What Nigerians want to see is the translation of President Tinubu’s declaration on state police into reality. Some critics are already describing the presidential promise as the latest of the political statements, and their skepticism is not misplaced.
 
In an interview with the BBC Hausa towards the end of 2023, the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, stated that the Tinubu administration understood the severity of the security challenges facing the country and had devised new strategies to effectively tackle the menace before the end of 2024. “God willing, from now till November, all security challenges will be overcome,” Matawalle said in 2023.

Lamentably, and in what looked like terrorists dared the Federal Government over its announced promise to end insecurity, it was just days after Matawalle spoke that the heartless criminals descended on 25 communities in three local government areas of Plateau State, killing more than 200 people in the globally condemned attacks. And till today, the insecurity that was said would end before the close of 2024 has not ended.
  
When the NEC announced agreement of most state governors with the proposal to create state police, it was expected that at its subsequent meetings, the council would make a final pronouncement on the crucial matter, after which the government would send a bill to the National Assembly for debate and passage, but that has not been done. What Nigerians have observed is that the issue was not being given the priority it deserves, even as more innocent citizens are being killed daily. An instance was when in April, the NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima failed to discuss the issue of state police, which was on the agenda, on the excuse, as given by Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State, that the council had many presentations to attend to. Since then, the matter has been shifted several times, and till today, there is no concrete evidence that something serious is being done about it.
 
We can ask: what were the presentations NEC attended in April, and is still attending to till now, that should have been allowed to take precedence over the unspeakable violence that is threatening the corporate existence of the country? The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which these leaders swore before Nigerians and God to uphold, states clearly that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. No condition attached, and nothing can be more important than security. Where is the political will on the part of the leaders to end the plague of insecurity, even as more Nigerians become vulnerable to attack and destruction by criminal elements? If there is any seriousness on the part of our leaders to make Nigeria a safe place to live, dismissing the allegation of a failed state, the time to exhibit it is now, beginning with state police.
 
Only recently too, Boko Haram killed 63 people during an attack on Dara-Jamal town in Bama Local Council of Borno State and another group of terrorists killed at least seven people during a night raid on Magajin Wando Village in Katsina State, while eight personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as well as an unidentified civilian were reportedly shot dead by suspected kidnappers, who went away with a Chinese expatriate working at the BUA Cement site in Okpella, Etsako Local Council of Edo State. About the same time, occupants of an 18-seater bus belonging to the state-owned New Edo Line and a Toyota Corolla were abducted by gunmen along the Benin-Akure road.

The escalating violence triggered the call by the Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum (NENF) for a state of emergency to be urgently declared in the region and for the sacking of the service chiefs to be replaced with ‘new, fresh and innovative military officers with a clear mandate and timeline for measurable results.’ The convener, Dr Dominic Alancha, said the security situation had become a ‘full-blown catastrophe’ with communities ravaged by terrorists and other criminals, while kidnapping for ransom has become a thriving industry to the extent that farmers can no longer access their fields, and major highways have become death traps.
 
It is amid this terrible situation that the NEC members are claiming to be considering some presentations that they feel are more important than the security and welfare of Nigerians. It smacks of insensitivity to the plight of the governed and a gross negligence of the most crucial duty. Not only Nigerians but the entire world heard and read about President Tinubu’s declaration on state police and are waiting to see what will be made of it.
  
Swiftly, the Federal Government should begin to work on the required constitutional and administrative changes to accommodate state police. Particularly, amendment bills should be sent to the National Assembly for debate and passage. And considering the urgency involved, the lawmakers should not allow the process to drag unnecessarily. Nigerians, particularly those in terrorism-torn communities and other vulnerable areas, should brace for support for state police. Even when state police have not come into operation, some of them have exhibited gallantry in repelling external aggressors.
 
We recall the bold moves against terrorists made by residents of Matusgi in Talata Mafara, Zamfara State, who were informed of a planned invasion, and in the spirit of self-defence, came out en masse, armed with local weapons, including fabricated guns, and courageously confronted the invaders, killing 24 of them. Residents of Gobir in Sokoto State, in their thousands, also stormed the forests to rescue about 150 kidnapped compatriots and also recovered the remains of the district head of Gobir, Isa Mohammad Bawa, who was abducted and killed by terrorists. And recently, residents of Shagari and Bimasa communities in the same Sokoto State launched counterattacks against terrorists, rescuing kidnapped relatives, retrieving stolen animals, and reportedly killing at least 15 of the hoodlums.
 
The state police should be organised in a way that it can leverage the bravery of some individuals and groups in the communities to boost its operation and prevent reprisals by criminal elements.  There should be a focus on the recruitment of locals who have perfect knowledge of the environment, can gather intelligence on the activities of criminals, identify terrorists, and stay in the locality to protect innocent residents. It is now obvious that in some localities, the people are ready to collaborate with government security agencies to confront and defeat terrorists, if officially engaged and adequately armed. Nigerians are awaiting the state police promised by Tinubu.
 
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