Is state police not the answer?

The moment of truth has come. The reality has dawned on the privileged class that the danger is real. As targets of kidnapping, armed robbery and terrorism, the rich are crying.

Senators are waking up from their deep slumber. Their constituencies are not insulated from crime that has the tendency of threatening their lives and those of their immediate families. Security is at its low ebb. In their view, state police is the answer.

The agitation is just beginning to catch up with the proposals enjoined by pro-National Conference organisations, including Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum and other ethnic nationalities which have clamoured for true federalism, but without success.

Many reasons have been adduced as justification for state, and even community policing. Intelligence gathering is central to general policing and security. But, how, for instance, can a policeman, a native of Kano, police successfully in Lagos State or Rumuokoro in Rivers State? He lacks the understanding of the geography, sociology, language, history and culture of his environment of operation. He may be a patriot, but, he is not emotionally attached to the ‘foreign’ environment.

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Is it not better for a Kanuri to police Boko Haram-ravaged Borno communities, which he is familiar? Why are the local vigilance groups effective and successful in their localities? What is the strength of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), in the absence of the knowledge of the environment?

Why is the Federal Government shying away from the possible? Have state governments not invested more in the state police commands than the Federal Government? Apart from the payment of salaries of policemen, states have been supplying vehicles and other tools.

Nigeria has adopted a semblance of federal principle, but without implementing its full elements. Yet, its peculiarity as a nation-state of diverse national communities makes it compelling. Why should governors, who are Chief Security Officers in their respective states, depend on the distant power-loaded Federal Government and Inspector-General of Police for security of their domains? Why can’t state police commissioners take lawful orders from governors without clearance from Abuja? Why a unitary police formation in a federal country?

The ghost of the past may still be hunting the country. Before and after independence, there was state or regional police. Its goal, like the Army’s, was regime protection. Then, policemen were tools in the hands of ruling parties and governments to oppress, intimidate and cow the opposition to submission.

State police may underscore autonomy for states in matters of security. It may encourage contiguous states in a region to collaborate on fighting criminal activities.  But, how mature is the polity? What is the level of political culture that will accommodate innovation and ensure its workability? How mature are the governors who may misinterpret state police as additional powers of coercion meant to solidify their positions and cage their perceived foes? Governors control the state electoral bodies. The results of council polls are predictable. The opposition is always a loser. Grassroots democracy is violated because the hands of many governors are heavy on the state electoral agencies.

But, does the advantage of state police not outweigh its disadvantage? Indisputably, the federal police have failed to halt the insecurity nationwide. Armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorism have continued unabated. Therefore, is the option not worth testing?