Problem of leadership and administration in Nigeria Police

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Problem of leadership and administration in Nigeria Police

 

                                       INTRODUCTION

The Nigeria Police Force is the foremost law enforcement agency assigned with the preservation of internal security in Nigeria. However, the Force is often perceived by the government and the public as ineffective in the discharge   of   its   functions.   One   of   the   recurring   responses   of   the government to the real and imagined ineffectiveness of the Force is the purge of Inspector-General of Police  and  the  management  staff at any slightest provocation .  The problem of ineffectiveness of the Nigerian police is due to many factors traversing the structural, institutional and individual levels.  But the government responses often  fail  to  appreciate  the  multi-dimensional determinants of police ineffectiveness.

One of the major problems militating against police effectiveness in the nation is the lack of institutional autonomy from undemocratic political control and   influence.   This   has   very   negative   impact   on professionalism (effectiveness accountability and responsiveness) of the Force. A consequence of the general lack of emphasis on professionalism is the absence of rigorous career development, criteria for appointment and systematic development of leadership competencies in the Force. As a result of the absence of emphasis on professionalism and leadership, there are no explicit processes and requirements for appointment to the various management offices, including the office of Inspector-General of Police.

Appointment in the Nigeria Police Force are determined largely by seniority and representation, and  influenced  by  nepotism,  political patronage   and   regime   interests   and   preferences.  As a result, organisational   management   and   leadership   development   has   been lacking, resulting in organisational ineffectiveness.

In this presentation, we examine the leadership qualification, appointment procedure and management styles in the Nigeria Police Force. We also propose a new  framework   for  appointment to the various  management (command)  positions  in  the  Force  so  as  to  enhance  police  operational autonomy and professionalism.

As stated earlier, the high turnover  of  leadership  in  the  police  and  the  opaque  appointment procedure  often  adopted  in  selecting  successors  to  retiring  or  sacked police chiefs, appear to have made it difficult for any sort of long term planning  for  the  development  of  the  police  force  and  robbed  it  of competent and motivated leaders capable of inspiring confidence in the personnel.

However, if we consider how many police chiefs that have been fired since 1999 when elected civilian government was restored in Nigeria and the  fact  that  things  appear  to  have  worsened  rather  than  improved,  it becomes obvious that mere appointment of a new Inspector- General of Police, through the same procedure used in the past, which privileged ethnicity, loyalty, seniority, religion, friendship and other political considerations at the expense of merit and competence, would not enable selection of the best hand for the job.

1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES

Against  the  background  of perceive inability  of  the  Nigeria Police Force to adequately respond to the safety and security needs of the populace in the face of increasing terror attacks and armed banditry, which have partly been blamed on leadership deficits among other factors, the project looks into the problem of leadership and administration   in  the  Nigeria  Police  Force.

The objective of the project is therefore to review  appointment processes, procedure for leadership positions and administration in the Nigeria Police Force, principally the post of the Inspector General of Police; with a view to proposing a framework that would enable identification of competent persons  for  the  job  and  giving  them  operational  independence  and accountable space to perform their duties

1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

A research problem is a topic you want to address, investigate or study. How has problem of leadership and administration affected the Nigeria Police? This is the research problem. The hypothesis which is a possible answer to the research problem is that; effective leadership is a prerequisite to good and prompt service delivery and will as well have positive effects on the job and personal life of Police Officers and the society in general.

That there is discontentment in the process and procedures of appointing leadership of Nigeria Police Force is not in doubt. Therefore, the problem nevertheless is to examine;

What type of appointment procedure would aid the identification of the most qualified persons for the job of leading the Nigeria Police Force in the twenty-first century.

What sort of qualification should somebody vying for the position of Inspector-General of Police and other senior command positions in the police possess?

What   legal   framework   would   aid   police   accountability   to multiple constituencies they are expected to serve in Nigeria?

What structural  and  institutional  arrangements  would  enable police   effectiveness,   professionalism   and   operational independence in Nigeria?

 

This study will also attempt to examine problems hindering the attainment of the desired administrative efficiency in the Nigeria Police Force.

