The Implications of Stigmatizing Ex-offenders

Stigma against ex-offenders is an ugly trend that has pervaded the collective psyche of Nigerians and seemingly eroded our sense of humanity, justice and religiosity. Stigma can be operationally defined as a situation where society holds negative view of an ex-offender. People attribute stigma of ex-offenders to the inefficiency of the prison system in Nigeria. However, turning out reformed ex-offenders is not the exclusive preserve of the Nigerian Prisons Service alone, it is also the duty of all and sundry, including ex-offenders’ peers, relatives, community members, traditional leaders and significant others. A reformed ex-offender is one who, while in prison, has been rehabilitated through behaviour modification techniques, equipped with a skill to help him or her survive in a competitive environment, and most importantly, one who has been accepted in the community he or she is returning to without any form of discrimination, prejudice or bias.

Most often, many ex-offenders are discriminated against by their significant others who ordinarily should be their pillars of support. Many Nigerians perceive ex-offenders as pariahs who must not be trusted. In many communities, the ex-offender is considered a persona non grata and taken with so much suspicion and skepticism. Ex-offenders are erroneously considered to be dangerous persons who should be feared and distanced. Many Nigerians dine with ex-offenders with long spoons and are petrified when they suddenly bump into them. This is so because hitherto, prisons, most especially in Nigeria, are seen as deformation centre where prisoners are hardened the more. Therefore, a first time offender who is sent to prison for minor offences like stealing, turns out to become an armed robber after imprisonment. This notion has been proved wrong in recent times, as our prisons have been equipped with the capacity to enhance the personalities that pass through them. More so, ex-offenders have paid their debts for their wrongdoings and have been deemed fit for reintegration into the society, it would be fallacious to consider them as dangerous and treacherous.

Unfortunately, even the government and other public institutions discriminate against ex-offenders by denying them employment, political appointment, right to be voted for, as well as other benefits that accrue to Nigerian citizens. Often times, government ministries, departments and agencies ask of one’s conviction status when they are filling out recruitment forms so as to deny them such jobs even when they are qualified for them. If government who should discourage stigma against ex-offenders is at the forefront of this barbaric practice, then one can imagine what would be expected from the private sector. Ex-offenders and even current offenders serving their jail terms are stigmatized in several areas such as employment, elections, financial aids, and access to education. Other areas in which they are discriminated upon include access to farm inputs such as fertilizers, healthcare, traditional leadership positions in the community, political appointments, political party membership, financial grants, subsidies and other largesse from the government. This is counterproductive considering the effort put in place to train them in prison so as to make them productive and responsible individuals in the society.

Several theories have explained the drastic effects of stigmatizing ex-offenders. The labeling theory, for instance, posits that being discriminated upon as ex-offender cause one to internalize stigmatizing attitudes, withdraw from conventional society, and conform to a deviant identity, thereby further compounding the security situation of the immediate community and the nation as a whole; Ditto for theory of social stigma and other socio-psychological theories that have been postulated on the effects of stigma on the ex-offender. Psychological research shows that stigmatizing ex-offenders can interfere with their functioning and lead them into maladaptive behaviours that may threaten public safety. Also, stigma can lead ex-offenders into poor mental health and difficulty participating in the community, and can also lead to social seclusion and depression which are ingredients of suicide. Stigmatization can lead to recidivism because it affects the ex-offender’s ability to find job and hampers smooth reentry, hence providing them a leeway to their old criminal lifestyles.

With the renaissance in the prison sector since the assumption of office of the current Controller General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed, Nigerian prisons have changed from the deformation centres which they use to be, to reformation centres where offenders undergo genuine behaviour modification as well as skills acquisition and empowerment. Hence, prisons have long stopped churning out hardened criminals to graduating refined and empowered persons who are contributing positively to national development. This is evident in the recent events where ex-offenders who were trained in various skills are provided with aftercare materials to support them to set up their own enterprises. For instance, recently on the Thursday, 8th March, 2018, empowerment tools were presented to some ex-offenders who had acquired skills in trades like tailoring, metal work, carpentry, shoe-making and so on, thereby removing them from the labyrinths of unemployment in Nigeria and giving them a rare opportunity of becoming employers of labour.

