One of the major constitutional duties of government, the world over, is the protection of lives and property. This is particularly so in Nigeria, a multi-ethnic country, which has witnessed series of insecurity challenges such as kidnapping, terrorism, attacks by herdsmen, and other gory episodes, particularly in the middle-belt states of Benue, Plateau, Taraba and
Zamfara.
The police are the symbol of state security. Their presence anywhere means that there is some measure of security of lives and property there. But that was so many years ago. Today, the country’s police have become too overwhelmed and too overburdened to effectively and properly carry out their constitutional duty of ensuring security of lives and property.
State governors are the chief security officers of their states. But, in real terms, the title is only by name as they have no iota of control, whatsoever, over the security machinery in their states. The state commissioner of police reports directly to the Inspector General of Police, who is stationed in Abuja, and who also reports to the President.
Other governors, particularly in currently troubled zones, may be as helpless as Governor Yari, and well-meaning Nigerians are worried that the intolerable cycle of attacks, especially in the middle-belt states, must be brought under control
In effect, no state governor can order any policeman to do anything without the approval of the Inspector General of Police, who is stationed in Abuja. This lopsided security arrangement recently forced Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State to throw up his arms in despair and openly resign his responsibility as the chief security officer of the
state.
For Governor Yari, it was lamentable and disheartening that the killings in Zamfara continued, in spite of President Muhammadu Buhari’s order that the police should restore order and security in the state. The prevailing situation, where a governor, as the chief security officer of the state, cannot take decisions on strategies for protecting the state and its people, and have them implemented, is indeed sad
and deplorable.
Other governors, particularly in currently troubled zones, may be as helpless as Governor Yari, and well-meaning Nigerians are worried that the intolerable cycle of attacks, especially in the middle-belt states, must be brought under control, otherwise, the country may be faced with a
war situation.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo openly touched on the Federal Government’s new thinking on the protection of lives and property at a summit on national security organised by the Senate. According to him, state police is the way to go in the face of multifaceted security challenges facing the country.
Although the pronouncement on state police received spontaneous applause from participants at the summit, a strong political will is needed, in the days ahead, to change the security architecture of the country. In particular, there is the urgent need to pass a bill at the National Assembly to change the Constitution and pave the way for the emergence of state police.
Critics of this proposed arrangement must note that it is realistically impossible to police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. With a population of about 200 million and a land mass of over 900,000sq km, the pressure on a central police operating from Abuja may be too overwhelming for the IGP, thus leaving too many uncovered gaps in the security of the country. Besides, the modern method of effective policing is the community policing method.
In addition, the nature of Nigeria’s security challenges is complex, varied and requires far more men and material than the country has at the moment. As it is in other parts of the world, security is a dynamic phenomenon, and as such, the country must continue to re-engineer its security architecture and strategy in line with the realities of the time.
For a country of Nigeria’s population and size to meet the United Nations’ prescription of ‘one policeman to 400 persons’, it would require three times the number of its current police force. This would definitely come with funding implications, far higher than what is needed now, for the police force, the military and other security
agencies.
In the advanced world, policing is a local function. Anyone who is a policeman must be able to speak and understand the local language. If a policeman does not understand the local language, he would be much handicapped and disadvantaged in the discharge of his duty. This all the more should make state police an important part of the country’s security architecture.
It must be noted that the emergence of state police should not mean the demise of the current federal police. Instead, there must be a framework that allows both federal and state police to network and work harmoniously to contain all issues pertaining to security of lives and property in the country.
