FOLLOWING the broadcast of a documentary by Lagos-based TV station, Channels TV, which went viral in the online media and prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to pay an unscheduled visit to Nigeria’s oldest police training institute in Lagos, the federal government said on Tuesday that it has commenced efforts to address the deplorable state of all police training institutes across the country.
This was disclosed by Police Affairs Minister Caleb Olubolade, who addressed the press after meeting with the management teams of the training institutes in Abuja on Tuesday, where he said he convened the meeting to ascertain the needs of the police.
The documentary by the Lagos-based station generated reactions from Nigerians at home and abroad, and ultimately got the attention of President Jonathan who detoured from an official trip to make an unscheduled visit to the Police College at Ikeja.
The Ikeja Police College is the oldest police training institute in Nigeria, installed during British colonial administration in Nigeria about 73 years ago.
The documentary revealed a horrific state of the campus environment, with dilapidated, unsightly buildings dotting every inch of the facility.
Carcasses of vehicles were shown strewn all over the campus’ driving range, while its once-impressive facilities as the main swimming pool and residential buildings had rotted away. Bathroom facilities were in filthy condition unfit for human use.
Upon his visit to the facility, Mr. Jonathan joined Nigerians in expressing shock and regret over the state of the facility, although he went ahead to use the occasion of his visit to blame unnamed persons for being enemies of Nigeria.
“This is a calculated attempt to damage the image of the government, as the college is not the only training institution in the country,” the president had said after inquiring to know how the media company that aired the documentary had secured ingress into the training facility.
Critics of the Jonathan Admininistration have intensified charges made against the president for what they say is the trivializing of instance of neglect of public infrastructure across the country.
The same attitude of lasseiz faire that informed the scandal of the Lagos’ police training institute affects hospitals and other public health facilities, the federal unity schools, universities, public research institutes, public roads and airports across the country.
Mr. Jonathan’s comments seems like a subtle charge that the Channel’s TV report is aimed at embarrassing the government – a charge that may encourage the continued harassment of journalists and other media practitioners in Nigeria.