The Nigerian prison of today has produced educated persons, and empowered them to become graduates and professionals in different areas of study. It will interest the public to know that prison inmates have unfettered access to different educational programmes including university education. The recent collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has caused a turnaround in the prison system. Now, special centres of the university are being set up in different prisons nationwide with high enrolments of prison inmates. Also recently, at the convocation of the university, many prison inmates graduated with good class of degrees.

It behoves on the Nigerians to accept these ex-offenders wholeheartedly and give them a second chance to be responsible citizens of our dear country. Stigmatizing ex-offenders even after they have undergone effective behaviour modification and reformation will make mockery of the good work that the Nigerian Prisons Service under the pragmatic leadership of Ahmed Ja’afaru is doing. The society should understand that there are two phases of reformation of offenders. The first phase takes place in prison, while the second takes place while they are being resettled in the communities. And proper resettlement can only be achieved when the communities in which the ex-offenders are returning to accept them without any form of bias or discrimination. Stigmatizing ex-offenders translates into throwing the community into severe security problems because they will feel secluded and take to crime as a defence mechanism.

In the light of the above, the government and other employers of labour should desist from the practice of alienating ex-offenders from job opportunities. Ex-prisoners should also not be placated from contesting in elections and gaining from other opportunities that accrue to bona fide citizens of Nigeria. Ex-prisoners should be considered when making political appointments, just as political parties should open their membership doors to them. This piece is therefore a clarion call to the public to support the Nigerian Prisons Service in the effective resettlement of ex-offenders by supporting them to find their footings and refraining from stigmatizing them.

 

Ugwuoke Kelvin Abuchi can be contacted via ugwukev11@gmail.com

The Role of Examination Bodies in Prisoners' Reformation in Nigeria

The Nigerian Prisons Service is saddled with the responsibility of keeping custody of the legally interned and reforming them to become better citizens of Nigeria. In this modern era, the philosophy of prison globally has shifted from being punitive to a more humane function of behaviour modification of offenders and equipping them with requisite knowledge and skills that will afford them to adapt effectively in the larger society when they are eventually released. In other words, prisons are now seen as hospitals where those in conflict with the law receive treatment and are turned out as law abiding individuals who still have a lot to contribute to the society, and by extension, to the nation in general.

In line with this globally accepted philosophy of prison, the present leadership of the Nigerian Prisons Service has resolved that every offender in its custody must be trained in a skill, while those who are educable must continue with their academic pursuit while in custody. This has culminated into machineries being put in place to inculcate this modern penal practice in the modus operandi of the Nigerian prisons Service. Hence, since the inception in office by the present Controller General of Prison, Ja’afaru Ahmed, Nigerian prisons have transformed from oubliettes which were taunted for their penchance of hardening offenders the more, to learning centres where prisoners learn skills, trades, and handicrafts to be good cum functional citizens of Nigeria. The prison has gone further to establish adult education centres in prison where prisoners can study and achieve their life potentials and self-actualization. Also, the Nigerian Prisons Service in collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has established special centres in some prisons where inmates can acquire higher education. Recently, the media have been awash with news of prisoners graduating from various educational programmes, while others have even enrolled for the highest educational programme- Doctor of Philosophy! There are more cheering news coming out of our prisons now, unlike in the past when news of jailbreaks and prisoners escapes inundated the airwaves.

