A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. Nowadays, it
is also worth a thousand online shares and memes. In a
picture that went viral last December, the wife of the Sokoto
State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, was seen holding her
hands in reverence during a Muslim prayer session. She was
flanked by a man and three women, including her paramilitary
orderly.
But it was not her supplication that drew the most attraction.
It was her orderly, a female police officer who was holding
the First Lady’s designer handbag that became the talk of the
town.
Across Nigeria, it is common sight to see orderlies or security
escorts carrying the handbags or umbrellas of those they are
supposed to protect.
The trend was further highlighted recently when
a video of a similar incident went viral. In the 30-second
video, which went viral about three weeks ago, Nigeria’s
Minister of Interior, Mr. Abdulrahman Dambazau, seated and
wearing a white kaftan, appeared as if he couldn’t be
bothered as his security escort, alleged to be an officer of the
Department of State Service, cleaned his shoes with seeming
gusto at an event which held at the Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps Academy in Abuja last December.
While the orderly was cleaning Dambazau’s shoes, his service
pistol was protruding loosely from under his jacket.
Similarly, last year, the photo of a male police orderly carrying
the handbag of a woman outside the premises a Federal High
Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, surfaced online.
The military is not exempted from this practice. In March last
year, ex-beauty queen, Dabota Lawson-Aku, was seen with
her male military escort carrying one of her bags as she
strolled regally on her arrival in Abia State.
Shoe shiners, bag carriers, errand boys
Stooping so low for their principals might have become a
norm for police or paramilitary officers attached to Nigeria’s
rich, who see escorts as a status symbol.
Sergeant Joshua (not real name) was recruited into the
Nigeria Police Force 18 years ago. Although he had a diploma
certificate, he had dropped out of the university due to lack of
funds.
He knew the risks involved in police work. However, Joshua
got more than he bargained for, not in the line of duty fighting
crime, but as a police orderly who provides security for some
of Nigeria’s civilian Very Important Personalities, including an
influential senator.
‘VIP’ is a common term used to describe notable figures. In
Nigeria, they include local government or council chairmen,
traditional rulers, state governors, the president, politicians,
senior army, police and paramilitary officers, wealthy,
influential personalities across different sectors, celebrities,
and so on.
Joshua, a father of three, recalled an incident: “The senator
treated me like a slave. But then, even a slave is entitled to
certain rights and privileges, is it a crime to give one’s service
to one’s fatherland?”
He further said, “Sometimes when one is hungry and needs to
get some food, it is impossible to do so, even with two
orderlies present. He would shout at me, and ask why I must
go out without his permission.
“They send us on errands with their wives, children or
girlfriends, to buy things from eateries. If you say no, it
becomes a problem and they threaten to report you to your
superior officers, they shout at you and make you look stupid
before others. I feel hurt each time such happens. One is not
happy being treated that way and one loses morale. At times,
the VIP would request for one’s withdrawal.”
Joshua is not alone in the pit of despair. In a fit of rage, one
orderly told our correspondent how he had once almost
turned his firearm at his boss for a series of maltreatment.
Another officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told
our correspondent that some influential Nigerians they protect
treat them badly because they believe they are not educated
or smart enough.
“Usually, we are trained to give security coverage to VIPs, but
some of them use insulting language to address us . As
orderlies, we don’t get extra money, just our salary, unless
the VIP is generous. So, although one is posted to the VIP by
one’s superiors he (VIP) sees you as his direct employee.”
For some, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of
the needle than for a VIP to give them any sort of allowance.
One of the orderlies attached to a traditional chief said some
of them who are seconded to local government or council
chairmen sometimes got N500 or N1,000 as allowance only
when they complained of hunger.
“If I had another option, I won’t be a police orderly because
there is nothing special about it. They have driven my children
from school because I can’t pay their fees and I want to sell
my television to raise money,” another orderly, who gets extra
income from running a small beer shop, told PUNCH.
Another corporal, who did not want to be named, said,
“Sometimes they simply ignore our greetings to let us know
that we were not in the same class with them. There was a
woman that asked some of my colleagues to regularly pack
bunch of bananas from her vehicle to the house. When he
refused, the woman called her husband, who now called our
bosses.
“We wash their clothes and cars; carry their handbags, and
engage in all forms of domestic chores.”
An average officer of the Nigeria Police is one of the poorest
paid among officials of other security agencies in the country.
