According to statements and press releases that have made the rounds, the Nigeria Police is currently on a recruitment exercise of constables. The constable is the lowest rank in the Nigeria Police, after recruit.
The original statement sighted and issued from Force Headquarters said the Police was looking to recruit qualified persons as constables in the force. The statement came from Frank Mba, the Force Public Relations Officer.
According to him, applicants must be between 17 and 25 years of age and must possess a minimum of five credits, including English and Mathematics at secondary school certificate level. Of course, “applicants must be medically, physically and psychologically fit and must not be less than 1.67m tall for male and 1.64m tall for female. Female applicants must not be pregnant at the time of the recruitment”.
Nigerians with listed disabilities were advised not to apply. This means that those with impediment in speech, gross malformation of teeth or jaw preventing proper mastication of food, knocked knees, bowlegs and bent knees (K-Legs as we call them) are not eligible. If you also have deformed hands which cannot perform the full functions of the hand, defective eyesight or squint and amputation of any part of the body, you are excluded.
All the above is like the whole disabled community – physical, visual and hearing or speech impaired persons cannot join the Police. This is outright bias and discrimination!
Wait for it – some police commands gave us more in their statements of recruitment.
Anambra and Zamfara States commands’ statements that were sighted, specifically said the recruitment was for indigenes of those states. Hear Anambra:
“The Anambra State Police Command wishes to inform “Ndi Anambra” that recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force has commenced. The Command therefore invites applications from suitably qualified indigenes for enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force as Police Constables (Recruits)”.
It continued:
- Nationality: Be a Nigerian citizen by birth and possess National Identity Number (NIN).
- Character: Must be of good character and must not have been convicted of any criminal offence.
- Chest Measurement: Must not have less than 86cm (34 inches) expanded chest measurement (for men only). (So women have no chest measurement – Hmmmm)
- Physical Features: Must not have any one of the following abnormalities or deformities:
- Speech Impediment
- Knock Knees
- Bow Legs
- Bent Knees
- Flat Feet
- Deformed Hands which cannot perform the full functions of the hand,
- Defective Eyesight or Squint Eyes
- Amputation of any part of the body
- Gross Malformation of teeth or jaw.
- Financial Status: Must be free from any pecuniary embarrassment. (Tell me which Nigerian, jobless or not, does not have financial issues!)
The noticed stressed that a candidate who is ‘suffering from any aforementioned abnormalities or deformities’ shall not be accepted for enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force. Isn’t it grossly unfeeling and defamatory to say such people are ‘suffering from’ the way they are?
Also, Zamfara State Police Command echoed Anambra’s notice by informing ‘interested indigenes’ of the state about the recruitment.
It is possible that the template for the notice is the same for all Police Commands nationwide, although some seem more embellished than others.
Some questions to ask here – if the recruitment is for indigenes of those states where the police command is located, what happens to residents who are citizens of other states? Are they to go to their states of origin to apply? Some of these residents were born in those states but claim the states of origin of their parents because that is what obtains in Nigeria. It is discriminatory to say the recruitment is only for ‘indigenes’ of that state into a federal institution. As long as they are Nigerians, why can they not apply?
A major group of persons affected by the recruitment regulations is the disabled community.
There are millions of disabled people in Nigeria. Such people have been effectively ruled out of a career in the Nigeria Police, if we go by these notices. In this age of inclusion, this is very strange. Some of the most brilliant people I know have one form of disability or another and they are performing well in their chosen professions, no matter the type of disability.
In Lagos, I have seen physically disabled persons controlling traffic, using their own initiative and obviously with no pay. Traffic control is police duty, isn’t it?
There are some forms and profiles listed by the Police as disorders and deformities and therefore excluded. Bow legs, K-legs or Knock-knees, Flat feet – this is outrageous. How many people have legs that are completely straight? In fact, almost everybody has one form of disability or another. Based on these conditions, I wonder who will qualify for recruitment without having to engage in under-the-table measures. And this is a country said to be under-policed!
If we are copying recruitment regulations as in Europe or the Americas, the inclusion of flat feet is a different matter.
According to the National Health Service, NHS, of the UK, flat feet, or “fallen arches”, are where your feet press flat on the ground. They are common and usually nothing to worry about.
If you have flat feet, your feet will be flat on the ground. You don’t have flat feet if part of your foot is raised off the ground (this is called the arch).
The NHS says flat feet don’t usually need to be treated and you don’t need to do anything if you or your child have flat feet that aren’t causing any problems. It shouldn’t stop you doing any activities, including sports. It is only if your feet are painful, stiff, weak or numb or you often get feet or ankle injuries and you have problems with walking or balance that you worry; not when it is part of your life.
There are even some type of shoes to wear (wide, comfortable shoes with a low heel are usually best) or you can use shoe insoles to support your feet if you feel like it.
There are no known causes of flat feet. Often there is no obvious cause for it and it might just be the way your feet are. Sometimes flat feet run in families. Does it mean no member of that family can ever be recruited in the Police?
It would be good to ask what happens to serving policemen who become disabled – amputated leg or arm, blindness, hearing problem, etc – in the line of duty. Are they discarded because they don’t fulfil conditions laid down for serving in the Police originally? I hope this is not the case. Or are these rules made only for the junior recruitment? That would make it doubly discriminatory, if senior recruitment regulations are different.
Technology has made it easier for disabled people to become more useful to themselves and the society. We should not put barriers that would further make their lives more difficult or make them become burdens to the community.
Friendlier recruitment regulations will give the police a human face and a review in favour of an inclusiveness will be a necessity at this time.
As we say in our community, there is ability in disability.
Epa Ogie Eboigbe, veteran journalist, broadcaster and public affairs specialist writes on, and analyses current and historical issues with a ‘wise pen’.
