A former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, has described policing as a dangerous job that requires policemen to have prayer warriors as wives to enable them to cope with the occupational hazards.
Imohimi, who retired as Assistant Inspector General of Police, advised male police officers to look for such women who would support their efforts with supplications to God.
He said he had this in mind when he met his wife and married her 29 years ago.
“Maybe I should use this opportunity to advise young policemen. Our job is a difficult one. It is a dangerous job. They need wives who are prayer warriors and can support their efforts in prayer.
“That was what came to my mind when I met Mary. She doesn’t allow any achievement to affect her behaviour. That was why I married her,” he said during an interview with our correspondent.
The retired AIG explained that many ladies did not find junior policemen attractive due to the poor condition of service in the force, including the poor state of the barracks; the perception of the police as a corrupt institution and the policemen who give the force a bad image through their unprofessional behaviour.
“The condition of service of the police is extremely poor. I would concede that recently, the previous and present administrations did some review of salaries and a little increase but that is still not good enough because the condition of service is not limited to salary alone. With the kind of barracks we have and the living condition of policemen, I too may be reluctant to give my daughter to a policeman in marriage.
“For a policeman to be able to have that confidence to approach a lady, they must have a good standard of living. He can’t live in a derelict barrack in a dirty environment and wants to date the child of a civil servant or medical doctor and invite her to his room.
“This is most applicable to policemen in the junior ranks who did not join the force as graduates. So, something must be done about the living conditions of policemen,” he said.
Imohimi added, “Also, there is this stereotype that the Police Force is a very corrupt institution and citizens should not expect anything good from it. That is wrong.
“Yes, the Police Force has a lot of issues and challenges but they are not peculiar to the police; other paramilitary organisations also have such problems but the police relate with civilians more daily. Civilians see policemen and know many things about the police.
“There are also bad policemen in the Force. The police, over the years, have been weeding them out but they are still in the system. Some of them evade the disciplinary system of the police and keep rising in rank and before one knows it, they have become senior police officers when they are a burden to the force.”
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