Goodluck Jonathan... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
has said that most brass hats of the Police and para military agencies are incompetent which is why most Nigerians do not have confidence in them.
Speaking on Wednesday at the swearing in ceremony of the chairman and members of the Police Service Commission (PSC) at the State House, Abuja, said he believed they are incompetent because the yardstick being used for their promotion is not based on merit, competence and performance.
"I believe that the story of Immigration is the same with most of our services. I believe that is why the performance of some of our military and para-military officers is abysmal. Because the yardstick being used for promotion is not based on competence, merit and performance," he said.
Jonathan, who revealed the advice he received to sack all officers from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and above at the Police Headquarters, Abuja following the June 2011 attack by members of the Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
sect, noted that Nigerians have no confidence in the police.
He said following the bombing of the Police Headquarters, he was advised to sack all the senior officers as people wondered how a local terrorist group could successfully carry out such attack.
Jonathan said: "Even now that we have challenges, you will see that, especially when the Police Headquarters was bombed, some people came to me and said, Mr. President, sack all coppers working in that place from Assistant Commissioner of Police and above.
"I did not sack any because of that incident but that was the advice I got, that if you do that, subsequent people that would be posted there will sit up. How could the police allow their headquarters to be bombed by the local group called Boko Haram?'"
Jonathan observed that the problem with the services has to do with indiscipline and subjugation of merit in issues of promotions which throw up mediocre officers.
According to the President, "You will agree with me that Nigerians don't have so much confidence in the Nigerian police but Nigerian police is good. The Nigerian Police that work outside under United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
are highly honoured, highly commended and Okiro (Mike) will agree with me. But once we come back home, that is not reflected in what we do."