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.