The fear of armed bandits is the beginning of wisdom for the average Nigerian police officer, who have now become easy target for shooting practice by thousands of dangerous armed bandits roaming our street.
An officer once dead, his or her family are practically on their own save for an occasional grave side oration by the officer's state commissioner and the payment of meagre terminal benefits which almost immediately become the subject matter of deep extended family rancour before the slain officer's body rests in the grave.
For decades now, our police officers have had to devise their own survival strategies. I remember vividly an incident at a police checkpoint for particular or party kolas depending on the disposition of the officer to be examined, a volks wagon danfo some fifty yards ahead suddenly started backfiring within minutes, there was pandemonium, people abandoned their cars while traders on the busy route locked up their shops for fear of nonexistent stray bullets.
Fortunately, the danfo kick-started and the backfiring ceased and there was great calm. It was then the police who manned the checkpoint coming out of gutter and whatever crevices they could dive into to save their lives emerging with their guns threateningly targeted towards the now fast flowing traffic shouting "wey dem wey dem"! That hilarious scenario is replicated almost on a daily basis.
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