In my over 13-year as a police officer, I’ve seen and witnessed a lot of bizarre events which my mouth can’t utter out.
While I was a recruit constable. I can recall that some group of recruits committed some offences that warrant dismissal from Police college. Among these sets of recruits include people from Northern, Eastern, Southern and Eastern parts of Nigeria.
These young folks were all arrested and tried. A dismissal order was issued but the moment the adjudicating officer who is to carry out the dismissal order realized a northerner was among those that were tried and made to be dismissed, the judgment was revised overnight and all the defaulters were all forgiven simply because of one person, the almighty Northerner.
I’ve seen cases where Police officers from the east, west and south kissed their job goodbye simply because they’re under height or over aged. But ironically, I’ve also seen Police officers from the North who doesn’t have any certificate at all and still over aged plus under height still wear their Police uniform and even being promoted above their mates from other ethnic groups who are university/Polytechnic graduates.
I’ve seen cases where Police officers were disgraced and threatened to be transfered out of the state they serve simply because they spoke their native language to their boss who is their tribesman. No. It wasn’t another person that threatened them or disgraced these lots. It was their very tribesman that openly told them to their face that he doesn’t condon any other language outside English in his office.
I’ve witnessed parade that was carried out in pure Hausa Language but I’ve never witnessed same with other languages.
I personally witnessed a Senior Police officer who is from the East disgraced an Inspr of Police publicly who greeted him in Igbo language. He said “….Will you stop speaking this useless language before me? I’m a Nigeria Police officer and not an Igbo Police officer. If you want to talk to me, talk to me in good English language”
But never in my life have I heard a Northerner berete his tribesmen in the public for speaking Hausa language. In fact, the moment a Northerner who is seeking for a favour says “Ragadede” to his tribeman who is his boss, the windows and doors of favour that was locked with padlock will suddenly open.
The northerners are very united to a fault. They rarely hurt their own. They rarely disgrace their own. They’d fight and do anything to defend their own.
But this rarely happen to those from other speaking groups.
I’ve seen Yoruba senior officers who find joy dismissing their tribesmen easily and even pride themselves about it. I’ve seen Igbo senior officers who prefer to work and favor the Northerners more to his own people. And when you ask him why, he’d say “The Northerners are more loyal than my people. I prefer to work with them than my own people” but he forget that when he retires, he’d go back home to that same people he doesn’t love to work with.
This act is not limited to core Northerners alone. Those who hail from other ethnic speaking group who understand and can speak Hausa language fluently are also favoured than their fellow tribesmen. So, if one is a public or civil servant in Nigeria, its logical to learn Hausa Language else, you’d be sidelined. I want to learn Hausa language by all means possible. I’m tired of this daylight bias everyday. Someone should come and teach me Hausa. “Namu Namu” ti take over.
The bitter truth is that. The Easterners, and Southerners ain’t United as many are made to believe not even the Westerners. But those that are truly united to a fault are the NORTHERNERS.
©EoE
