Media Organization in Indianapolis, IN

There is a dictum that suggests that a drowning man will cling even unto a serpent, and don’t forget also that what pursues a rat making it to seek refuge in fire, must be deadlier than fire. Nigerians should take cognizance of the provision of the constitution, which clearly states in section 14(2)(b) that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” The reality at hand for Nigerians is, rather than the insecurity situation of the country improving and getting better, it is getting worse, becoming unbearable and with no hope of it coming to an end in view. This is the major reason why the idea of State Police has become like the only way out and a game changer to the problems of insecurity in Nigeria.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) just made a stunning revelation using data to capture for Nigerians, the true state of insecurity and the extent to which it has gone to impoverish the Nigerian people, presenting before them a hopeless situation, such that the mantra of the renewed hope of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot obliterate or controvert.

On Tuesday 17th December 2024, a new report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024, revealed that Nigerians paid N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024. The Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS), which provided in-depth information on the high level of crimes in Nigeria, also stated that Nigerian households experienced a total of 51,887,032 crime incidents within the period.

According to the CESPS report, North-West reported highest household crimes at 14.40 million cases, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million incidents. In contrast, the South-East region reported the least crime, with 6.8 million crime incidents. A total of 4,142,174 cases were home robberies. Amid trust deficit, only 36.3% of victims of home robbery reported to police. Also, 65% of kidnapped victims paid a ransom, at an average of N2.67 million.

In another development, which is a contrast to the NBS report, is a report that says the security agencies, within the same period as stated in the earlier report, neutralized 8,034 terrorists, arrested 11,623 suspects, rescued 7,967 victims, and recovered 10,200 weapons, 224,709 ammunition from terrorists.

These two reports appear as contradicting each other, in that where the latter reflects the exploits of the security agents over the non-state actors, the former suggests a decline in the successes of the security agents over the non-state actors. Expectedly, where there is a huge success in respect of solving the problem of insecurity, there should have been a decline in what the citizens of Nigeria have gone through and suffered in the hands of the non-state actors.

The idea of the State Police as we all know, is premised on two major factors or reasons. One of which is the thinking that security is local, therefore, efforts at securing the lives and property of Nigerians, should also be localized. The other is an attempt to empower the State Governors, who are only the Chief Security Officers of their States on paper and not in practice. As good as these factors put into consideration are, with the state of the Nigerian Police as it is today, where they have already failed in the conduct of their activities, supposedly as the lead security agency in the internal security of the country, and have abdicated their primary responsibility and taken to the back seat, by allowing the military to be in charge; the proposal of State Police, therefore may end up as a wasted effort, which may in turn escalate the insecurity situation in the country, instead of deescalating it. The idea of the State Police is also an indictment on the Federal Government, who is in charge of the Federal Police in matters of the primary assignment of Government, which is the security of lives and the welfare of the citizens.

What one would have thought of, especially going by the economic downturn in the country, which has made most of the States in Nigeria, especially in the Northern part of the country, poorer and defenseless, is to increase the capacity of the Federal Police and make the necessary amendment to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in such a way that powers will be granted to the Governors to be in command of the Federal Police in their State, as the Chief Security Officers. This way is how to preserve the unity of the country Nigeria, for going in the way of State Police is a way of indirectly restructuring the country. Perhaps, this was what informed the arguments of the Chieftain of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, when he declared on Arise TV Primetime as follows:

“Some people are talking about State Police. Ah State what? State Police and some people are talking about regionalism. Do they know the history of why the State Police was abolished? If they know, anybody that talks to you about State Police, tell him that that is an enemy of Nigeria, because he wants to divide the country. He wants to kill democracy. Because with State Police, there will be no democracy…. Whether I am alive Charles or I’m dead, if there is a State Police, let me tell you that the military will come back.”

This submission of Buba Galadima, some mischievous people may term it to be a call for military takeover. That is far from being true. It was just an opinion, but such that carries and supports the reality on ground. The introduction of State Police is one of the cardinal structures of regionalism and if that is what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is planning to make happen, why not come out straight? The truth of the matter is that where Nigeria is at the moment, the answer to the problem of insecurity, is far from being the introduction of State Police. This truth is also buttressed by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, where he submitted on Arise TV Primetime Show that the security agents of Nigeria through their efforts, which is only kinetic, can only at best achieve 30% result in winning the war against insurgency, banditry, and other criminalities in Nigeria. What this assertion portends is that putting everything together, including the State Police, winning war against insecurity will remain elusive until the problem of leadership is nip in the bud. According to General Christopher Musa, who described himself as people-centric:

“We are doing so much to ensure that Nigeria is peaceful, but all we need is for Nigerians to understand that we can’t do it alone, and like I said what we are doing is the kinetic effort and kinetic can only give you 30%, and below 70%  has to do with good governance, justice, equity, and fairness. These are the things that will mitigate and reduce this to the barest minimum. We have freed a lot of areas, once people don’t feel they don’t have water, electricity, no roads. It’s difficult a hungry man is an angry man, so whatever it is we’re doing as long as they can’t eat or they can’t go to school, it’s difficult. So, that is why I said that it is important that we must as a society come together to make sure that these things are provided and it makes it a lot easier.”

On a final note and in conclusion, the idea of the State Police is even worse than the tax bills, which the northerners vehemently opposed, for it is one of the ways of getting the minds of Nigerians occupied, taking away their eyes from the majors, which include finding an alternative candidate, who truly has the love of Nigeria at heart for the 2027 elections. It is also a way of restructuring the country called Nigeria through the back doors. Nigerians should be smart enough to identify programs and agendas that are not in the interest of the unity of the country and the peaceful coexistence of the people from a far distance, for they don’t have to be blind to see. Nigerians are not inviting the military to take over, but being first and foremost Nigerians themselves, they have a role to play to fight for the helpless, hopeless and vulnerable Nigerians, because to make Nigeria great, is a task that must be done by all. God bless Nigeria.

By Samuel Tunji Adeyanju

GMN Chief Executive Officer, USA