29th November, 2018
PRESS RELEASE:
MURIC HAILS BUHARI FOR INCREASING
POLICE PAY
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday
announced a huge increase in the salary of the Nigerian Police. The increase
affects all policemen from the highest to the lowest rank.
Meanwhile the Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC) has hailed the president for taking this action. In a press statement
issued on Thursday 29th November, 2018, the human rights organization
said it welcomed the decision with great pleasure.
“It is a new dawn. President Buhari
has energized our police. This is the kind of motivation the police needs. The
increase which is said to be about 300% above the former salary will address
the country’s security challenge and substantially reduce bribery and
corruption in the system.
“It is the greatest motivation ever
received by the Nigerian police. Nigerians have been blaming the police wrongly
for sometime now. But MURIC has been consistent in analyzing the situation very
objectively. We have always placed the blame on lack of motivation, poor salary
structure, lack of welfare and poor equipment.
“We
commend Buhari for listening to our cries. This is a listening leader. No
administration in the history of this country has done so much for the police
department. When Buhari assumed office, the police force had just 317,000 men
watching over a population of more than 220 million when the global best
practice as recommended by the United Nations is one policeman to every 500
citizens.
“Within
the spate of three years, he has increased police population to 334,000. He
first approved the recruitment of 10,000 about two years ago and another 6,000
not long after that. There is no iota of doubt that Buhari will do more if he
is given another four years in power.
“If we compare his performance to
that of his predecessors we will find a huge difference. In 2002, the Federal
Government (FG) promised to recruit 40,000 policemen annually. That promise
remained on paper till today. Although Buhari did not make any promise to the
police during the 2015 electioneering campaigns, he has come up with surprise
packages for them.
The release which was signed by the
director and founder of the group, Professor Ishaq Akintola, took up President
Buhari’s critics.
“The wailers may still not see change in this development. We respect
constructive criticism but we find it difficult to understand blind and
fanatical doubting Thomases. Perpetual wailers have failed to see Buhari’s home
grown school feeding programme which has accommodated over nine million children
across twenty two states. They have ignored FG’s trader-moni which gives direct
empowerment to market women across the country. They have turned the blind eye
at N-Power volunteer corps which employs 500,000 Nigerian graduates.
“Yet
there is more. The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) gives N5,000 monthly to the
extremely poor. In the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, a soft
loan scheme targets 1.6 million women, traders, artisans, small businesses and
youths. Under the scheme, soft loans of between N10,000 and N100,000 is given
to these categories of people without interest with a repayment period of three
months to six months and administration cost of 5 per cent by the Bank of
Industry.
“It appears that Buhari’s Social intervention
programmes (SIPs) annoy wailers because Buhari is sharing money to the poor
masses directly instead of putting it in the private pockets of politicians.
This was the practice during the sixteen years of pillage. But change is here.
It is no longer business as usual. The tap from which money was flowing into
the buckets of politicians has been turned off courtesy of BVN and Treasury
Single Account (TSA). Stealing is now corruption.
“Wailers are on their own if they
still cannot appreciate this administration. Objectivity demands that one shows
respect even for the enemy when the latter achieves an extraordinary feat.
Buhari recognized June 12 but instead of admitting the giant stride, wailers
said it was politics. They said he was buying votes with the welfare
programmes.
“FG is building the second Niger
Bridge which previous administrations have failed to attend to despite
humongous allocations earmarked for the project. That project which will cost N210
billion is 50% complete. Lagos-Ibadan rail line which is gulping $1.4 billion
is 80% complete. Nigerians are being shown pictures and video clips of the
progress of these projects yet wailers are yelling. We have no doubt that
wailers will still complain even if Buhari constructs Macadam roads to their
bedrooms. Wailers are haters.
“We
are waiting to see how the spoilsports in the National Assembly (NASS) will
frustrate this good move. We want to see how increase in police salary will be
ambushed. It is in the character of some politicians to spoil the good work of
government so as to make the president unpopular, with the hope that this will
enhance their own inordinate ambition of seizing the reins of power.
“But Nigerians are not fools. They
know those who are causing distraction. They know those who are overambitious.
They know those who want to rule by hook or by crook. But above all, Almighty
Allah is waiting for those who plot against the Nigerian people, ‘Verily your
Lord lies in wait’ (Qur’an 89:14 Inna
Rabbaka labil-mirsaad)”.
“Just yesterday Buhari reduced JAMB
and NECO examination fees from N5,000 to N3,500 in order to make it easier for
children of the poor to register for those crucial examinations. These and
other welfarist innovations of this administration further cement our
conviction that Buhari cares.
“Yet
as we appreciate President Buhari’s great contributions to growth particularly
the new police salary structure, we must ask for more, just like Oliver Twist.
The police still needs better equipment. Every policeman should have a
walkie-talkie and a pistol stuck in his belt. Patrol cars should come at one
for every two policemen. We also call for improved welfare like life insurance scheme
for the police.
MURIC also commended the Police
Service Commission. “We appreciate the Police Service Commission under the able
leadership of Alhaji Musiliu Smith. We can feel the commision’s contribution in
the recent development.
“We call on the police to remember the
old aphorism that to whom much is given, much is expected. They should
reciprocate with the speed of light. We are in a season of change. Nigerians
want action.
“In our closing remarks, we urge
President Buhari to march on with the change mantra. He should ignore all
distractions and face the good work that he is doing. We, the patriotic
citizens of Nigeria who voted for change have seen the change. We salute Buhari’s
doggedness. For the umpteenth time, we declare that Buhari deserves a second term”.
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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