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IT is very common these days to hear some Nigerians recall with nostalgia “those good old days” in the history of Nigeria. One may hasten to ask: What really happened in those good old days? The answer they give is unambiguous. Those were the days when Nigerians loved to stay alive because life was never a burden as it is today. The cost of living then was comparatively low and national security was never a problem. Our value system was sound, integrity and good name mattered much. People had value for hard work and honesty. In those good old days, corruption was never an institution as we are now experiencing in contemporary Nigeria and the society then frowned at unexplained sources of wealth of individuals. In those, people did not lose their consciences as is the case today. Those good days, they lament, have gone for good.

What we have today, is the exact opposite of what Nigeria used to be —a country where people have lost their consciences and worship wealth regardless of how it is made, a country where Pentecostal pastors preach prosperity instead of salvation. We now have a Nigeria whose value system has been stood on its head and where hard work does not count anymore. No wonder why Nigerians with distorted value system, who find themselves in positions of authority, use whatever advantage they have to exploit others. That is what is happening in the Nigeria police today. Some police officers whose duty is to manage police colleges in the country have turned their assignments into money-making ventures in order to acquire quick wealth. What do we expect from those who pass through such a system? Those who seek admission into any of the colleges are made to part with various sums ranging from N30,000 to N100,000 before  their names can be shortlisted for the necessary tests. According to an impeccable source, the entire recruitment process in police colleges is corruption-ridden. As the source put it, “the fraudulent process in the recruitment is even carried to the police colleges where those in charge dismiss recruits without any reason to enable them admit those who had paid them huge sums of money. If you don’t have money, don’t dream of joining the police because everything here is money.”

This, and other sordid stories coming from graduates of police colleges prompted Realnews to beam its searchlight on the recruitment process in police colleges nationwide in order to give Nigerians a fair idea of the police system the country now has. Anayo Ezugwu, reporter-researcher and a 2009 Higher Diploma graduate of the Institute of Management, Enugu, was given the assignment. His extensive research and off-record interviews with a number of former and current students have given a graphic picture of why corruption will be difficult to eradicate in the police system. His story is our cover for this week entitled: Scam in Nigeria Police: How They Fleece Recruits. It is his first ever cover story written since he joined this trade. You will like it.

Mike Akpan
Editor-in-Chief

— Mar. 4, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT