More than one year later after the new police head made his assertion, and asked the public media to be a direct witness to his plans, and requested for “prayers” is now faced with an open question.
The declaration of the emergency was apparently never realized as evidenced with the recent events, but the IG may very well have a set of good reasons for the non-realization of the emergency plans.
His leadership and administrations have demonstrated the least evidence of backing up his promise, as the training centers and colleges, at least from the point of the historical Police College in Ikeja, Lagos, which remains a spot and site of national humiliation, shame and outrage.

As we all know President Jonathan made a surprise visit to the Ikeja Police College and reportedly found the whole place Unbelievable! The President’s visit was in response to the good and bold work of the media. The Nigerian people were told that the President found the entire place especially the boardinghouses, college kitchen, dining hall and other places almost beyond human living.

This was certainly a good move by the president but he showed unfortunately, the usual signs of Nigerian Emotional Democracy (NED) when he expressed a peculiar concern about when and how the Channels TV was able to film the rot and deterioration in the college.

Mr. Jonathan reportedly showed anger and viewed the documentary by the TV station as a smear campaign, no, Mr. President, you are totally wrong! What does it matter?

It is true that the police college in Ikeja is not the only training ground in Nigeria. But one thing is clear, the Ikeja police school is a place where current and futureofficials of national security are supposed to learn the science and profession of police work.

But how can this be done in the face of being punished with an environment that is negative for healthy mental processing, a place with overflowing space for physical disease, and an environmental ground with constant exposure to burden of invisible ailments, resulting in possible disability, or likely premature death.
Mr. President, as you may know training grounds generally have significant impact on the human body and mind as well as on one’s future behaviors.

A trainee’s ready access to necessities like healthy food, accommodation, and even restrooms could affect how he or she behave months and years to come; particularly, when the time comes for him or her to become active as police man or woman on the streets and in the public.

Mr. President, now that the Nigerian Army Engineering Corps is giving a helping hand in rehabilitating the police college which is the essence partnership in a democracy, a healthy smell from the new or updated lavatories, classrooms and hostels, will no doubt enhance the mental and physical wellbeing of these trainees.

Mr. President, your openness in allowing the Army to give a helping hand as we have seen in other democratic or presidential societies like America, where the Army corps of engineers always come to rescue in time of urgency is fully noticeable.

This move of yours should be commended, and be expanded to other institutions, especially, when the expending of funds is not the only way to engage in the maintenance of institutions in Nigeria.
As we all know, many projects in Nigeria are being handled sometime in an evil and selfish manner, especially by those filled with the spirit of psychopathy which has eaten so deep into the mind of many powerful persons.

And it matters not whether the Ministry of Police Affairs or the Nigeria Police is in control of police funds in regards to the annual budgetary allocations for sectors like the training colleges.
Especially, when some of these so-called leaders appear to suffer from what could be called the mentality of schizonaira or perceptual craving for corrupt money which remains prevalent in the society?
If it is true that the IG is partnering with the private sector to work on improving the police force that is a good thing as that is what is expected in our new global community where the spirit of corporate social responsibility is valued. Many Nigerians will agree that this is not the time to blame each other as it relates to who should take charge of funding or whether it is the functionof the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Nigeria Police or even the Police service commission to clean the current mess; as each of these sections did not scream out publicly until the God-sent documentary was aired by Channels television station.

This type of media exposure in regards to the accumulated and ongoing consequences of schizonaira behaviors, conducts, and deeds in Nigeria is just what the people need at this time. Thank God for this courageous form of the media, it is about time!

Jos5930458@aol.com

By Dr. John E. Oshodi | NNP | June 13, 2012 -

 Many reasonable Nigerians take this issue extremely essential, and as one who specialize in police/prison science, forensic psychology and as one born to a father who contributed about forty years of police service to the Nigerian people; it is an eyesore for me to see on a daily basis, a sworn police officer in an enslaved posture in public.

In this respect, this is a personal issue for me and to many thinking Nigerians who see the basic duties and responsibilities of a police officer as that which include protecting the lives and properties of the people.

But as it is now, under the desire of some police officers and many highly placed persons/families in Nigeria a look at various public or open places will show the sight of an officer holding two or three mobile phone handsets, holding handbags, briefcases, umbrellas, coats, or a plastic bag of neatly packed food, and at the same time timidly holding a gun in the unfilled hand.

