Sir: The circumstances on ground daily and clearly demonstrate that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and some state governors have woefully failed to achieve security and pursuit of economic welfare of the citizens, which are the two major constitutional responsibilities that all leaders must achieve. While this development remains unacceptable, foresighted Nigerians believe that for the nation to arrest its dwindling security situation there exists an urgent need to restructure the present security architecture in the country.
The nation is practising a national policing system which has never helped any nation and will not bring the nation out of its security woods. The police in Agbor, Delta State, should be people from Agbor and the police in Asaba should be people from Asaba. We should practise a decentralised policing system by which criminals would be caught early and they will be brought to book. That is the way it is done in more civilised nations like the United States of America. You cannot be in Otolokpo, Delta State and find the police there coming from Zamfara State. You cannot be in Asaba or Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State and the police officers operating in that environment are from Bauchi State. They wouldn’t know the local people.
On argument that if the state police are created, the governors will abuse it, you cannot decide to fail when you have not tried. Aside from the fact that notable Nigerians, groups have in different times and places called on the Federal Government to take step that will have the nation restructured to accommodate such policing arrangement, President Muhammadu Buhari in his campaign in 2015, promised to “initiate action to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states in order to entrench true Federalism and the Federal spirit,”
Recently, while he played host to the traditional rulers from the northern part of the country led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mr. President reportedly stated that: “The ongoing reform of the police would include recruitment of more hands, cultivation of stronger local intelligence and networking with communities, traditional rulers and adequate training. This in specific terms will include recruiting more police officers from their local government areas, where they would then be stationed in the best traditions of policing worldwide. Working with the state governments; we intend to improve the equipping of the police force with advanced technology and equipment that can facilitate their work.”
In all fairness, Buhari never used the word, ‘state police’ but it was implied. From the attributes of his speech, he did not only underline the importance of, but underscores the virtues and advantages of recruiting more police officers from their local government areas, where they would then be stationed in the best traditions of policing worldwide. Precisely, this form of security architecture and community policing was amazingly the part of what the pro-state police and nations’ restructuring advocates demanded for –particularly as it was obvious that the vast majority of states can afford to equip their officers with the sophisticated security gadgets Mr. President listed above.
Utomi Jerome-Mario is the programme coordinator, (Media and Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos.