The importance of providing education opportunities for prison inmates cannot be over-emphasized. Infact, for Nigeria to achieve a crime-free society with low rate of recidivism, it must put prisoners’ reformation and education on the front burner. Research has shown that crime is a function of poverty; while poverty is a function of dearth of education. It is obvious that any society that treats the education of its citizenry with the seriousness it deserves will turn out successful and advanced; as an educated society is an empowered society, and an empowered society is a crime-free society. A glance at the statistics of our prison population shows that a large chunk of prison inmates are uneducated, and therefore, are not empowered, leading them into criminal lifestyles that land them in prison.  According to the 2017 Prison Survey Report, the educational status of most prison inmates is relatively low with 2 out of 10 inmates who have never received any form of formal education and a large majority who could not complete secondary education. According to the report, the implication is that these prisoners have poor skills level, which transcends to poor income and earning power. The poor income and earning power of these persons led them into unscrupulous means to supplement their take-home.   No doubt that the present security predicaments which Nigeria finds itself arose from poor education which is occasioned by poverty. The prevalence of insurgency in the North East, cultism and kidnapping in the South-South, Armed Robbery in the South East, Ritual killings in the South West and the Farmers/Herdsmen clashes in the North Central are all traced to the prevalence of low educational attainment among Nigerians.

Hence, the Nigerian Prisons Service deserves encomiums and commendation for bringing education to prisoners in prison. They have taken the pains of not only providing security and other humanitarian supports to the prisoners, but gone a step further to improve their intellectual capabilities. The Nigerian Prisons Service should therefore not only be applauded but also supported by well-meaning individuals, non-governmental organizations as well as educational and examination institutions in the achievement of this noble mandate. One of the principal ways by which they can be encouraged in the furtherance of prisoners’ education and reformation is through institutional support from examination bodies like the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO), National Board for Technical Education (NABTEB), Education Resource Centres (ERC) in all states of the federation and so on. Reports show that these examination bodies still charge full registration fees from prisoners when they seek to register for examinations, irrespective of the fact that these prisoners are disadvantaged and have no means of financial independence.  The Guardian and Independent Newspapers of 10^th February, 2018 reported that forty (40) inmates of the Borstal Training Institution, Abeokuta, Ogun state were registered for the SSCE and UTME. According to the reports, the principal of the Institution decried the trouble they had to go through to raise funds to register these inmates. She went further to say that even staff of the facility made financial contribution towards registering these lads for the said examinations. This is not encouraging at all as it makes mockery of the sincere efforts of the prison authority who have painstakingly prepared these inmates for the various examinations.

It is expected that being a disadvantaged group, prisoners should be given waivers in the registration for these examinations to serve as a morale booster to them as well as relief to the prison authority who take pains to cater for and prepare these prisoners for the various examinations. Asking them to raise these huge amounts for the registration of these inmates is counterproductive and tends to retard the good work which the prison authority is doing to see that the legally interned turn out into better citizens. At present, the prison authority has a handful by sourcing for educational materials such as books, writing materials, teaching materials and qualified teachers to tutor these inmates. Therefore, over-burdening the service with raising funds to register prison inmates for these examinations is unfair; and we would be pushing our luck too far if we allow such to continue.

The various examination bodies should borrow a leaf from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) which has waived tuition fee for all prison inmates in Nigeria. Presently, any prison inmate who intends to study for any programme in the NOUN will do so without paying a dime in line with the university’s quest to fulfill its corporate social responsibility and providing accessible and enhanced education anchored by social justice, equity, equality and national cohesion that transcends all barriers. This initiative by the University is the ideal practice taking into cognizance of the shortage of sponsorship offers for prison inmates in Nigeria. Interestingly, this gesture by the University has started to yield results as there are reports of prison inmates graduating with exceptional results and other academic achievements. The partnership of the Nigerian Prisons Service with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is the best thing that has happened to the prison system in recent times. And it is believed that more positive outcomes are expected from this partnership in the near future. The NOUN which is a foremost university has inscribed its name in the annals of history by this gesture of providing waiver for prison inmates. No wonder the young university is waxing strong and making waves in the academic circle in Nigeria!