1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLGY

This deals with the process of conducting this research, it includes;

  1. The research design
  2. Process of data gathering ; and
  • Data analysis.
  1. This paper adopted a mono-method qualitative approach which made use of secondary sources of data collection, personal experiences and observations as well as interviews.
  2. Secondary data are collected and recorded by a third party researcher for diverse purposes in addition to contemporary needs of the researcher. The paper is born from structured survey of histories related to Nigeria Police and a number of articles and relevant books, which were published over the last twenty years and many other works revolving around the issue in contention.
  3. This research project is also based on historical method which among others looks at subjects from a descriptive, narrative and analytic form. It will make use of mainly secondary sources. Oral information and archival material will also be used where necessary. Also, sources such as internet data, textbooks, thesis, journals and so on will be visited.

1.4 SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This project, deals with research on the problems of leadership and administration in the Nigeria Police. The scope is therefore focused on the effects of this on the productivity /output of officers to the organization’s goals. It will further suggest recommendations for the attainment of a more equitable means of attaining both personal/organizational goals.

By and large, the study will produce the desired results to assist the decision making process for the police management team and other policy makers. This study only relies on ethnographic knowledge and reviews of Nigerian newspapers and magazines, academic journal articles, books, archival materials, and internet-based documented source materials. The only interview sources are based on convenience samples. The work may therefore be guilty of inherent prejudices that may exist in the sources of information utilized.

I strongly recommend conducting further in-depth questionnaire study to control for validity and reliability of information. The police agency representative(s) also need to be interviewed in order to verify some of the documented information utilized in this work. This effort will not only buttress many of the ideas and questions posed by this study, but may also gear the Nigeria police into much anticipated effectiveness

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The continued and pervasive leadership and administrative problem in the Nigeria Police Force has necessitated the urgent need to dwell into this research in order to critically examine the causes and advance constructive and practicable solutions.

This research essay will therefore provide an invaluable working document for the police management Team in achieving the desired goals.

The study will hopefully provide reference materials for further research for scholars on this and similar research topics.

Finally, the aim of this study must have been satisfied if policy makers find recommendations contained herein useful and apply same in improving the size and quality of the Nigeria Police Force to meet the United Nations standard.

1.6     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Some operating terms used in this study are defined below to suit their application to the study.

PROBLEM;

According to Merriam webster Dictionary, problem is defined as a question raised for inquiry, consideration, or solution

LEADERSHIP: Business News Daily defines leadership as the ability of an individual to establish a following among other individuals or teams. It further identified the following as some of the features of a typical leader,

a) The pursuit of bettering his environment.

b) Knowing his team and himself well

  1. c) Giving people the tools to succeed
  2. d) Open, authentic and positive influence
  3. e) Clarity, confidence and courage
  4. f) Building consensus and common goals

g). Being the solution to problems

h). Helping others achieve the impossible

i). Building the next generation of leaders

j). Building followership

Administration;

Cambridge dictionary defines administration as the arrangements and tasks needed to control the operation of a plan or organization .It is also the process or activity of running a business, organization, etc.

Promotion;

In terms of a career, a promotion refers to the advancement of an employee’s rank or position in a hierarchical structure. . Job promotions usually include a new job title, a greater number of responsibilities and a pay increase.

Thus, the main conditions of promotion are:-

  1. a)      Reassignment of higher level job to an employee than what he is presently performing.
  2. b)      The employee will naturally be delegated with greater responsibility and authority than what he has had earlier.
  3. c)      Promotion normally accompanies higher pay.

Promotion may be temporal or permanent depending upon the organizational needs and employee performance

POLICE OFFICER:

This refers to any member of the force, a law enforcement official, who exercises police powers of arrest or detention.

PERFOMANCE; The accomplishment of a given task measured against present known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed.

COMPETENCE;

This Wikipedia defined as what people need to be successful in their jobs. Competencies include all the related knowledge, skills, abilities, and attributes that form a person’s job. This set of context-specific qualities is correlated with superior job performance and can be used as a standard against which to measure job performance as well as to develop, recruit, and hire employees

EFFECTIVENESS

Wikipedia defines Effectiveness as the capability of producing a desired result. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression.

APPOINTMENT  is defined as the act of officially choosing someone for a job, or the job itself

Problem of leadership and administration in Nigeria Police

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