Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai must think that his latest idea on how the country can tackle banditry makes a lot of sense. “Government can change the game significantly by hiring 1,000 willing youths from each of the 774 local government areas of the country into the various security agencies. This will be unprecedented since the civil war,” he said.
The governor added: “An influx or addition of 774,000 new boots on the ground in various security agencies will be a significant blow against criminals and an employment creating opportunity.”
El-Rufai unveiled his idea after receiving the third quarter security report from Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan in Kaduna on October 20. The commissioner had said bandits killed about 343 people, abducted 830 and injured 210 in the state within the third quarter of the year. The victims included women and minors.
The governor observed that “There are simply not enough boots on the ground to have credible deployment to most places, deter crime and restore order.” This explains his new idea about recruiting more fighters against banditry. Kaduna State has “about 900 trained and vetted vigilantes working with the security agencies,” he said, adding that “Many state governments in the North-West and North-Central have adopted a non-conventional approach to help the security agencies to better protect our communities.”
It is indeed an unconventional approach, but it’s unclear if the approach has resulted in safer communities in the affected areas. That’s putting it mildly. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that it’s doubtful if the approach has worked.
The point is that there can be no real substitute for having formal security personnel fighting against banditry. The use of ad hoc fighters, which is what the so-called non-conventional approach is all about, is ultimately a sign of incapacity.
El-Rufai’s suggestion that the authorities should boost the capacity of the security agencies by recruiting 1,000 youths from each of the 774 local government areas of the country is easier said than done. Can the Federal Government employ 774,000 new security personnel now? It is noteworthy that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) 2021/2022 recruitment, for example, is for only 10,000 constables across the 36 states.
There is an important sense in which El-Rufai’s proposal has to do with Nigeria’s brand of federalism which does not allow states to have their own security personnel. Imagine if the states had their own police, for instance. That would have security implications as well as employment implications, which El-Rufai mentioned as advantages of his proposal. Reviewing the country’s federalism is long overdue.