All these are going on with the very important person, “big man”, or “madam” or even oyinbo (a white person) who may be on the officer’s  side spotting a look of superiority with completely empty hands.

Mr. President if this is not open insanity then the world would like to know what this type of image is, especially when both hands are supposed to be on a gun for the purpose of accuracy and quickness in a life and death situation?

If not for poor judgment the person being guarded ought to know that it is a lot harder to have an accurate grip of a gun with the officer’s gun resting on his/her side, or hanging on the wall, or anywhere else because both hands are occupied with goods and gadgets.

It is not unusual to see this type of sight with the officer in a standing or passive position while the important person or boss  is using the phones interchangeably, talking/laughing loudly, seriously engaged in telephone or having a face to face talk in  an open setting.

As a psychologist, I have always wondered what could be going through the thoughts and feelings of the police officer–turned servant who in many cases appeared to hold a face marked with a hungry look, a very serious expression or an artificially smiling face.

Mr. President, in a highly challenged society like ours there is need for highly placed persons to have security but for God’s sake the unscrupulous, authoritarian, unoriginal, dishonorable and imprudent behaviors of some in power or in high positions should stop now.

Mr. President, in the last one year the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, retired Deputy-General of Police, Mr. Parry Osayande, and just of recent the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, and a former Lagos State police commissioner, Mr. Abubakar Tsav have respectively called for a stop to the barbarous misuse of our law enforcement officers.

Mr. President, we live at a time when various areas of the Nigerian criminal justice system are   being called upon locally and internationally to become more effective, efficient or valuable in their constitutional duties.

Just like the order you gave as in the case of the directive to have Executive positions being advertised and given out on merit, the same should be done in regards to the ethical and professional use of our law enforcement officers.

Sir, the brutal truth is that the dehumanization, oppression, bullying,  and the cross sexualized image we see when  a male uniform officer is holding an Italian  shinning real leather handbag for “madam” due to misuse of power is disgusting  and  should stop now.

Mr. President, no matter what many of your aides say, including the acting Inspector-General of Police who is waiting to be confirmed by some of these social offenders to officers, it will be almost suicidal for a police man or woman to tell the very important person to carry his or her own   handbag or briefcase.

Mr. President while of some of these power-that-be may defy your order as some have done in regards to your order that Ministers should have a certain number of aides, let this be different this time by applying the psychology of shame.

In an emerging democracy like Nigeria the duty of a police officer, whether in the service to an average or highly placed person is to extend his or her constitutional responsibilities which include ensuring the safety of the individual and not playing the role of a servant or a domestic as enslavement practices ended in Nigeria a very long time ago.

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is an Abuja based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839

On an emotional note, President Goodluck Jonathan’s assertion in Lagos on Monday that there will not be a recurrence of the air disaster is understandable and is well taken but it is, evidently, a fantasy at best.

The Dana Airline’s McDonnell Douglas MD-83 which killed more than 153 travellers and residents is a great shame as it was a disaster waiting to happen.

It could be said that the Ministry of Aviation under the watch of the President may have been trying to improve on the health of the sector in Nigeria, but the current occurrence does not support such efforts.

Obviously, this crash could have been avoided, if the nation’s regulatory agencies were up and doing in their responsibilities, given the apparent reports that this very airplane had a long and bad history of being mechanically deficient. And it certainly would be most surprising if this history of faultiness was new to the aviation authorities.

Like everything else in Nigeria, the country remains a dumping ground for most things rejected from the White man’s land. Nigeria, as a land known, sadly, for its ingrained corruption, deep-seated indifference and inadequate record management, it is possible that the worst of the worst airplanes are all over the country.

Mr. President, like you in terms of your tearful visit to the site of crash, in my role as a human psychologist in America for almost three decades till my recent return home, it is profusely tearful and painful for me to know that this same plane was a reject from the United States of America.

It is not surprising that in a country where our people are helpless over what the government does that this American-built airplane was once a piece of mechanical nuisance. A cause and a curse that resulted in its original owners, an American-based Alaska Airlines selling it to the Dana Airlines in early part of 2009. The sickly plane which was used from 1990 to 2009, and then dumped on the Dana Airlines for an apparently good price for the Indian Company, would enter Africa and settle in Nigeria—where anything goes apparently.

