By ODUNAYO JOSEPH
If there is any quixotic issue that has generated an unending controversy in Nigeria in her 52 years of existence as a sovereign nation, it is the continued agitation for state police. Proponents and opponents have come up with brilliant reasons in pitching their tents either for or against this issue.
So far, the 1999 Constitution recognises only the federal police; this thus constitutionally empowers the Federal Government to have absolute control on policing in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The proponents strongly believe that citizens’ lives and properties would be better secured by state police. Obviously, this is likely to make them familiar with the people at the grass roots vis-à-vis their historical background, tradition and culture, leading to the effective policing, with the attendant security of life and property of the people.
On the other hand, those rooting for the retention of the federal police will be quick to argue that it is suicidal for Nigeria to introduce state police, considering the volatility associated with the use of religion as a means of achieving parochial interests by power-hungry politicians. Worse still is the crude and uncivilised winner-takes-all syndrome that has remained the hallmark of governance, irrespective of the political party in power in a state. They may cite Kogi State as an example, where one senatorial district has been lording it over the other two since the creation of the state in 1991. During the tenure of ex-Governor Ibrahim Idris whose administration was brought to an abrupt end by the Supreme Court on January 27, 2012, the workforce was 31,000; but out of this figure, the East Senatorial District had 26,000 (84 per cent), while the remaining two senatorial districts – West and Central – had 5,000 (16 per cent). For now, the predominantly Yoruba-speaking Okun people of the West Senatorial District and the Ebira/Ogori people of the Central Senatorial District wait to see if the new Governor Wada Idris will reverse the trend by giving the West and the Central senatorial districts a sense of belonging in the state.
Ordinarily, state police is not a bad idea in states that are peopled by one ethnic nationality and where there is religious tolerance such as Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Ogun states, all in the South-West. The same applies to the South-East geo-political zone comprising Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states, which are predominantly Igbo.
Considering the rampant threat to the unity of Nigeria, as exemplified by the wanton killing of Christians in some parts of the north by Boko Haram which currently threatens the unity of the country, having a state police may not be advisable; at least for now.
The of Oba Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, when asked whether he would support state police in an interview in the Saturday PUNCH of March 19, 2011, seemed to suggest that Nigeria is not ripe politically for state police. He said: “Up till when I was Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Lokoja, I still believed and advocated that we should have one united, vibrant police force; but the event of modern Nigeria has proved otherwise. Most of the requirements of the police are not provided by the Federal Government. They are now being provided by state governments and, as the saying goes, ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune.’ I’m in full support of state police so that you know where you pump in your resources, but at the same time, it should not be used as a political weapon.”
There is no doubt that one important lesson could be drawn from the Oba’s response, and it has to do with the dire need to pay more attention to adequate equipping of the police by the Federal Government, instead of the present arrangement where the burden has been passed to the state governments and private individuals and corporate organisations.
The harrowing experience of helpless Nigerians and foreigners who often take refuge in police stations and barracks during upheavals and religious strife in some states can be understood if the control of police were to be left in the hands of state governors, especially where the Federal Government had declared state of emergency.
Since Nigeria has adopted the federal system of governance in the 1999 Constitution, and considering the fragile unity in our country, having a state police may be a catalyst for the disintegration of our nation.
Source: punchng
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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