Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has advocated for the use of information technology by the Police to enhance their job, insisting that there is no way policemen in Nigeria can work optimally without information technology that will guarantee intelligence gathering and storage.
Fashola disclosed this while inaugurating the Information Technology Resource Centre at Area F Police Command, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the governor, Nigeria was still carrying on with the idea of the police left by the colonial masters, adding that the country must rebuild its police force since the colonial masters themselves had reformed their own a number of times.
He said: “I believe that this nation can build a 21st century police force that will have the best and brightest officers. This will start from work environment, tools and the dignity with which the police carry themselves.
“Provision of technology does not cost much, but the right attitude is not there. For instance, how can we expect policemen to work without technology? How can they detect crime, even after detecting it, how will they be able to keep records. We are still carrying a police formation that I think has not left some of its colonial inheritances.
“The colonial foundations were reliable at that time. Even those who gave the police to us have reformed it many times over and that is the reason why we are changing some of the designs of your area commands to give them a more contemporary look and to make the environment conducive and comfortable.”
Continuing, the governor said for the centre to work effectively, there is need for adequate power supply, adding that if the environment was not conducive, the centre would not be able to provide the desired result.
Fashola admonished the officers to be humble in service, saying: “You must see yourself not as police officers but as policemen for the most vulnerable member of the society. That is the most important thing that I think you can do for this society. Whenever I see your uniform, the only message that it passes to me is that I am safe.”
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