Preparing Students to Cope with Police Brutality

Preparing students to cope with police brutality in Nigeria should be an essential part of the education system. Those of us born in the seventies and eighties will remember the days of the banana republic of Nigeria. Back then, men in uniform were gods, did whatever they wanted and got away with it too. The situation has not changed much. The police still show no regard at times for the law.

The history between the police and students in Nigeria is well documented. There are so many accusations of police brutality in concern with students. It would thus be amiss not to prepare students to deal with a situation most likely to become an actuality.

Preparing Students to Cope with Police Brutality

How Can Students be Prepared to Cope with Police Brutality?

Students should be taught what their rights are. They should be taught where the power of the executive starts and ends. Students need to know the channels through which justice can be sought and how to go about it. A direct interest in the law and all its ramifications should not be the purview of law students only. Specialized law programs should be part of the educational structure from elementary.
Knowledge of Technological Checks

There is hidden power in the workings of a camera. This powerful gadget is now in the hands of 90 percent of the students today. Video or photo proof of an incident cannot be denied in a court of law. It will stand above the word of the offending officer despite the inherent corruption plaguing the justice system.
Knowledge of People Power

An organized community can bring down any arm of government given time and persistence. Protests are a way of showing displeasure. If the yellow uprising of Singapore could do it, how much more, Nigerian students? The ability to work together can be difficult, but a full understanding of the larger purpose should provide the gel.
Knowledge of Social Power

Social networks like facebook and twitter, these days steem, and others can act as disruptors. The media can attest to the disruptive ability of these networks as they influence the news today. Concerted use of social media to expose such events of brutality can force the media to carry the stories. This will eventually lead to a conviction and trial.

Bottom line, Martin Luther King covered this topic adequately when he said "[The] law cannot make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important also."