Yemisi Izuora
Sterling Bank is seeking a way to prevent the constant resentment and escalating violent encounters between the Police and young Nigerians.
A statement from the bank said as part of efforts to find a lasting solution to the negative state of affairs, Sterling Bank hosted a bridge building session tagged, “Social media wars: Dreads, tattoos and passwords,” on the opening day of the Social Media Week, Lagos, 2020.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, said the topic was considered in the best interest of the country and its promising, highly enterprising and energetic youth.
He said profiling any person as criminal for wearing dreadlocks or tattoos was wrong; and such labelling could only be addressed by important and truthful conversations among all stakeholders.
The former Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, commended Sterling Bank for hosting the session aimed at fostering peaceful relations between the police and the general public.
Badmos said, “What Sterling Bank has done is commendable. It shows that the bank recognises that preventing anarchy and enhancing security is everybody’s businesses. This innovation will forever linger in the heart of Nigerians, especially the youth.”
The former Lagos PPRO attributed the profiling of youths with tattoos and dreads, as criminals by officers of the Nigerian Police Force, to the difference in culture and values, adding that the Nigerian police was work-in progress and would evolve in line with global trends.
Ace Rapper, Micheal Stephens, popularly known as Ruggedman, said everyone must take responsibility to make the change they sought in the Nigerian Police happen.