A police orderly told PUNCH that the risks sometimes
involved was not worth the sacrifice or denigration.
“Being a uniformed person, one does not know one’s enemy
or that of the VIP, but they know one. Some of my friends
have lost their lives trying to protect VIPs. The assailants
sometimes could be better armed and in the course of an
attack, one must do everything to protect the VIP, because
that is what you are paid for. In doing that, the orderly may
lose his life, be severely injured or maimed.”
Juicy perks
An orderly, who gave his name as Corporal Jonas, however
noted that some officers go as far as lobbying to get juicy
postings to some VIPs, because such opportunities are rare.
“Some (VIPs) don’t pay while some are generous. One of my
friends, who worked with a civilian VIP, is doing well. So, it
depends on the relationship. It is opportunity and luck. For
me, I am still praying to get that kind of job.”
He told our correspondent how a constable, who was
promoted to a corporal and transferred to another location,
begged to remain at his ‘duty post’ as an escort to a
particular ‘big man.’
Another orderly told our correspondent that he was paid less
than N50,000 as a police corporal, and that the extras he got
as an orderly helps him take care of his family. “Some VIP
can pay between N20,000 and N50,000, depending on how
one behaves. Again, some of us like to do ‘eye service,’ to
get favours from our VIP bosses.” he said.
A security expert, Mr. Ona Ekhomu, noted that economic
benefits may be tied to the reasons why officers attached as
security details go as far as doing menial duties for their
bosses.
He explained, “When a police officer gets such a job, because
they are not well paid, it is a bonanza for them . They get
special accommodation, go to big parties and eat special food
with their bosses; they fly on planes with them, sometimes on
first class or business class — something they may never
have aspired to.”
Joshua told our correspondent of a commissioner in one of
the states in the oil-rich Niger Delta who bought cars for
each of the four policemen attached to him. “Not all VIPs are
bad. Some have built houses for their police escorts, but
there are some that are extremely bad,” he noted.
Jonas added, “Those attached to oil companies are doing well
and they now drive big cars. I would be very happy if I can
get that kind of attachment. Our remuneration is very poor. In
the North, where I served, most of my colleagues would
spend twice their salaries buying things on credit before their
salaries would be paid. When their wives gave birth or their
children are hospitalised, they have no money to pay for their
hospital bills. Some go to the extent of robbery or suicide.
Last month, a colleague committed suicide because he could
not cope.”
According to another orderly, while an officer basically
survives on a meagre salary of between N39,000 and N50,000
monthly, depending on the rank— Constable, Corporal or
Sergeant— some VIPs usually paid them monthly for their
services.
But it comes with a catch. He said, “If you are posted from
your station to a VIP, the money that is meant for you will be
sent there; then maybe 60 or 70 per cent goes to your
superiors, while the rest comes to you the orderly ; whereas, it
is the orderly that is doing all the work and taking all the
risks; which is not fair.
“When I worked as an orderly for a politician (name withheld),
I was supposed to get N100,000 per month, but no feeding,
nothing else. But at the end of the month, I only got only
N40, 000; N60, 000 went to the station. In another instance, I
got about N38,000. At another time, I was paid N75,000 per
month, but then, I got less than half of that from my
superiors. One can’t complain. When one does, the ogas
would say, ‘Abuja was aware and also getting some
percentages.’”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Force
Headquarters, Abuja, Mrs. Olabisi Kolawole, toldSUNDAY
PUNCH that any police officer worth his salt would face his
professional and constitutional duties of protecting citizens,
and not doing domestic work for them.
On the allegation that some superior officers short-changed
orderlies, the Force PRO said, “If they (orderlies) are entitled
to any amount, I think they would give it to them. The VIPs
are not supposed to pay them; they are supposed to protect
the VIPs. But let’s get one thing clear, there is an allowance
that you pay the officers when you request for their services
to protect your company. That is the one I know. But I don’t
know about the one of civilian VIPs paying them, and whether
their superiors are taking from their money or not, I don’t
know about that.
“T hey (police) should know their rights, when to say yes and
when to say no. Aside from that, the Inspector-General of
Police, Solomon Arase, has directed that no police officer
should carry any bag or luggage for any VIP . That is not their
responsibility. They should face their job, carry their arms and
protect the VIP. The job terms of references are there. The
IGP has continuously warned officers not to do that again,
and they have asked the VIPs to stop using police officers. He
recently directed that they should be monitored. Any officer
found going outside his responsibility should be handled and
reported. The Police continue to warn and advise both the
officers and the VIPs to desist from that act. The VIPs can
get their domestic aides. The police officers should respect
their profession.”
