Sir: There has been mixed reactions to the idea of the creation of the state police since President Tinubu agreed to throw his weight behind it. Those who advocate it strongly believe that the county’s formidable insecurity can only be effectively addressed at the grassroots, through the creation of an additional security personnel at the state level while those who inveigh against it are of the view that the idea may add fuel to the flame of the growing scary insecurity of the country.
For instance, during an interview on Sunday, February 18 by Channels Television, the governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani said, “I have always insisted that we need more boots on ground. We can only address the issue of insecurity if we establish state police and I’m happy that some governors have realized that we can’t address this issue alone”. He added,” The security problems confronting our state and other parts of Nigeria may not end until state police are established to support the efforts of existing security agencies”.
Meanwhile, a former lawmaker of Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani, is clearly at odds with the view: “The State Police will be used by the governors to persecute the opposition, harass non-indigenes, rig elections and counter the federal police in case of conflict of interest between the federal government and the state”.
He added, “I’m sure that most of the state ruling party thugs will be recruited into the state police”.
I absolutely concur with Senator Sani’s opinion that the move may open a can of worms at the grassroots. In the attempt at solving some problems, we should be very wary of breeding more complicated ones.
Sincerely speaking, the creation of state police could be treacherous to a country struggling to get rid of the evil-looking deportment of tribal and religious sentiments inculcated in the hearts of some intolerant citizens. When bigoted youths of an ethnic group seize an opportunity of becoming their state police officers, they may act as ravenous predators for chasing non-indigenes in their states and pounce on them like prey.
In some states, some Nigerians are being treated as second-class citizens just because they are not indigenes. On the other hand, their political leaders are doing nothing to draw the attention of their sacred cows to realise that they are equal human beings created by God so as to live together in peace, unity and tranquillity. So, imagine what will happen when these bigoted youths considered as sacred cows of these states grab an opportunity of becoming state police officers? Imagine also what will happen to the non-indigenes residing in these states? Do you think that non-indigenes or the second-class citizens can live peacefully and be treated justly in these states?
Nigeria’s authorities should not allow themselves to be left behind in embracing the global technological advancements to tackle its security challenges. They should also address the root causes of insecurity, such as poverty, youth idleness, climate crisis, gender disparity, out-of-school children, bad governance and social injustice. The former South African president, Nelson Mandela once said, “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest”.
From all indications, the creation of the state police may plunge the country further into other conundrums. The proposal has the potential to turn our juvenile democracy into a dictatorship, autocracy, monocracy and nihilism.
The federal and state governments should spare no effort to address the chilling menace of rising out-of-school children, income inequality for our idle widows and young women, multidimensional abject poverty, and youth unemployment that are considered to be among root causes of the growing insecurities via investing massively in girl-child education, empowerment programmes, poverty alleviation programmes and job creation in order to be self-reliant.
They should also embrace the overriding suggestion given by Professor Idris Muhammad Bugaje of recruiting and supporting 100 hunters for each LGA across the country who are familiar with every nook and cranny of their surrounding forests in order to eliminate activities of banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes.
•Mustapha Baba,
Azare, Bauchi State.
