Is state police not the answer?

By EMMANUEL OLADESU

Many stakeholders are intensifying their agitation for the
devolution of policing. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL
OLADESU writes on the desirability of state police in a
highly heterogeneous country.

He has been up and doing in the last few months. Even, President
Muhammadu Buhari has attested to his capacity. That was when he was
on “trial” as acting police boss.

Much is now expected of Abubakar Adamu, following his
appointment as substantive Police Inspector General by the
Commander-In-Chief.

It appears that the police boss is interested in making a
difference. He has been boosting the morale of officers with
inspirational advice and strategic directives. Yet, he faces an
uphill task.

The police, as it currently exists, is not the pride of the
nation. It is demoralised; deprived of funding and lacking the
required numerical strength to police a country of estimated 200
million people. It us always in want of critical tools to work, and
suffering the agony of poor remuneration. Many policemen are not
proud of their calling. Their presence, unlike before, does not
evoke respect in the community.

The image of the police is that of an over-worked agency that is
denied the motivation to perform. Many policemen promote vices by
taking bribes, aiding and abetting crimes.

Yet, when Nigerian policemen go abroad for peace-keeping, they
return home with laurels. Why? The environment is conducive. Which
means that a society gets the kind of police it deserves.

Funding is critical. Adamu should be an initiator of police
reforms along this line. Also, the Federal Government should assist
him to succeed.

The take home pay should be jerked up to motivate policemen.
This will not encourage them to cut corners at checking points and
inside their stations.Also, police pensions should not be
embezzled.

Training and retraining are very important. The grave security
challenges mean that policemen should be well equipped with new
skills and implements to combat crime. It is sad that policemen
usually bow to superior weapons when armed bandits are on the
prowl.

There should special training focussing on improved capacity for
intelligence gathering. Nigeria should go back to the good old days
when policemen were friends of the people.

The bad eggs in the police should be flushed out by the IGP to
prevent contamination with the patriotic elements in the system.
Discipline should be vigorously enforced.

The police service commission and the IGP should not work at
cross purpose.

There is the need to recruit more Nigerians into the police to
bridge the manpower gap.

The police/public collaboration should be reinvigorated.
Security is a collective enterprise involving policemen and other
citizens.

An over-centralised police structure is incompatible with the
spirit of federalism.

It is embarrassing that governors are chief security officers in
their respective states only in name.

State governors have been providing guns, patrol vehicles and
other tools for the police. But, policemen are only accountable o
ly to the power-loaded Federal Government.

Governors can issue directives to police commissioners in their
states, but the commissioners have to take clearance from the
distant Inspector General in Abuja before compliance.

What is the essence of posting a Kanuri as policeman to police
Ijebu or Egba in Ogun State? How can a policeman of Enugu origin
perform excellently while on police duty in Nupe, Tiv and Hausa/
Fulani states?

Will language not be a barrier? Does he know the geography,
sociology and custom of his place of assignment? Is devolution of
police not the solution? Is state or community not the answer?
Unless these lines of reforms and restructuring are pursued, the
Police may not live up to expectation in the maintenance of law and
order.

President Muhammadu Buhri has accepted the recommendation of the
panel that has recommended state police.

The onus is on the president to now approach the National
Assembly with a bill to make it a reality.

State police can only become a relity, if there is a
constitutional amendment in that direction by the parliament.

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