Ahmed Ilallah
The drama and treatise of the State Police agenda in Nigerian politics is not new, and it’s part of the agitation of some segments of the country in a stride of decentralization agenda by the Western states or what they called the true federalism.
Agitation of decentralization of Nigeria is a long agenda of some regions of the country, the formal and informal approaches have the serious backing of the leaders and politicians squarely. Is the Biafra, Oduduwa Republic, and others just ordinary? Are the formal calls by the Western states for true federalism and decentralization just an ordinary obsession?
To be frank, all the regions of Nigeria have their hidden agendas for the future of the country, and the focus of a single Nigeria is very limited. The Western states have been working for a long on this agenda; they coordinated and collaborated on their socio-economic system. Their economic agenda program DAWN (Development Agenda for Western States) is an example, and a background of their acceleration when they actualize the decentralization agenda.
More so, their armed vigilant team AMETAKUN is the signal of having their security agenda, a block-chain to prevent all unwanted people from entering their land, especially the Nigerians stamped of northerners to the south should be controlled, with an allegation of insecurity, we all witness the herders’ crises happening in the area and the poor maltreatment of the Fulanis, just because they are not indigene.
The painful story is in the north, the region has been unbundled in unity and understanding. Their economy and security have been destroyed as a result of insecurity, the agricultural potentialities are palling every day. The issue of insecurity, poverty, and all the economic challenges facing the country are majorly in the North, simply it is the North that is in a sympathetic circle of the present Nigeria.
Looking into the agenda of having the state police curve the current security challenges, this is just a drama, Nigeria has the largest security in the whole of Africa, with the largest Arm forces, police, and other security agencies, if this security machinery in the country cannot overcome the current internal security problem, is the state police, that will be with limited power will do the job.
In addition, none of the Nigerian states have a security outfit, from Hisba, vigilante, Amotekun, and so on in addition to the recent community policing program, all are made to enhance the security situations in the state.
The Western states have focused on the decentralization of Nigeria, as their gawp of been economically buoyant in comparison to other regions of the country, they have been working on their agenda politically. The time of the actualization of this agenda is when they have a full political leadership of the country. They fully supported North and formed the APC and Buhari ruled for eight years, now they were in control of the central government.
The northern states are smartly saturated to support the Western agenda of decentralization by using the arm of the State Police. Before the coming up of this issue, the past drama is relocating some important government departments back to Lagos with swindled reasons to support the action of President Tinubu’s lead government.
The state or regional police to be created will not solve the current security challenges in the country, it will only augment more challenges to the unity of the country and deprive the right of some citizens to move and do business in any part of the country, especially the people from north moving to south for informal and unskilled businesses, they can simply be indicted of being a terrorist. See many cases of Fulani headers and tribal security outfits in the south.
Understanding the comments of the people around the present administration from the Western states, they are now here and ready to actualize their agenda of what they refer to as true federalism. I am not against the idea of true federalism, but are the politicians and the leaders from the northern region fully aware and ready for this call? What are the preparations we make both economically and socially to have a positive living when fully decentralized?
The north is at the bottom of poverty in the country and they are to sink further next year according to World Bank Report. The north is at the bottom of poor education, health, in summary, all human capital development indices.
However, they are still uncoordinated and have not collaborated to fight these problems.
