THE tension that insecurity has caused in Nigeria is frightening and becoming worrisome and alarming every day. Again, the inability of the federal government to deal decisively with the spate of killings, raping, by herdsmen in the country is challenging the foundation of Nigeria’s existence.
SOMETIMES ago, the National Assembly responded to this dangerous scenario and started the process of amending the nation’s constitution to give states more powers to create their police. Sadly, the move was thwarted by some political gladiators.
AGAIN, the eighth National Assembly initiated moves to revisit the 1999 constitution on state policing, however, the effort was again thwarted by politicking and conflicting interests from various sections of the country.
A panel constituted by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and headed by the Governor of Kaduna State, El Rufai, once recommended the creation of state police in recognition of the gaps in the policing architecture of the country, but the report as at today is still gathering dust on the shelves.
AWARE that previous agitations had been sidelined, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who once backed the creation of state police, his voice too has been silenced.
DURING the tenure of former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdulaziz Yari, as the Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the body endorsed state police, but nothing came out of the endorsement.
”THE Federal Government cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State police and other community policing system are clearly the way to go,” Yari said.
The need for Nigeria to decentralize its present policing system is long overdue. In the last 10 years, Nigeria has suffered systemic failure in its security architecture as a result of over centralisation. The country has had several security challenges, ranging from Fulani herdsmen attacks, Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, ritual killings, armed banditry and militancy in the Niger Delta.
THE inability of the central police to fight these myriads of crimes has snowballed into a humongous challenge, putting the country at the precipice.
THE HOPE therefore believes that the existing centralized policing structure can no longer cope with the myriads of security challenges facing Nigeria.
THEREFORE, we support the calls for the creation of state police, as it would compliment other security operatives in combating security challenges in various parts of Nigeria.
SECURITY and culture can’t be separated, thus a centralized policing system can not match the diversity in the country. If there are crises in all the 774 local councils in Nigeria, will the present centralised police be able to crush the crises? But when local and state policing are encouraged, the communities will become secured.
WE could take a cue from the Akunnu-Akoko scenario where local hunters and vigilantes jointly confronted a group of kidnappers who held some travellers in a forest in the community hostage.
THE HOPE therefore advocates a multi-level policing system. There should be different levels of policing; local, state and national, making the present federal policing system an aberration.
WE should not pretend that all is well with the present centralized policing. We must embrace local policing in the interest of the country. If a policing system will address our present security challenges, then why are we running away from it?
THE era of a big but ineffective central policing system is not the way out of the present quagmire Nigeria is. This should be discarded immediately. The unit should be allowed to manage their policing as it is done in normal climes.
ONE clear reason is that a state police understands the local terrains, and would be more efficient and effective in detecting, investigating and curbing crime in the state and local councils.
THE notion that we are not matured enough for state police is balderdash. It is through constant practice of state policing that we can get it right and make progress. Nothing good will come out of the present centralized policing, the best way to go is state police.