A video of a policeman justifying bribe collection in Kogi State, Nigeria has made the rounds on the internet.

Obviously, this one was unlucky. I mean, there are thousands of policemen on the road who collect bribes daily. If you travel by road a lot, you know this. Roadblocks are now the order of the day.

First, let's talk about how he did not notice he was being recorded. What a chatterbox!He kept talking on and on that he didn't even notice. He reminds you of Joseph, the dreamer boy, whom people usually say took himself to his enemies because he was so talkative.

On the other hand, thank God he didn't notice, or else we might have to record yet another case of police brutality, especially if the person recording refuses to stop recording or tries to argue.

If there's anything you take into this new month, it is to reduce how much you talk. Why does this feel like I'm talking to myself?

Anyway, happy new month.

It is nice to see the police adequately punishing their erring members. That's quite comforting, but on closer look, it's like cutting a branch of a tree you do not like. It doesn't make the tree go away, does it? Imagine how pointless that is.

Little strides, right? But these are in the wrong direction.

This inspector said his boss said it's okay to collect bribes. I know you want to say he was foolish. Where is his boss now? But that's not my point. Someone recruited him. He must have seen someone do it. It didn't begin with him. This boss probably made him believe that was the only way.

He has been unrobed. What next? To serve as a deterrent to others? If they learn today, hunger will make them forget tomorrow.

You complain that a child you do not feed is stealing. Try feeding him and see if he still steals. I'm not talking about the greedy ones.

The state of the police in this country is a sorry sight. From pitiful circumstances to substandard living conditions, able-bodied men chose to forego a million and one useful things they could do to serve their country. Let's not talk about resistance from the family and what they get in return.

These peanuts are called salary, and these peanuts are not even paid on time. If the government is not withholding it, it is either paying next to no attention (I'm not trying to remind you of ASUU) or one oga at the top thinks the bottle of peanuts he gets is not enough and so the sachet peanuts of those who do the job get are what his pocket deserves.

These officers die defending the country, and their families are abandoned. Maybe at first, their families are taken care of, but after a really short while (close your eyes, it's that short) they abandon them.

There's this structure on Lagos Island, close to Eko Bridge, a group of unpainted story buildings. I think it is called a police barracks, but I want to believe it isn't. If you know what it is called, please tell me in the comment section.

How is that a structure for men who have pledged to be a substitute for Jesus?

We all complain that police get to the crime scene after the culprits have left, but we never talk about how the police are inadequately funded, how they don't even have enough buses, how the petrol allowance does not even get to them, how they have to feed their families (coupled with this ever-rising inflation), and they are supposed to work. How do you tell a hungry man to go to work? Please tell me.

You see, cells abroad and you just want to be imprisoned (okay, I took that too far, but you got it, right?) This is to let you know how bad things are.

Yet we expect them to be upright, to not collaborate with thieves, to arrive at crime venues on time, and to not accept bribes. I'm not trying to justify this officer or any other officer that does this. I'm just trying to make us see that our problem is not just the officer on the road collecting twenty naira. Has it increased? There's so much more we choose not to see.

Some time ago, a police officer was suspended because he was carrying food for an elite woman he was supposed to be securing. Apart from the fact that the police have almost lost their respect, if you were an average policeman, whom this elite woman pays more than the government pays you, you wouldn't just be carrying food, you'd be cleaning the house.

Of course, I'm not about to talk about you and me who don't get our car papers completed and confidently come out because we can easily settle them, or those who steadily get huge wardrobe allowances and any form of allowance you can think of merely by sitting and having long hours of debate. Stop it! I'm not saying that it's no work; it is. It's not easy to leave the house dressed up knowing you're going out to talk.

Now, I have said too much. I should drop my pen.

Should I hope you enjoyed this?

Love and light.