Wesley: How NPBS Will Revolutionise Policing
Nigeria’s poor security architecture is set to receive a facelift with the introduction of the Nigeria Police Broadcasting Service. Mr Edirin Jerry Wesley, the brain behind the innovation spoke with journalists in Abuja. Paul Obi was there and presents th
We are all Nigerians, we have to do this great work together in building up our nation both rich and poor, Christians, Muslims and others; North, East, West and South of the country
The Nigerian Police Broadcasting Service (NPBS) is generating so much excitement. How was the NPBS idea conceived? Having lived in Europe for about 25 years, the idea was conceived in 2010, but after doing my feasibility study on the security challenges in the country, I presented it to the Nigeria Police Force management in 2012. The NPBS is currently receiving wide acceptability both in Nigeria and outside the country. For instance, after my interview with Fox News in the United States, we have had partnership with 228 radio stations in the United States and Canada.
So, you conceived the idea to achieve maximum security for the country?
That is right. NPBS is going to be giving first hand information on security matters across the nation and also to build up confidence of Nigerians home and abroad, including foreign investors.
Apart from that, what else did you set out to achieve? My focus is all on security because if the environment is secured, every other thing follows. For instance, if there is security of lives and property, foreign investors would be willing to invest in the country. I thought about the image of the police because you have to rebrand the image of the police. And how do you rebrand the image of the police? It is by bringing the community and the police together. We have to bridge the gap; we have to build the trust. For the police, see something, say something, have a voice. If the public have a voice and the police know their right, and the public know their right, it makes everybody to work together perfectly because you can see something and say oh, call the police. I remember about 17 years ago, I went to Germany and my cousin drove down to see me and we were talking. And just because we were both blacks and we were just laughing, somebody who was at the window, an old woman, saw us and within the next couple of minutes, we saw the German policemen and they were asking us about our documents, they wanted to know why we were there and they wanted to know what we were doing in the country. That is effective policing. They see something and say something. We are all Nigerians, we have to do this great work together in building up our nation both rich and poor, Christians, Muslims and others; North, East, West and South of the country.
Specifically, what does the NPBS entail? It is about media: television just like you have television about security matters; online media and as well, radio station where local languages are spoken and emergency command control and communication centre. The usefulness of the television is about people watch the television and see what is going on. For example, you want to travel and you want to see what is happening if you have to travel between Abuja and Kogi state or Abuja and Kano. So, if you watch the television, you should be able to know the security situation between Abuja and Kogi state, whether the road is free or not. And secondly, if there is kidnapping happening on the road, you have to educate people with tips about kidnapping. Also, if there is accident as a result of armed robbery in any of the highways, you can use it as a flash point on the television for those travelling along that route to their destination to be aware of what is happening. That is about the television, educating people about all sectors of security. The radio station is about educating people in local languages. For instance, look at what happened in Yola recently. The problem was that there was no avenue of contacting the police at the beginning of the incident. So, we have been working with the Nigerian Communications Commission and have agreed to issue the 112 emergency command control response number where you call. Whether you have money on your phone or not, just dial that number and it will ring straight at the headquarters where we set up the emergency command control centre. That takes the call and push it back to the state; the state command dispatches it to the nearest divisional police officer who would in turn send the men of the Nigeria Police to the crime scene. The same goes with the online where information are passed across for easy access and dissemination.
In terms of service delivery, are you targeting the entire country or some parts?
It is national, across the 36 states and Abuja. We want to make sure we get it right in Nigeria before moving to other African countries.
You had a presentation with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. What was their response? It was good. Fantastic! We had people like His Excellency, Governor Rochas Okorocha who said gone were the days police go around with guns, that media is the tool. We also have people like His Excellency, Governor Nasir el-Rufai who also embraced it. The governors were impressed after the presentation between the NPBS, the forum and the Inspector General of Police at the Presidential Villa. The governors were pleased and were concerned about the sustainability of the project. They were pleased because it is a private partnership. We have all the governors who see their vision in line with what we are doing and want to be part of it. We had a presentation with Local Content; we had a presentation with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and a lot of other organizations who want to be part of it.
Sceptics would still push the idea that how would the commissioning of NPBS assist our security situation in the country. What response do you have for such persons? Like I said, it is all about educating the society; real time information and as well, an input in bringing investors because it is going to be a platform where every investor is going to look at.
Are you saying this would revolutionalise the Nigerian security apparatus? Definitely! It is going to be a checkpoint as well for the police. It is not just for the benefit of the populace. The police have to be checked as well because when you see something, say something and you call the media. Don’t forget there are smart phones which you can use to video whatever that is going on either on the highway or within your environment and pass it across.
It is going to be both ways checkpoints. No hiding place for the police any longer? There is no hiding place for the police, no hiding place for the public.
How about allegations of police taking bribes on the highways or within the local community? A journey of a thousand miles starts one day. Once the awareness is created, the police itself as a body or as an organization, would start checking itself because if they know that somebody is going to video something and send it to the NPBS and NPBS is going to establish it by broadcasting it to the nation, I am sure nobody wants to get his name damaged. So, with that, I think the police will be at the point of being alert. If it is a habit that has been happening, it is going to change.
How would NPBS impact on elections in the country? It is going to be through policing the nation through effective information communication, saving lives and property and doing the right thing, creating awareness for people to know that someone is watching like a watchdog because you see something and say something. Through the technology being installed, the applications on peoples’ phones and the drones, issues of election mismanagement would be a thing of the past with timely information.