Now, we know from the US that in November of 2002, the plane had severe mechanical faults, suffered from overheated lightballast, and in August of 2006, it had a smoking problem due to a chaffed wire bundle that was discharging and passengers had to be quickly moved out upon landing in Long Beach, California.

With all these life-threatening problems, it speaks volumes that a plane like this was dumped on us having been certified by Nigerian aviation experts!

Mr. President, in your time, our administrators including those in the aviation sector, should stop playing with the lives of Nigerians, especially now that we know that this same fatal plane reportedly continued to have problems in Nigeria as recently as a few days ago.

With tears in my face, the colonial mentality that anything or anybody from the Whiteman’s land is better than anybody black is why a mechanically disturbed plane like the MD-83 with an aged background of 1983 would be certified as a go-ahead aircraft in Nigeria. This is shameful and disheartening!

Many of these deficient and aged planes are made worse by the Nigeria-conditions in regard to our aviation environments which are marked with poor electricity, and periodic failures of diesel generators which could affect everything from radar screens to all forms of communication.

As a practising clinical/forensic psychologist, it is a fact that pilots in places like the US go through a series of psychological testing as it is a way to monitor their mental health, judgment, insight, alertness and problem-solving skills. Psychological testing which should be routine and recurrent, is not the same thing as psychiatric testing which is more about medication-based mental health assessment and treatment.

Psychological testing is about personality characteristics and intellectual competence. Given that psychological health is a very essential aspect of safety, pilots flying in Nigeria should be tested by competent clinical psychologists as part of pre-employment and post-occupation requirements.

They should also be subjected to at least an annual medical certification examination by an ethical physician. Also video monitoring of what is happening in the cockpits of all planes is needed as it could enhance safety.

Besides, given that air business is risky, our air traffic controllers could also benefit from psychological testing as there have been various problems in this area.

The improvements in equipment and procedures in any matter involving air transport are essential, therefore, for the benefit of all flyers. Every problem involving air safety, no matter how minimal, should be quickly investigated and corrected. This correction must be supported with documentation in electronic, internet and paper forms,followed by public announcement on radio and in the television.

There is also the need for proactive safety checks and monitoring of pilots and aircraft to ensure full quality assurance and continued aviation safety in Nigeria.

The saying by many Nigerians that some of the stated recommendations are “things that they do in overseas and that we have not reached that point yet”, makes many reasonable persons uncomfortable as these are common sense procedures that are common to all humanity.

Life in Nigeria has in recent months been touched by numerous painful events and sad occurrences but for lessons to be learnt, appropriate, ethical and standard ways of being functional must be carried out and accomplished soonest.

-Oshodi, Ph.D., an Abuja-based forensic/clinical psychologist, wrote in via Jos5930458@aol.com. 08126909839

-Punch

By Dr. John E. Oshodi | Abuja, Nigeria | June 4, 2012 -

As a scholar and practitioner in forensic psychology with a focus on prison and police matters as well as one who recently returned home from the United States of America after about three decades, there is need for the full examination of some of these internal security issues.

Now, what are the lines of noble truths that came from the mouth of Comrade Patrick Abba Moro, the Minister of Interior?

His words are crucial to achieving the Jonathan Transformation Agenda especially in the areas of internal affairs of our nation.

Mr. President, only if you are able to have access to this open letter, it will be one way for you to be able to experience the pain and bitterness that Minister Moro described in many of his recent words about the internal-based security hurdles and other related matters.

Sir, we need experts, who in the spirit of the nation and for the service of the people will thrive to tackle many compounding issues raised by Minister Moro, and for the sake of the society the expert service should come out voluntarily, and it should be done professionally and in a timely way.

 For the collectivization of services the expected services should be of help to all of us and not for one’s own selfish sake and in all of these we need experts and leaders with a cycle of clear conscience.

Speaking about clear conscience, we now know openly through the Minister that since 1981 at least 10 prison projects were contracted with many of them suffering abandonment.  Again, since 1981.

Mr. President this information which you may already know of and be aware of remains mind burgling. 

Mr. President, we all agree that nation-making must surely occur slowly but it must be executed progressively by men and women of conscience.

In another issue, the Minister as part of his sacred task and as a man who is vast of the elements and local factors evoked a sense of pain and worry about a nation where during personnel selection for a job a serving senator may send a letter requesting a member of his constituency to be selected—no matter what is on ground for the admitting agency.