This is a clarion call to educational and examination bodies in Nigeria to reconsider their stance on registration of prisoners for their respective examinations. Prisoners are disadvantaged persons in our society who should be supported in their quest for genuine and effective reformation. It is no mean feat to be in prison and at the same time have the sound and focused mind to study. The excruciating environment, the deprivation of liberty and the restrictions on normal everyday activity are strong extraneous factors that can dissuade one from having the psychological balance and focus needed in academics. For these prisoners to rise above these challenges in the quest for knowledge and academic pursuit, it behoves on everybody including all relevant institutions to support and give them all the incentives they require. Therefore, educational and examination bodies such as WAEC, NECO, JAMB, NABTEB, Distance Learning Institutions and so on are enjoined to support the Nigerian Prisons Service in its drive to reform prison inmates, by granting free registration to prison inmates nationwide, just like the NOUN is doing.

Ugwuoke Kelvin Abuchi, a Deputy Superintendent of Prisons, teaches prison inmates and writes from Makurdi, Benue state.

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/opinion/nigerian-prisons-recycling-industry-or-garbage-bin/122571.html

Different People, Different Prisons (An Excerpt From 'Prisons, Prisoners And Prison Officers in Nigeria,' An Unpublished Book by Ugwuoke Kelvin Abuchi

The word ‘prison’ means different things to different people. To the good citizen, it is a place where criminals who meet their waterloo end up. To the criminal, it may be an unfortunate repercussion for a misdemeanor committed, or an unavoidable indignity often experienced. To the socially incapacitated, it may be an abode. To some alienated persons, it may be the only place where they can find some semblance of companionship and camaraderie. To the prison officer, it is his or her place of work. To an applicant, it is a dream place to actualize a career. To the government, it is a parastatal that yanks so much of the annual budget to run, needs so many staff, and can hold a number of inmates. To a politician, it may be a pariah. Yet, to a clergyman, it may be a ground for evangelism and soul wining.

To a few it can actually mean hope and anticipation. To many it means despair and despondence, yet another failure and disappointment. To some, it may be a place where they are safe, at home, important, and able to wield influence or exercise power. To others, it is the end of the game; yet to others it is a dungeon for degradation and a place where they finally count for nothing.

Prison can be reality, something which has been experience, with special but familiar sights and sounds and smells. Or it can be a fantasy or a reverie, something one reads or hear about but never sees – terrifying, mysterious, and perhaps even exciting. To the psychologist, it may mean a career in studying the dynamics of behaviour. But to hundreds and thousands of people, it is an experience which slows up time, which crowds them together, sets them apart and changes the course of their lives.

Prison is a fundamental part of the Criminal Justice System as a whole. This system is really a framework set up to champion the administration of crime and punishment. Much of a prison involves loss of liberty. But there are gradations. These vary all the way from total loss of freedom in prison itself to probation which carries an obligation to put in an appearance at stated times.

Prison, then, is not a single concept. What you see depends on where you stand. The academic criminologist, the judge in his court, the child whose father has been sent to jail, the government – all have their different views.

NIGERIAN STRIKING DOCTORS AND THE REST OF US

As at the time of writing this note, medical doctors in government hospitals are on strike. This is quite unfortunate as Nigerians who are sick have no one to attend to them. The doctors are groused because the federal government has reneged in meeting up with the agreement they both reached in 2013. They are clamouring for the appointment of a Surgeon-General of the Federation; they also want a review of their hazard allowance to a whooping One hundred thousand naira; and a host of other flimsy demands.

I have sat and thought about the present situation; I have also tried to reason and come out with the following questions that need urgent clarifications.

Why are doctors quick to withdraw their services at the slightest provocation? Is it really ethical for doctors to go on strike? Again, can policemen, prison staff, the armed forces and other essential public servants go on strike? What will happen if the security agencies go on strike? Are the services the security agents render as essential as that of the doctors and other health workers?

Yes, let’s reason it. Security agents don’t go on strike because their services are very essential to the survival of the society. If so, why should doctors embark on strike? Is their service not essential to the survival of the society too? Doctors, security agents, bankers, nurses, and other health workers are what I call essential public servants. Just like the policeman, the soldier, the prison warder, the road safety personnel, the SSS agents etc, the doctor is an essential public servant whose service is very essential, and he or she is naturally and ethically not supposed to embark on strike action for whatever reason.

