…Doubts correctness of alleged apathy by S’East youths in joining police
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Godwin Nwobodo, has said that recruitment of police personnel based on Local Government Area is cheating to the South-East geo-political zone when you consider the number of local governments in the zone with the least least number of states in the country.
The DIG who spoke Thursday night as a Keynote Speaker at Ikengaonline monthly townhall meeting, regretted that South-East had been shortchanged since the introduction of the policy during the administration of the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari.
He spoke on the theme: “State Police: Panacea to Insecurity in the South-East.”
This is as he doubted the accuracy of the alleged claims by Police Authorities that South-East youths have no interest in police recruitments.
He challenged South-East Governors and other leaders to rise against the new recruitment policy, arguing that states and not local governments are the federating units in the country.
The retired Police boss further said that with such policy in place, South-East would always be under represented in the Nigeria Police Force.
He lamented the marginalisation of Ndigbo in the various agencies in the country, regretting that while in service, he once attended a meeting where he was told that if he could not understand vernacular, he had better return to his office.
Responding to a question on the alleged inability of South-East states to fill their quota during the recent police recruitment, DIG Nwobodo, said he was not convinced that Igbo youths have apathy for police job.
He advised the police hierarchy to get its acts well. He said it was the duty of the Police to endear itself to Igbo youths by using different approaches to market itself to the South-East youths.
“Our youths don’t have any apathy in joining the police,” he said, urging the Police Authorities to thoroughly find out what happened.
Ndigbo from across the world participated in the virtual townhall meeting which anchored by a United States of America-based Dr Osmond Agbo, and veteran Journalist, Dr Chido Onumah.