The senator’s letter or request is generally obliged to in the midst of high competition for a tight position. And not picking the senator’s or another Higher official’s choice is a temptation that is not worth risking.

Mr. President, this dilemma could be reduced if  employment to jobs are based on merit as you recently ordered for in executive positions where you made it clear that  one does not need to know anybody to be employed.

Mr. President, as you vigorously put to practice your administration’s national transformation agenda in the course of turning the country around we will need more of the likes of Comrade Patrick Abba Moro who will disclose  real and painful aspects about our internal affairs. We need the likes of him who will stay on to drive the administration’s transformation agenda in regards to many security threats in our country at this time.

Mr. President, as an expert in prison matters it is only proper to state to you to use boldness to reduce a long standing ambivalence raised by Minister Moro. In other words, how does one expect a Ministry charged with the responsibility of almost guaranteeing internal security perform superior, when functions which supposed to be under the control of ministry of internal affairs as done in healthy societies are placed under other ministries as in the case of the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Customs Service—Mr. President this is crazy.

In fact, internal security and community areas like the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Youth Service Corp should be under the ministry of interior or internal Affairs.

For the sake of coordination or planning security matters in regards to domestic affairs, disaster management and general national service one body or ministry should carry out all the required measures relating to internal affairs issues, especially when we all know that all these areas complement each other.

Mr. President, how can one argue in a non-psychotic way that the Ministry of Interior  which is officially charged with Prison management and responsibilities has one of its mightiest challenges and issues—congestion—being handled by the Ministry of Justice where the prison decongestion program of the federal government is currently domiciled?

Mr. President, this approach is not only self-defeating but could cause unnecessary challenges due to operational logistics.

The Minister alerted the nation of inmates’ inaccessibility to the courts due to inadequate vehicles; now we see why the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Dahiru Musdapher cried out recently about the 110, 000 plus cases that are pending before our courts across the nation with no quick rescue in sight.

 Mr. President, this is a serious issue that could have been addressed long time ago as convicts /suspects held in prison(a place that suspects are not supposed to be in the first place) could become more of institutional risk and judicial mess if these problems continues.

How do we tell the world that series of postponements of court appearances result from lack of vehicles to convey suspects or inmates to the courts in a country that is financially the largest market in Africa? 

The Minister has shown that he is not only a focused and bold leader but an ethical leader as he continues to exemplify moral leadership in regards to his strong concern for children.

Mr. President, adult prison is no place for kids, yet as pointed out by the Minister there are juveniles in our prison.

There used to be a time when the practice of locking up undeveloped people or children with adult criminals across the world but that was a time marked with policies of the 1700s.

The Minister as part of his ethical leadership sees the urgent need for the building of an adequate number of remand homes for minors.

Mr. President, the creation of institutions and juveniles’ residential centers away from prisons is for the sole purpose of bringing modification in their behaviors and actions very early on. And putting a juvenile in prison could actually make a criminal out of a potentially good child. Mr. President what is wrong with us?

Actually the affairs of juvenile delinquents should be the non-function of the Nigeria Prison Service, instead it should be housed in a ministry that is concerned with social development, families and children as that is where substantial responsibilities of children usually takes place.

Mr. President with the continued revelations that our prisons are congested with about fifty thousand inmates as well as the fact that almost 70 percent of them are awaiting trial the criminal prosecution phase of our judiciary should be made to implement the provisions of  suspended sentence and probation now.

The provisions of suspended sentence and probation are already directly or directly in the Criminal Procedure Act but for some reasons the Nigeria judiciary to date, still holds on to the colonial mentality of strict punishment. This plain insanity especially now that we are currently in the 21^st century!

Mr. President it is time to put to reality Chief Justice Dahiru Musdapher’s  call for a complete overhaul of our criminal law and policies in regards to full allowances for suspended sentence and other modern practices.

Mr. President, under Moro’s leadership, change is certain in the management of our internal affairs but only if his very capable leadership continues to get the highest support in terms full blown realignment of institutional functions, and their delivery.

The expert breakdown of many the issues facing internal security have been raised in here in terms of their need for coherence.

While no one is asking the President, to help straighten out these problems today, you Sir should quickly help bring out some degree of transformation to many of these complications by putting a stop the madness.

