mode. When i got to the other side of the car, i just saw the tyres spinning in the gutter, thankfully, the gutter was dry.

I quickly assessed my situation,

1. Driving alone
2. under Apapa bridge
3. Time = 11.00 p.m. thereabout
4. Zero knowledge of martial arts/ self defence
5. Still a blip, but could turn into a catastrophe. (refer to Mistakes)

It didn’t look too good. What was i going to do? As i was busy thinking about how this was not going to turn into a catastrophe, a law enforcement officer approached me and the following dialogue ensued:

Officer: Well done.
Me: Good evening

Officer: I was trying to warn you while you were reversing, but you didn’t see me.

Me: Oga, abeg no vex. I just didn’t hear you, so how we go take carry this car comot.

Officer: Oga, this kain fine car wey u carry comot, for this kain time… where you dey go?
Me: I dey go V/ I, e get one function wey i wan attend

….the dialogue continued as such, we tried to lift the car, but we couldn’t. Some guys came out of the blues and offered to carry the car out at an exorbitant fee. The Officer refused. He was there with me, until , by a miraculous act of God, a towing vehicle passed by, and the rest is history. This was around 12 midnight.Why do i write about this officer?

For the very first time in my life, i felt safe in the presence of a Nigerian Police Officer. For the 2hours approx that i spent there, i just felt a little assurance of the wind of change blowing across Nigeria. I know we have thousands of other police officers that would act negatively, this singular act is a sign of the beautiful Nigeria that is already here. Only a few eyes can see it.

What do i love about this country? hmm……

My people, our brains, our ingenuity, the intellectual capacity, the tenacity of the Nigerian spirit, our cultures, our diversities, our natural resources, our FUTURE.

I am part of a body that believes in the future of this great nation. Why don’t you check us out? A New Nigeria

If you are interested in joining, just indicate here and i’ll definitely get back to you on it.

Now back to my initial question, if we had 1,000 people and ask for a show of hands of people that like (as in really like and respect) police officers, there would probably be just one person and I will be that one. . .