Think about this, what will happen if the police go on strike? Would the society, including the doctors, sleep with their two eyes closed? What will the situation be if the prison staff down their tools and unman the prison gates? Will the society not collapse? Or when the armed forces, road safety personnel, and other security staff embark on industrial action? What will happen?

Or do the doctors think these security personnel have no issues to iron out with the government too? They do! They have lots of issues with the government, but the fact is that they are essential public servants, and their primary concern is our collective good before parochial interest. To be fair, the security agents are the most neglected among the workforce in Nigeria. If you think I am lying, visit a police station or a prison and see the decadence and the sorry conditions they work in. It is no news that the security personnel sacrifice their lives for the peace and security of this country, and afterwards, their families get nothing. Yet they don’t complain. Our security personnel are exposed to live threatening hazards which cannot be quantified in terms of allowances. Do you know the kind of occupational hazard the soldier and the prison warder face?

Methinks the problem bedeviling the health sector in Nigeria is just ego. The current strike by the doctors is as a result of their bloated ego. If not, what has the appointment of a Surgeon-General to do with the effective management of the nation’s hospitals? Again, how much hazard allowance can compensate the many risks they encounter in the course of discharging their duties? Are prison officers, policemen, soldiers and other essential public servants not exposed to bigger hazards and risks?

Yes, it is not like I am trying to exonerate the government from this problem, but the doctors should consider their profession as humanitarian, just like other essential public servants. The truth is that there is no amount of money that can compensate the risks we face in our various endeavours. Life itself is a risk. As a prison officer, I am faced with life threatening risks and hazards in the course of my job. Even at that, I am not paid any hazard allowance. So for the policeman, the armed forces personnel and other essential public servants.

Life is the ultimate. Doctors are there to save lives. They should think twice and begin to see themselves as life-savers instead of bureaucrats who are working to enrich their pockets only. Owing to the fact that doctors are essential public servants, it is therefore not ethical for them to embark on strike actions.

However, the government should sit up and provide the needs of its workers. Government should not wait until workers go on strike before they can address their problems. Government should be proactive and considerate to the plight of its workforce. The current strike by the doctors should be addressed as soon as possible so that Nigerians who are sick, like my sick mum, can be attended to.

This is a passionate appeal to our doctors to consider the plights of suffering Nigerians and call off the present strike, while they continue dialoguing with government. The striking doctors should also be realistic in some of their demands, as most of them hold no water. Just like the security personnel who cannot down their tools, the doctors should learn to press home their demands using other viable methods instead of resorting on strike actions. They should consider life first before any other thing. It is only ethical to do so.

An Open Letter To The CMD of Jos University Teaching Hospital

Dear sir,

Let me, first of all, congratulate you on your new appointment. I learnt from grapevine that you assumed the exalted office of CMD-JUTH only recently.

I had wanted to write you through your e-mail, or that of your hospital's, but you've got none on your website. I browsed through your offical website- www.juthnigeria.org/, a poorly managed website, but couldnt access your contacts nor that of the hospital. And that corroborates my suspicion that your hospital is poorly managed.

With all due respect, sir, I implore you to visit the website of LUTH or UNTH or UCH, then compare to yours. In this modern era, an institution as reputable as yours is still running a kindergarten-like website. Not even a contact phoneline nor e-mail, talk less of other social media like facebook page or twitter handle. Before writing you this piece of mine, I had browsed with my phone, through the website of John Hopkin's Hospital in Baltimore, USA. I was able to see the names and contacts of all the staff in John Hopkins. That is how a good hospital is run. From here in Jos, I will be able to contact a Gastro-Entronologist or a Puelmunatrogist in John Hopkins. That is not the case in JUTH. Even your contemporaries like UNTH and LUTH have efficient websites.

Back to the crux of the matter, I am writing you this letter to express my disgust for the inappropriate attitude of your staff. I am sorry to say, sir, that many of your staff don't deserve their appointment letters. Many of them are uncultured, sassy and pathologically insolent. I have been a daily visitor of JUTH for one month now, and I have come to terms with the indecorous misbehavior of your employees. Some of your doctors are truants, while some of your nurses are lackadaisical in performing their duties. It is a sorry situation that my diabetic mum who has been in your hospital for a month now, is not properly attended to. A doctor that is supposed to monitor her sugar level has being AWOL for the past three weeks, leaving my mum to her fate.

