Police is a metaphor for the systemic crisis confronting Nigeria especially since the early 1980s. The crisis was heralded by economic collapse occasioned by mismanagement and corruption in the oil industry. The intervention of the International Monetary Fund necessitated cuts in several sectors including security. Ironically, it was also the period when the need for the intervention of the security sector was most pressing. Allied with the governance type - military rule - the police as the first line of defense in law and order crisis suffered immense neglect. Work and welfare conditions, key determinants of productivity, deteriorated as the expectation of Nigerians of the police heightened amidst growing crime and breakdown of order. Using interviews, observations and anecdotes particularly in Jos from serving personnel, the paper examines work and welfare conditions of the police. It argues that the worsening working conditions of the police is a function of economic decline, corruption and regime type preference. It concludes by calling for improve working and welfare condition as cornerstone for police performance.
police; work; Nigeria