BY IBE PASCAL AROGORN
The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
Understand, our police officers put their lives on the line for us every single day. They’ve got a tough job to do to maintain public safety and hold accountable those who break the law.
However, the Nigerian police have come under a lot of scrutiny recently because of poor performance. From issues that require policing escalating to points where full blown military intervention is needed, to plain incompetence on the parts of police officers and cases where it is quite clear that the people do not trust those who are meant to protect them. Where did it all go wrong?
As of 1960, Nigeria had 12,000 policemen. By 1979, as a result of post-war expansion, there were 80,000. Most of them poorly trained. The 1979 Constitution gave the Federal Government controlled NPF the sole-jurisdiction over the country. However, that democratic experiment was short-lived and the various military governments thereafter saw the NPF as a potential threat to their power and as a result deliberately underfunded the force.
In an interview with Channels Tv on Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari rejected state police on grounds it is never an option for Nigeria right now.
Calls for state policing have been made by several Governors as a way to solve insecurity across the country.
Nigeria’s current policing system is controlled by the Federal Government.
The President alluded to the propensity for Governors to abuse their powers as his argument against state police.
“State police is not an option,” he said. “Find out the relationship between local government and the Governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the Governor.”
Local solutions
Commenting on the security situation in the country, the President said traditional rulers must play a huge role in bringing peace to communities.
He also advocated for more dialogue in solving the farmer-herder clashes recorded across the country.
“The role of traditional rulers must not be undermined, because in their areas they know who is who, even by families, not to even talk of individuals,” he said.
“So, we have to revert to that system for us to have effective security in the localities.
“For example, there were two Governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo state and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighbouring farms, and eating the crops; I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations. Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong, why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders.”
I partially agreed with Mr President on the rejection of state police not his opinion .
STATE POLICE CAN BE A TOOL FOR GROSS ABUSE OF POWER
As the name implies, state police can be used as a tool for intimidation/violation of rights by various govs of states.
State govs having commanding power over state policing can use it as a weapon of playing “gruesome politics”.
As seen on 26 December 2021, when policemen stormed a church to abduct one of the opposition in Imo state , Uchie Nwosu.
With the police not establishing a single tangible reason for Nwosu’s arrest, Nigerians on various social media platforms have fingered the current Imo administration led by Hope Uzodimma in masterminding Nwosu’s abduction.
Imagine when the state police eventually arrives .
In other thoughts, I don’t put up blames to Nigerians who clamour for state police quickly.
Owing to the high level of insecurity in Nigeria right now, one would call the emergence of state police even today.
Another need, Nigerians saw the creating of state police as a balance in true federalism. At least if not for anything, let the state governors be in total of the security affairs of the state.
As seen in the outrageous act by a CSP who disobeyed Babajide Sanwo-Olu when asked by the Lagos governor to withdraw the policemen attached to Magodo estate in Lagos. The CSP told Sanwo-Olu that he is acting on the orders from inspector General (IG) and Malami. He asked the Lagos governor to call him Abuja himself.
Southwest govs and some Nigerians have seen this act by the police CSP as a total disrespect and which necessitate that creation of state police urgently .
Like Presidentl Buhari said in his interview, Nigeria don’t need state police for now, Nigerians are divided at the moment. Some need it ,some don’t need it .
But we must think of what should be meritorious to our dear country Nigeria at this point in time.
Ibe Pascal Arogorn, is a journalist, writer and public affairs analyst . Writes from Asaba, Delta State Nigeria.
5/01/2022