A former Director of the State Security Services, Mr. Mike
Ejiofor, emphasised that security details should not carry out
domestic jobs for their principals.
Ejiofor said, “Their job specification is to take care of the
security of the principal and his/her immediate family; every
other thing aside from that is wrong. The relationship
between the principal and the security detail must be good
and cordial, but not to the extent of being subservient or
domesticating oneself.
“In this particular incident, suppose there was an attack on
his principal, how would he (escort) have known? The
attacker could have killed the security man first because his
attention has been divided. It is worrisome; it breeds
unprofessionalism and it’s an embarrassment to the various
security agencies, because it is mainly the police and the
Department of State Service that provide such security
escorts.”
According to the ‘code of conduct and professional standards
for police officers’ of the Nigeria Police Force, “The
fundamental duties of a police officer include serving the
community, safeguarding lives and property, protecting the
innocent, keeping the peace and ensuring the rights of all to
liberty, equality and justice.”
Ekhomu also noted that the use of security details or escorts
has been abused by many VIPs in the country.
He said, “Assigning close protection professionals, or what we
call Executive Protection specialists, to political executives or
businessmen is well intended. It is usually predicated on the
risk assessment of the principal (VIP), such as kidnap risk,
suicide bomber rates, armed robbery, political violence, and so
on. The level of the risk would now determine which individual
VIP should receive close protection, because it is assumed
that whatever role they play in society is so critical. That is
why police work for governors, politicians and police
executives.
“But here in Nigeria, like everything else, they do abuse it from
time to time. The domestication of security details is a
common practice. Having those people carry handbags and
do menial domestic duties is dehumanising and it is
unfortunate. But having said that, human interaction is
important; the security escort wants his boss or the agency
he represents to be pleased with him .”
Like the security experts, many Nigerians have expressed their
disappointment over the use of police and other paramilitary
officers serving as security escorts to VIPs — traditional
rulers, renowned politicians, government officials, council
chairmen, or influential personalities or celebrities – for
domestic chores.
A lecturer and a former coordinator, Psychology Unit, Lagos
State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos, Dr. Ajibola Asekun, could
not hide his disappointment when he saw one recently.
“I was at the international airport with a traditional ruler and I
saw how he shouted at his escort who was carrying his
briefcase, his complaint was that the officer was too slow for
his liking. This kind of treatment can only further diminish the
self-esteem of the officer which is already low . It is
unprofessional, to say the least, for officers to engage in
menial tasks outside their professional duties.”
One policeman to 600 people
Nigeria has about 306,000 serving police officers. Out of this
number, over 100,000 are reportedly attached to individuals.
Thus, the citizen/police ratio in Nigeria, with a population of
about 170 million people, stands at one police officer for every
555 citizen, or about 180 police officers per 100,000 people.
This falls short of the global average, according to data from
the United Nations, which indicated that it should be about
340 police officers per 100,000 people. The UN also
recommends a minimum police strength of 220 per 100,000
people.
No wonder Nigeria is said to have one of the highest crime
rates in Africa.
A retired colonel of the Army, Dr. Sunday Majekodunmi, said
orderlies attached to senior military or police officers should
not be compared to what is being practised by orderlies
attached to civilian VIPs.
He said, “A senior officer of my rank is entitled to some
paraphernalia, including having an orderly or a batch-man.
They are required by discipline to do some minor tasks for
senior officers they are attached to . But this cannot be
compared with how a security detail from paramilitary
agencies carries out domestic duties for their civilian bosses;
it is an abuse and misuse of the security personnel, at the
expense of security for the VIP. It is very unprofessional. A
detail should stick to providing security first for his boss.”
National Coordinator, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria,
Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, said:
“The domestic and demeaning use of police officers by
politicians, or by wives and girlfriends of politicians and other
wealthy and influential persons in society to run errands
outside police duties reduce the prestige of the police officer
and the police as an institution.
“It is ridiculous that relevant authorities ever allowed this
practice (domesticating orderlies) in the first place. Many
officers have no homes to always go to for emotional support.
Besides, they are not there to raise their own kids. Thus an
average Nigerian police officer is embittered and angry at the
system that expects them to serve loyally, but has little or no
respect for them.”
- written by ARUKAINO UMUKORO of The Punch