 Mr. President, our internal security challenges do not have to be this way as you know they can be reduced only if you go in full swing on many challenges revealed by the Minister Moro and analyzed with solutions by this expert.

Mr. President with a bold, timely, and rapid resolve to many of these issues you Sir will go into history as a real Transformation President in Africa.

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is an Abuja-based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839

By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D | Abuja, Nigeria | May 7, 2012 -

In truth and in pain, and from the point of speculative or theoretic psychology, Azazi was waiting for that very Friday and that week end to reveal his repressed anger, feelings of shame and guilt about a dwindling nation, and find a way to turn all of his frustrations not against himself, at least not this time but towards the nation as a whole especially those in political leadership, the President apparently.

 Azazi’s deep-seated rage it appears was more of a moral issue, as he could no longer guarantee an improvement on security issues, and in his capacity as the security ear of the President and as a well-tested soldier any restrictions placed on the secrecy and security aspect of his job was in disappearance, as disclosing his inner emotional pains was all that matters to him.

Even if his full-blown anger stood out as endangering national security it matters not on that faithful day as the top political parties have already done the damage with total impunity and indifference.

 Azazi knew fully well that his burning  frustration since finding himself in the midst of do or die politicians would draw  attention away from the pretense, silliness and denial  which appear to be  continuously shaping the nation’s polity.

He knew that to bring to discourse honest dialogue about our present times and how we got to this level of national confusion and undemocratic ways of existence it was worth the effort and time to open his mouth.

Azazi’s show of public resentment which he displayed to the who-is-who in political leadership came out as a form of political anger even though he is not a politician, and he made sure to blame his listening political audience as responsible for the sweeping societal insecurity. Which to him is a factor of their self-made rules like the system of zoning which he sees as  antithetical to the Nigerian constitution.

Azazi as a man of humanity and art by virtue of his education and as a man styled with an apparent personality of  systematically reaching and executing decisions,  some persons  in our society have taking his meticulous appearance and painstaking conduct to be that of indifference. Now they see how wrong they are.

That very Friday, during the second version of the South-South economic summit in Asaba, he knew that one side of the Nigerian political divide known as People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would be fully represented and as a calculating soldier with well-planned and prepared notes, may be for days or weeks or even months, vented out his inner frustrations line by line,  irrespective of  whether the PDP power-that-be identified with his emotions—unconsciously or consciously. He may have even wished the President to be there to see a fellow kinsman telling it all!

In fact Azazi, would have done the same exact thing in the north-east of the country full of core members of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) but with a different type of notes and preparedness.

Azazi by his nature and training in national and international principles of peacefulness, he sees the need for all humans irrespective of one’s place in the society, to follow the legal document called the Constitution.

As a long standing military student of national intelligence, national development, citizen involvement, strategic intensions, tactical coordination and international leadership he seems to approach governance and leadership through the apparatus of the Constitution imperfect as it may be.

For Azazi, anything short of true practice of the constitution or the rule of law could represent various lines and cycles of disorderliness, rebellion, double-dealing, intemperance, inequity, politicking, disunity and discomfort.

Azazi appears to be telling the political class across the nation unless they stop making their personalized rules or doctrines and take the pain to show greater respect for the rule of law in matters of elections, power sharing, and economy, the rising insecurity and civilian extremism may not submerge fully even with the best security infrastructures.

Azazi, by removing the wall of anger between him and his master—the PDP , he had in fact  placed the political leaders in a sudden position from where they can see in full view the anger,  worry, resentment, frustration, disappointment and other negative emotional states being felt in the north and in the south of the nation.

Azazi is making it clear to the political leadership that to continue to justify the principle of unconstitutional practice, leaves room for more undemocratic responses to their existence and that could include acts of insurgency and chaos in the society. 

In using some of his embedded emotions and pains to repudiate the political leaders, beginning with the southern ones, he appears to be disclosing to the country very serious and powerful consequences in the upcoming rounds of political fight for the presidency and other similar positions.

Azazi as a man who is skilled in peaceful resolutions, national integration, meritorious leadership, and American diplomacy any attempt to ignore his true revelations, and even punish him will be a cause for him to further validate his deep feelings of anger, sadness, and frustration and in the process free himself from an interfering undemocratic politics which he sees as currently at play in lives of the people.