Our leaders know all the rots in our health sector, and that is why they don't patronise local hospitals like yours. All of them seek medical care abroad because they are weary of the medical brutality in our local hospitals.

Sir, I am not writing this letter to demean you nor your reputable institution, but to correct an anomaly. I urge you to work on the attitude of your workforce. Most of your staff are pompous, negligent and unprofessional. Your doctors and nurses feel like demi-gods. They lack the qualities their professions demand.

Please sir, do something quick before it gets out of hand. I wish I can afford to fly my mum to India or Saudi Arabia or John Hopkins for medical care. I wish!

Thank you sir, as I await a change in your staff's attitude.

Kelvin Ugwuoke
Jos, Plateau state.

A LETTER TO THE CHIBOK GIRLS

Dear girls,

I write to commiserate with you on your adoption by the dreaded militant cum terrorist group: Boko haram. I must commend you all for your gallantry of still being alive up till this moment which I have chosen to write. You have all tried. The fact that you are still waxing stronger is an indication that our prayers are working.

Let me inform you that at the moment, the federal government is working tirelessly to rescue you. They have invited the almighty US security experts to help in search of all of you. Even the Chinese, French, Canadians and others so numerous to mention have join in the search for you. We are reliably informed that you were captured and taken to the dreaded Sambisa Forest, the forest which has become a colony of the fools who abducted you. The once tourist attraction is now the den of terrorists.

However, you have to take your destinies in your hands. Just yesterday, I heard that four of you escaped from the claws of these insurgents. What bravery! Yes that is the spirit. You must take your destinies in your hands. The government seems hapless. The probability of you regaining freedom is bleak, if we abide by government’s actions and inaction. That is why I urge you to take your destinies in your hands. At the slightest lapse by your captors, take advantage of it and flee for your lives. You are smarter than them, show them your cleverness; show them the stuff you are made of, show them that they are fools.

We are all praying for you. Since your captors carried you away, we’ve been praying. However, some of us were not lucky as you. In Jos, as much as over two hundred people have lost their lives as a result of the evil acts of your captors. Also in Borno and Yobe states, your captors have invaded and killed many innocent villagers. They’ve also killed many a security personnel. And that is why we thank God for your lives.  

I have high hopes that you will all come back alive. I have the greatest conviction that you will take your destinies in your hands. I believe in you. Take the bold step at their slightest security breakdown. Take the bold step like your colleagues who have taken their destinies in their hands. They are now free and have reunited with their loved ones. Your siblings are in anguish, your parents have sobbed and sobbed. Your schoolmates are in mental distress. Your community is mourning and the whole nation standstill for you. Today was democracy day; we did not celebrate. Two days ago was children’s day, we refuse to parade because we hold you in high esteem. Truly, nobody is happy; nobody is ready to celebrate.

We can’t wait to see you free. It will be the greatest joy of all if you are free. We know how difficult your lives will be now. Your abductors may be feasting on you and trying to make you adapt to their cruel ways, but I know that you are smarter than them. Show them that Nigerians are smart people. We hear they are foreigners, non-Nigerians! We hear they are cowards who wouldn’t show their faces. I know you are smarter than them. Make them look like fools. Escape alive! However, you must not endanger your lives. You must make sure the coast is clear before you take the bold step. Just like I told you, you are smarter than them!

I will continue to pray for you. My daughter, Onyinye, will continue to expect your coming back home. She is anxious to see all of you. She’s being asking me: “Daddy, when will I see my chibok sisters so that I will stop crying at night?” If I have any inkling of how to bring you home, or the capacity to free you girls, I would be the first person to come and kick those evil asses at Sambisa forest, and bring you home alive; If that can stop my lovely 10-days old daughter from screaming at night.

We can’t wait for you to return.

Warmest regards from Onyinye.