CALLS FOR STATE POLICE: Matters Arising

For some time now it appears that the call for a separate state police is in the front line but for the game to be up the callers should be able to convince the doubting Thomases that they have a genuine course which will be of benefit to the people of Nigeria. There are many people who are not still convinced about the genuinty of the callers for such a project when several agencies of government in the past were either not functioning optimally or abandoned. It is a fact that the country presently has the Nigeria Army, the Police, DSS, Civil Defence, Economic and Financial Crime Commission, ICPC, Federal Road Safety Corps, Vehicle Inspection Officers, Air force, Navy, Customs, Immigrations and many more. At the state level, there are so many agencies either for security or paramilitary. In Lagos State for instance, there is Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Amotekun Security outfit in all the states in the western part of the country to mention but a few. Inspite of all these security outfits, the country has not known peace. Security becomes an ordeal for attention. As at today, the activities of bandits have brought a new wave of fear and worry in the mind of the citizenry. There is no day without the news of death of several persons killed by criminals all in the name of either getting rich quick or associated with herdsmen. In some communities, vigilante groups have been formed to defend their territory yet criminality is increasing by the day. Today, these failed projects of insecurity have led to agitation for succession among some of the ethnic groups in the country without an end.

Those who are agitating for the establishment of state police are of the view that the Nigeria Police Force can no longer cope with security of the entire nation. To some, the federal police force have failed to live up to expectation and thereby falling short of its core duties. There are others who are of the opinion that inefficiency, laxity and indiscipline is the hallmark of the present police force. According to Okemuyiwa Akeem Adedeji, “the introduction of state police into Nigerian policing system has been widely suggested as the only solution for the curbing of the incessant security conundrum in the country. The mantra has gained popularity as a result of the surge in the rate of highly sophisticated crimes in the country, and the inability of the federal police command to contain the challenges. It is believed that the closeness of the state police to the society of its jurisdiction places it in more proactive position for the detecting and uprooting of any emerging crime before it grows. However, there is an opinion which insists that state police will lead to a situation in which there will be two rivaling institutions of the same responsibility, duty and nature in the country. This is mainly the opinion of the antagonists of state police. Nevertheless, the protagonists of the state police maintain that the creation of state police is the only solution to all Nigeria security challenges, given the acquaintance of the institution with the people and the terrain”. A writer noted that Nigeria is battling its worst level of insecurity since the civil war which ended in 1970. The need to reform and reposition the Nigeria Police Force has been topical in debates to improve security in the country. In fact, several high-powered committees have been set up and dozens of reports churned out on this subject. These efforts have been geared towards developing a formidable police force that will perform its constitutional duties of maintaining law and order and securing the lives and properties of all Nigerians. However, results have shown that the efforts of government have not delivered the desired results.

The first question we should ask ourselves is, what are the factors that are likely responsible for the poor performance of the entire security architecture in the county today? If we are able to answer this glaring question then the road to the promised land is closer than expected. In the first place, corruption and fraudulent activities by those charged with the responsibility of looking after the welfare of the police have failed completely to discharged their duties. A visit to the police barracks and compare with other countries in the world reveals the acute difference. In terms of salaries. There is nothing to talk about while one can stay in a rank for twenty years without promotion because he did not have a god father in the force. In this way, it can be concluded that the neglect of the police for years was one of the key factors responsible for its woeful performance. Also, while the country’s population was increasing geometrically, enlistment into the force was reducing with full force. In this way the country now appears being maimed by one policeman to one million people. Under this hazardous situation, the best cannot be achieved.

Low morale and lack of good training may be another factor bewildering the force. For years, most of the rank and file of the police do not understand the logic behind training since such training exists only on the pages of the newspaper. Also, poor and favouritism in recruitment if it ever exists at all also played another role. During recruitment exercise recruitment procedures are not followed while ‘know man syndrome’ takes center stage relegating decency to the background. The non recognition of the role being played by the police in a country they have been laboring for finally laid to rest the remains of the police force.

For those calling for the establishment of state police in the country appears not to have been to the nation’s airport to see where policemen become hand bag carriers to the wives and children of big ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ in the country. In the days of the military regime, there was some hope and discipline in the police but all that have disappeared since this democracy came on board in 1999. On the political front where governors and their political parties will be in charge of the state police, the opposition in those states may likely have to relocate to another clime to talk about the government of the state. It is like giving the governors and their political parties the license to kill innocent citizens that did not support their views. It is like calling on the government to come out with a law so that all Nigerians can carry gun. This is a country where power extremely intoxicates and will continue. In such a scenario, the head of the state police and his lieutenants will take order from the governor. It is a fact that the entire recruitment process will be based on party loyalty which will give room to agberoes and ballot box snatchers to be enlisted into the agency.

Corruption will be another war if such agency comes into play. Today, most teachers that retire from the states services are being owed several billions of pensions and other entitlements by the various state governments. In the local government, it is worse. Many of the retirees have died without being paid their pension. Most of the governors looted the council funds in connivance with the council chairmen.
The merits being canvassed by the callers have to do with employment and ability to tackle the menace since such police are likely to be closer and there have more knowledge of the criminals. One thing is very clear. The constitution of the country vested the conduct of local government elections on the states independent electoral commission but that have been the worst mistakes of our generation. If the party of a state is the Peoples Democratic Party, from inception all the council elections were won by the party likewise the All Progressive Congress. When Dr. Aliyu Babagida was the governor of Niger state, his state electoral body fixed a date for the conduct of the council election and the governor fixed the swearing in ceremony at 12 noon the same day when election have not even been conducted. As he was swearing in the local government council chairmen, he asked them if they actually won an election to deserve to be sworn in and for fear they responded that they did not win election but were sworn into office. This is still going to be the face of the state police if finally established. It is time the country moves away from all these shenainigans. In the past, our fathers did not need men with arms before they lived successfully in the country compared to now when every dick and harry wants to be armed due to failed leadership. Today corruption has escalated and it has affected every segment of our society and there is no hope that it will be a thing of the past. America is a country under this earth that can go to any length to free a citizen without even knowing the location of the country and this is what we should be talking about in the new dispensation.

Joseph Esivwenughwu, is a Chartered Accountant, politician and freelance writer.