Consequently, whatever follows this undemocratic divide in leadership with its symptoms of burning distrust and greater danger occurring, Azazi who is currently in the midst of all this divide, appears to be creating healthy ways for his own personal freedom.

Azazi, as he fights inwardly and to some extent outwardly, in an attempt to rescue the nation and even if he is made to apologize for his honored words but under the cover of slip of tongue where the underlying truth really lies, he appears to have another painful  concern for his kinsman , Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who at this time and in the wake of all these happenings is heading a polarized society, and  caught between the southern and northern political divide, as such may not be able to escape soon  from the partisan burden of  a worried  nation like Nigeria.

Emotionally, he appears to be telling the President here is a quit notice, my anger is a call your resignation from the presidential leadership at this time!

 If Azazi’s emotional exposé was to provoke more national crisis as in Jonathan’s resignation, sorry the President is still standing and the President should not resign.

The President must be  wandering how could someone he trust dearly  pour out his  broken heart publicly, and resolve to pour out his wrath on him and the political leadership, a question that Azazi could fully answer  personally in response to a psychological therapy session, that is if he deems it as helpful.

Nevertheless, Azazi in his spirit and mind appears to see the path of progress and unity through the eyes of the constitution but whether this fantasy will turn to a reality is what is probably burning within Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi at this unpredictable time. On that unique day in Asaba, he must have hollered free at last, free at last!

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is an Abuja-based Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association (NPA), Abuja. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839

By Dr. John E. Oshodi  | Abuja, Nigeria | April 23, 2012

Mr. President, Why Ministers Defy Order on the number of Aides
It is now in the public domain that a good number of Nigerian Ministers
have openly ignored your directives to curtail the number of their
Aides in regards to special adviser/assistants and personal assistants.
Mr. President the reason for this defiance is clear given your
declarations not long ago— “I’m no Pharaoh or army general’. Also, “I
don’t need to operate like the Pharaoh of Egypt, and I don’t need to be
an army general to change the country”. Actually you are quite right.
But from the point of psychological science these words might just be
signs of frustration at the time of their expression or mere points of
euphemism or understatement.

However, there are those humans who will unconsciously or consciously
interpret your words along the lines of weak character, executive 
weakness, presidential softness, open-leadership, elastic-headedness,
managerial slackness,  leadership shallowness, executive insufficiency,
and  easy-going leadership.

Mr. President, while many Nigerians now know you for your
conscientious, calculated, pointed and meticulous leadership there are
times when you have to creatively act in a despotic, ruthless, and in a
pharaoh-like manner.

Psychologically, there are some humans who just like to defy orders as
that is part of their authoritarian tendencies, and as such they need
to be humiliated and humbled through presidential instruments of
reprimand or reproach which some of them may equally enjoy oddly.
But what is clear from these punitive responses is that these sorts of
characters must sometimes be displaced of their negativities and
authoritarianism.

It has been over one year that this presidential order on the number of
aides was reportedly given for the Ministers or your cabinet members to
have only one special adviser/assistant and one personal assistant; as
this type of move could save tax payers some money and make the
government more fiscally responsible.

As part of these Ministers hard-headedness, some of them equally
refused to listen to pleas from the office of the Revenue Mobilization
Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

As part of their leadership style and power needs, some of them
reportedly continue to retain more than ten Special Advisers/Assistants
each and remain in defiance to your authority.

This is pure disobedience to a head of State, especially to a non-royal
or ceremonial head, who exercises active executive power in all aspects
of government and in the day-to-day affairs of the government.
Mr. President because of your appearance of gentleness, meekness and
cheerfulness how many more directives or presidential circulars have
largely gone unheeded and continuously ignored?

Mr. President, this is an embarrassment especially at a time when the
Nigerian people are looking at your presidency and wondering how much
wastage of resources abounds everywhere in the midst of abject
suffering, apathy and worry.

Mr. President with just another executive order with attached
consequences for disobedience to it; make it a rule for all your
cabinet members to get some of their aides from the civil service
leaving some room for very little number of political appointees.
As a matter of fact it will be better for the country if most of their
aides come from the civil service as many have the necessary experience
to do their jobs.

Mr. President, we will all wait to see what type of sanctions will be
meted out to the   disobedient ministers, as it will tell the people
that  you are truly a Commander-in-Chief and not a mere meek President.
___________________________________________
John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and
the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association (NPA),
Abuja. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839

By John E. Oshodi  | Abuja  | Nigeria | April 6, 2012 

In the same vein, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria who is currently a
nominee for President of the World Bank ought to be viewed by you
through your own lens.

