CLEEN Celebrates fifth Anniversary

 
 After five years of promoting respect for human rights and cooperation between civil society and law enforcement agencies in the lawful discharge of their duties in Nigeria, The CLEEN Foundation, formerly known as the Centre for Law Enforcement Education, celebrated its fifth anniversary on the world’s human rights day, December 10, 2003.

 The event, which was marked with a lecture on public-private partnership for citizens’ safety and security in Nigeria, took place at the Gymnasium of the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos. It attracted the presence of such dignitaries as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Simon Okeke, who chaired the occasion; Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, ably represented by the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Mr. Ghazali Lawal; Chairman CLEEN Foundation’s Board of Directors, Ambassador Lamidi Maliki; Commandant of the Police College, Mr. Tunji Alapini (Commissioner of Police); the Country Representative of the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Paul Salay, who was the guest lecturer and Ford Foundation’s programme officer for human rights, Mr. Joseph Gitari, among others.

 In his welcome remarks, the chairperson of the CLEEN Foundation’s board, reminded the august gathering that the organisation was founded during the darkest days of military rule when any discuss on human rights was seen as anathema in establishment quarters and those in the mainstream of human rights advocacy in the country were hounded as enemies of the state. Consequently, law officials were very unwilling to collaborate with civil society groups for fear of being seen as working with ‘enemies’ of government. Explaining the different strategy of work adopted by the CLEEN Foundation from many civil society groups in Nigeria at the time, he stated: “CLEEN took off with the objective of fostering change of law enforcement agencies’ human rights records from within, by engaging them through empirical research and collaborative demonstration programmes.” In conclusion, he argued, “How much success or drawbacks CLEEN Foundation’s novel method of work has achieved is left for the jury to decide.”

 In his own remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Chief Okeke, commended the CLEEN Foundation for its commitment to police transformation in Nigeria and for its support to the Police Service Commission its efforts to ensure the emergence of an effective and accountable police force in Nigeria. He reminded the audience that it was with the support of CLEEN that the Police Service Commission was able for the first time in the history of Nigeria to develop and publish guidelines for the conduct of police officials on electoral duty in the country, as well as deploy roving monitors to observe and report on their conducts during the 2003 elections.

 The Inspector General of Police, speaking through AIG Lawal, in his keynote address observed that the theme of the lecture marking the CLEEN Foundation’s fifth anniversary could not have been more apt given the concern of the citizens about safety and security. He opined that safety and security matters are too important in the development drive of any nation to be left in the hands of law enforcement agencies alone. In his words: “security should not be left in the hands of the police alone. Corporate organisations, communities and individuals should be security conscious and assist the police in doing their work.” In conclusion, he stressed: “It is only in an atmosphere of guaranteed security that economic prosperity can be assured.”
 
 In his paper, the guest lecturer, Mr. Paul Salay, argues that there was a pervasive perception in Nigeria that crime was on the increase, which had heightened the feeling of insecurity among the populace, in spite of official crime statistics, which suggests that the crime rate in the country had successively reduced from 1996 to 2001 in the four composite criminal acts of offences against persons, against property, against lawful authority and against local acts by about 16%. He observed that the seeming discrepancy between the officially reported drop in crime and public perception could be due to either under-reporting, taking into consideration the weak record-keeping methods of the Nigeria Police Force ( a body that is still largely un-computerized), or perhaps a lack of appreciation of the improved security situation by the general public. Whichever is the case, Mr. Salay stated that the consequence of the general public’s widespread feeling of insecurity in Nigeria is the development of a vicious circle of poverty.

 He argued that poverty represented a pull and push factor for crime. In his words: “Poverty without hope for sustenance can lead to social deviance and crime and consequently increased crime rate brings about feeling of insecurity. Crime and insecurity are threats to physical, human and social capital (e.g. one effect of crime is stigmatization (419), affecting foreign direct investment; another is public insecurity, impeding domestic and international tourism). They can also represent disincentive to investment, whereas the lack of investment hinders economic development with the result that majority of the citizenry becomes poor and marginalized. Therefore, severe poverty, weak social safety nets and high levels of unemployment (as high as 43.6%) amongst out of school youths and adults in Nigeria, make them susceptible to involvement in drug abuse, crime, and other anti-social behaviors. Indeed, poverty, the lack of viable alternatives, the lop-sided age structure, rapid population growth and internal migration trends, are just a few of the numerous factors that have led to rising levels of crime, drug abuse and trafficking activities in the country.”
 On why government’s efforts at tackling crime and reducing citizens’ feeling of insecurity appeared not to have been very effective, Salay said that government’s initiatives had be more punitive and repressive than preventive and rehabilitative. Continuing he stated: “National efforts have been concentrated in government agencies with sporadic and often uncoordinated interventions. The government efforts to tackle these issues have also been scattered and ineffective due to the several constraints. Therefore, for Nigeria's fledgling democracy to be nurtured and sustained there must be a new approach to ensure safety.” This new approach, in his view requires public agencies to work with the private sector in delivering better services to the people. In his words: “This new concept of collective security and multi-sectoral participation is desirable for an environment where every citizen and organisation recognizes its role and responsibility in ensuring a better society for all.” Continuing he asserted: “It is my belief that a crime-free environment is worth investing for. In addition, fighting crime, violence and drug abuse is an investment in human and social capital that will impact on the overall development of the country. I have therefore urged in several occasions the business community to step forward and partner with government in a brave and bold attempt to address these issues comprehensively.” In conclusion, Mr. Paul Salay argued that “the potentials and results of a public and private partnership for a safe and secure environment in Nigeria are bound to be positive. The partnership strategy can be a win-win game in which government, private sector, and citizens will all benefit from a safer and more secure Nigeria.”

 Other highlights of the fifth anniversary celebration included the formal change of CLEEN’s name from the Centre for Law Enforcement Education in Nigeria (CLEEN) to CLEEN Foundation, the unveiling of the organisation’s new logo, which was performed by Mrs. Ayo Obe, a member of the board of directors of CLEEN and Commissioner in the Police Service Commission, and the cutting of the anniversary cake by the Chairman of the board and other dignitaries present. The Change of name also came with an enlargement of organisation’s areas of focus to cover the entire justice system, with the understanding that the police, being the gate keepers of the criminal justice system, would continue to enjoy pride of place in the organization’s work.
 The new mission of the CLEEN Foundation is therefore to promote public safety, security, and accessible justice through empirical research, legislative advocacy, demonstration programs, and publications that capture the results of the work.