American Police and Nigerian Police compared

If you meet a policeman on the streets of America and asked him, “Why did you join the Police?”

With all audacity, he will reply, “When I was a kid, there was a breaking-in in my neighbourhood ... someone stole my bicycle ... the gangsters were harassing the people of my community .... blah, blah, blah ... and I have to stop it!”

In essence, he knows what he wants.

On the other hand, if you query an average Nigerian Policeman on the street, “Why did you join the Police?”

He will reluctantly reply, “After I graduated from the university and there was no job ... I had to opt for this job ... or it is the only job where you can easily make money with government backing.”

American Police are always proud of their jobs – and it reflects in their dressings, dispositions, gait and interactions.

Nigerian Policemen aren’t proud of the profession – instead, they are generally arrogant, abusive, and authoritative and are bullies, harassing citizens for no just cause.

American policemen are generally referred to as cops and are always willing to answer you but Nigerian policeman resent being called constables but cherishes being called O.C. (Officer in charge) or Oga.

An average American Police will prioritize American citizens above himself and even treat the criminal with respects, calling them sir or ma – referring to captives as suspects but a Nigerian Policeman sees everybody as his servants lording it over them and even call suspects criminals.

All American Police are qualified to join the force, a high degree of Nigerian Policemen join the force with fake results or the certificates they cannot defend.

You can never see an American Policeman obtaining bribes on the streets but a Nigerian Policeman extorts money on the streets with all elegance without any iota of shame.

An American Policeman has duty posts for effective discharge of his duties but a Nigerian Policeman chooses his own duty posts and does as he pleases.

When you dial 911, police patrol joins you in a jiffy but if you call 112, Nigerian Police will give you all the reason why they cannot join you immediately and when they show up, they arrest innocent people.

American Policemen know that bail is free and never encroached on Americans’ rights but Nigerian Policemen, despite their understanding that bail is free, will never let suspects go free.

When Nigerian Policemen receive money from your debtor on your behalf, they charge 10 percent as commission.

More to come ...