Through the possibilities of individual achievement, personal merit,
adept background, and celebrated expertise in public and private works
you became America’s first African-American President.

This American historic presidency happened amidst backgrounds like
racist attacks, ethnic animosity and social antagonism toward you in
terms of your cultural and ancestral history.

Sir, you will agree that what could not be questioned successfully were
your impeccable credentials as a candidate for the presidency.

Along these lines of reasoning the extremely public picture you are
pushing against Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala compare to your candidate, Dr.
Jim Yong Kim is far from who you are in terms of both words and deeds.
In the last few days there is an unbelievable display of unfairness
against the psychology of merit, expertness and measured experience in
favor of undue power and influence—the America might.

President Obama, if the World Bank is an international financial
institution which provides aids and finances to developing countries
for capital programs, how does a man with proficiency in infectious
diseases, anthropology and university administration occupy and take on
such financial headship?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as you are truly aware of is a woman with a far
reaching wealth of experience in world economy, in emerging economies,
in economics, in finance and in government.

Yet, you Sir appear to be trying to impose an American public-health
professor on the affairs of the World Bank and could this be
unconsciously or consciously due to the reality that Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala is from black Africa, from a purported notorious society,
and of a female background?

Sir, some of these characterizations is what you successfully fought
against in terms of your being black and different in racist America.
Sir, sure it is civically proper that you support an American and one
of your citizens for any global position. But here is the reality. 

This World Bank position is about who has more qualifications and
experience. While  Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala comes from a nakedly driven
culture of corruption—Nigeria, she presents as a woman within the black
Africa community who has struggled individually and pulled herself up
by her own bootstraps and now wants to use her skills and efforts as
well as her knowledge about the world stage to help emerging nations.
Sir, there is certainly nothing wrong with this type of course
especially when you have always fought for persons that have pulled
themselves up through their own  bootstraps.

Sir, you must not allow a well-educated, a well experienced and a
solution driven authority like this woman to back down for a
questionable and unsuitable American nominee like Dr. Jim Yong Kim, at
least by the standards of the widely known reputable London-based
weekly publication, The Economist.

Sir, you have always demanded of America and the world in general; that
fairness and clearness must always be respected. So if the World Bank
presidency position is contested under the air of freedom, fairness and
transparency your long distance sister will win the presidential race
for the World Bank.

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is the Secretary-General of the Nigeria
Psychological Association (NPA), Abuja. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839

Sir, as you may know most psychologists are more interested about the
inner side of humans including security and law enforcement agents
followed by interest in the external being as in one’s particular dress
or style of dressing.

Sir, a new dress doesn’t get us anywhere at this time as it is the
official life, and the life that an officer portrays in the public that
matters more. The real beauty on the outside of an officer is a
reflection of an officer’s inside in terms of attractive attitude,
positive  characteristics, character fitness, performance conduct,
fitness-for-duty, insight and judgment.

Sir, even with the best form of dressing, external presentation or
image in a new recruit or a long term serving officer  undesirable
personality characteristics or other psychological challenges do not
vanish simply because of a new wear, instead these disturbances get
deeper and become more steadier.

New dressing will not reduce an officer’s psychological vulnerabilities
during service; a new physical image will not reduce or help discover
abnormal or pathological traits, instead will only successfully and
quietly cover disturbed identities and characters.

A new dress will not improve intelligence, self-control, emotional
stability, and honest dealings; a new wear will not improve moral
uprightness, integrity, reputation, cooperativeness and even physical
or medical fitness.

Sir, giving that one of the main support to psychological healthiness
is in the manner and style of one’s dress or image, as physical image
usually persists through one’s inner life, let’s find a way to work on
the psychological qualities-of-an-officer  which usually means passing
a series or battery of psychological/personality  tests. Thereafter,
any new law enforcement dress or image as well as a change in uniform
could be welcomed more by the public.

Sir, even if the best form of dressing is introduced a non-improvement
in an officer’s living, residential, financial  and general working
conditions will further worsen his or her mental and emotional state
thereby making the new wear or cover-up virtually  a financial
throwaway. The Nigerian public and the world are on the side of new
changes in the police and what they actually met is for the President
and the Inspector General of Police, is to set a new course of new
changes in the police atmosphere, beginning with the cleaning of the
inside of the Police personnel which could make the outside become more
cleaner.

