{"id":7140,"date":"2026-06-23T20:45:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/?p=7140"},"modified":"2026-06-23T20:58:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:58:04","slug":"when-we-laugh-at-the-police-are-we-really-laughing-at-ourselves-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/when-we-laugh-at-the-police-are-we-really-laughing-at-ourselves-2\/","title":{"rendered":"When We Laugh at the Police, Are We Really Laughing at Ourselves?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Lanre Olagunju<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a rainy day somewhere in Nigeria, a photograph began circulating on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In it, several police officers sat in the open back of a pick-up van. Rain poured heavily. Their uniforms were soaked. Their rifles were exposed to the elements. There were no visible raincoats. No protective cover. No comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The image generated the usual reactions. Some expressed respect; a few mocked it. Others criticised the police.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But hidden within that photograph was a deeper question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does it say about a nation when those entrusted with protecting lives are themselves exposed to such conditions?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And perhaps more importantly, what does it say about us when our first instinct is ridicule rather than reflection?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a Yoruba proverb that captures this contradiction perfectly:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Alaaru t&#8217;on j\u1eb9 b\u00far\u1eb9\u0301d\u00ec, \u1e63e awo or\u00ed \u1eb9 l&#8217;\u00f3n j\u1eb9\u0301 ti k\u00f2 m\u1ecd\u0300.&#8221;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roughly translated, it means: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The labourer eating bread is actually chewing his own scalp, yet he does not realise it.&#8221;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proverb speaks to people who fail to recognise that the things they mock, diminish or take for granted are often the very things sustaining them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The relationship between Nigerians and the police increasingly resembles that proverb.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We criticise them. We ridicule them. We circulate their failures. We celebrate their embarrassment. Yet, when armed robbers strike, kidnappers invade communities, terrorists attack villages, or criminals threaten lives, it is still the police we call.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is not an argument against criticism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The police deserve scrutiny. Officers who abuse their powers deserve sanctions. Corruption must be confronted. Professionalism must remain non-negotiable, and impunity must end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But two truths can exist at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nigeria Police Force is far from perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And many Nigerian police officers are performing what can only be described as operational miracles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider the realities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Across vast parts of the country, officers are expected to confront terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and organised criminal networks that increasingly possess sophisticated weapons, communications systems and battlefield experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet many police personnel continue to operate with inadequate logistics, ageing equipment, insufficient welfare support and training models that were designed for a different era.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The security threats confronting Nigeria today are not the same threats the police were originally structured to combat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Modern terrorists operating in parts of the North-West and North-East have received training from transnational extremist networks linked to groups such as ISIS and ISWAP. These are not merely disorganised criminals hiding in forests. Many possess military-style capabilities, tactical knowledge and access to advanced weaponry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet in many cases, police officers are expected to confront these realities using training frameworks developed for conventional policing rather than modern asymmetric warfare.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our police officers were never trained to become bush-combat hunters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many joined the force to investigate crimes, maintain public order and protect communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, some find themselves pursuing heavily armed insurgents across forests, mountains and remote terrain under conditions for which few police institutions around the world were originally designed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And still they go.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7145 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19d82ced-8ebb-48de-b081-dad4b32b3429.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19d82ced-8ebb-48de-b081-dad4b32b3429.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19d82ced-8ebb-48de-b081-dad4b32b3429-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19d82ced-8ebb-48de-b081-dad4b32b3429-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/19d82ced-8ebb-48de-b081-dad4b32b3429-768x511.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On 8 May this year, 17 police officers were killed when terrorists attacked the Nigerian Army Special Forces School in Buni Yadi, Yobe State.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The officers were undergoing specialised counter-terrorism training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They did not die while extorting motorists at checkpoints.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They did not die while sitting behind office desks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They died preparing to protect a country most of them would never become wealthy serving.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just weeks later, three Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers lost their lives in Zamfara after their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device during patrol operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twenty officers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twenty families changed forever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twenty homes where wives, children, parents and siblings must now learn to live with absence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7146 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f884cc34-5a28-463c-88dc-ee83a4011f60.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"701\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f884cc34-5a28-463c-88dc-ee83a4011f60.jpeg 701w, https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f884cc34-5a28-463c-88dc-ee83a4011f60-300x143.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, as the world marks International Widows&#8217; Day, it is difficult not to think about those families.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behind every fallen officer is a widow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behind every casualty notification is a child whose future has suddenly become more uncertain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behind every headline is a family making sacrifices most Nigerians will never fully see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And tomorrow, despite these losses, thousands of their colleagues will put on the same uniforms and return to duty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why the national conversation about policing requires greater maturity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We must continue demanding accountability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But we must also learn to appreciate sacrifice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We must continue calling for reform.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But we must also support those carrying out the difficult work of keeping society safe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A skilled furniture maker is judged by the quality of the furniture he produces. But even the most talented craftsman can only do so much with poor tools and inadequate raw materials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nigeria&#8217;s police officers are often expected to produce first-class results with conditions that would frustrate many professionals in other sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The remarkable thing is not that they sometimes fall short.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The remarkable thing is how much they achieve despite those limitations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The police are not separate from Nigerian society.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are products of it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are our brothers, sisters, neighbours, children and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their failures reflect our national shortcomings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But their courage reflects our national strengths too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When they are shamed, a part of us is shamed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When they are strengthened, all of us become safer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is why supporting the police should not be viewed as charity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is an investment in our collective security.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because ultimately, the police we celebrate, neglect or ridicule today will determine the kind of society we live in tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And perhaps the real lesson from that old Yoruba proverb is this:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The load on the labourer&#8217;s head may not look impressive from a distance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But without it, there may be no bread at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><b>Olagunju wrote in from Abuja.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lanre Olagunju On a rainy day somewhere in Nigeria, a photograph began circulating on social media. In it, several police officers sat in the open back of a pick-up van. Rain poured heavily. Their uniforms were soaked. Their rifles were exposed to the elements. There were no visible raincoats. No protective cover. No comfort. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[131,130,132],"class_list":["post-7140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lanre-olagunju","tag-nigeria-police","tag-police-welfare"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.4 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When We Laugh at the Police, Are We Really Laughing at Ourselves? - Security Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/when-we-laugh-at-the-police-are-we-really-laughing-at-ourselves-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When We Laugh at the Police, Are We Really Laughing at Ourselves?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lanre Olagunju On a rainy day somewhere in Nigeria, a photograph began circulating on social media. In it, several police officers sat in the open back of a pick-up van. Rain poured heavily. Their uniforms were soaked. Their rifles were exposed to the elements. There were no visible raincoats. No protective cover. No comfort. 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