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and
the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association (NPA),
Abuja. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839

By Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi, Abuja, Nigeria, March 12, 2012 -

In our current society, we live in an era where the people of Nigeria live in extraordinary times due to security problems, and this type of atmosphere further compounds and push some of our police officers into a state of deeper stress, lingering frustration, intense worry, and silent depression. And some of them could be coping with these issues by turning to free-for-all aggression, naked corruption and outright indiscipline, and now some officers are steadily pushing themselves into the path of self-destruction, suicide and murder-suicide. What a painful development and occurrence!

Usually, the most vulnerable among them are the ones that are prone to these types of destructive behaviors.

In a country where it is mandated that anyone entering the police work must go through psychological screening, testing and evaluation by doctoral level forensic and clinical psychologists, these type of people get detected right from the beginning and declared unfit for police work. But this is not the case with Nigeria.

There is need for a periodic psychological testing of serving and existing officers in order to detect those in need of being declared unfit to continue police work, and/or those who are very competent in terms of their police work but could be struggling with some form of emotional difficulties which could be reduced with therapeutic intervention. This is where counseling comes in and a visit to a psychiatrist for possible medication prescription and maintenance after a verbal interview and completion of symptoms-check-list by the psychiatrist.

It should be clear that psychiatrists are not about the use of psychological instruments for examining and screening in or screening out any candidate, especially for police work, as such function is the sole job of a psychologist.  

The neglect or negligence of issues of mental health continues because of the common belief that psychological services are mostly something the ‘White Man’ is concerned with, and these issues are seen as forms of stigmatization.

And by vising one’s pastor or imam secretly many people believe ‘the problem’ will be solved automatically.

In the face of the considerable neglect of the psychological aspects of policing, our society now finds itself being hit with very disturbing police behaviors.

Recently, in America a Massachusetts police officer reportedly shot a fellow officer then returned to the scene and kills himself. This type of behavior is expected in a society where the use of violence is sometimes glamorous and one of the quickest ways to settle any dispute between families, co-workers and children, unfortunately.

Now in our society, we hear about cases like that of a policeman going wild and shooting two of his colleagues before shooting himself in the State of Adamawa State. In Rivers State, a police officer reportedly shooting another officer while they were on duty in Port Harcourt then turned the AK-47 rifle on himself. Not long ago, in Kano State, a police man reportedly shot a police officer who questioned him about stealing N50, 000 from a citizen, and then killed himself.

There are many other cases of misuse of force and destructive behaviors.

In addition to possible stressful, provocative situations and poor coping methods that could be involved in many of these painful acts, there are just some persons who have no business doing police work. It is true.

The long standing requirements which include a letter of character attestation from one’s ward, district or village signed by an Oba or Emir, and obtaining a certificate of fitness from a government Hospital are  not a enough to declare one as ripe and qualified for police work.

These are olden days set of requirements, not minding our indigenous and traditional backgrounds, and if truth be told these types of guidelines are dead as times have changed.

These types of requirements are some of the main reasons why we have the recent Adamawa, Port-Harcourt, Kano and the Zakari Biu cases.

This is why we hear of unusual cases like a police officer kills a civilian over N50 bribe; a Nigerian man shot dead due to N20 Bribe; a police man pursued a motorist and deflated his tires over bribe, a police man shot a man because of 40 naira bribe, a police man kills a bus driver over N20, and in Onitsha a bus driver was slain by a trigger happy police officer because the late driver insisted on paying N20 in bribes instead of what the officer wanted—a whole N50.

As a psychologist who knows about the satisfaction one gets from a very good remuneration, even if we begin to pay the police a starting monthly salary of 200, 000 naira, or transfer them up and down or even dismiss the troubled ones; our police problems will deepen and remain largely unsolved.

As a democratic society, the Nigerian public, the government and every  good faith officials  need to insist that every serving police personnel and prospective police man and woman be administered a collection of psychological tests in order to determine his or her psychological fitness-for-duty.

As we all know the police work in particular, is marked with sensitive positions, commands public trust and it involves a disciplined atmosphere, and this is what we want in Nigeria.

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association (NPA), Abuja. Jos5930458@aol.com 08126909839