Politics
South West governors meet, demand state police to tackle insecurity
In the light of growing insecurity in the region in the form of kidnapping, rape and banditry by suspected Fulani herdsmen, ritual killings, cult clashes, among others, governors of the South West region on Tuesday, met at the Theophilus Ogunles Hall in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, to among other things, demand for establishment of state police.
The governors appraised the security challenges in the region and how people the area have been living in fear. They noted that state police will be the best way to go about solving the challenges.
The summit was attended by governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).
Also in attendance at the summit were the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams; National Coordinator of Agbekoya, Alhaji Ahmed Olasunkanmi as well as traditional rulers, including Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Aladesanmi; Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Obateru Akintuntan and Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi; Elemure of Emure Ekiti, Saki Arigidi of Akoko in Ondo State and Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, etc.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu, was represented by a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Taiwo Lakanu.
Fayemi, who is the Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), tasked security agencies to rid the land of crimes. He however, warned against demonising any ethnic group.
“Our advocacy for state policing or local policing is not tantamount to the removal of federal police, that is not what we are asking for. Federal police can exist side by side with state police and local police,” Fayemi said.
The Ekiti governor said state police is the practice almost everywhere there is federal system. He dismissed as untrue, suggestion that the South-West does not want the federal police, He added that there would be definition of duties such as cases that federal police should handle, and local cases the state police should handle.
He also advocated effective coordination among commands within a security agency as well as effective coordination of inter-agency collaborations.
His Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, said it was the job of state executives “to ensure that everyone in our midst, indigene or alien is assured of security of their life and property. We also know that there are barriers preventing us from carrying out this constitutional responsibility to the fullest measure. One of those barriers is the fact that we do not control the security apparatuses in our states.
“We are grateful that the Federal government is finally giving due consideration to the creation of state police. You will agree with me that the advantages of community policing far outweighs whatever fears people may be expressing against it. We have reached that point in our national consciousness where we can no longer tarry; the time to act is now!
“There can be no development without a secure environment. The minimum requirement for the South West region is to be able to work, live and play in a secure environment.”
Chairman of the South West governors forum and governor of Ondo State, alleged that some security agents have been accused of conniving with criminals to perpetrate the evil.
He insisted that, “the South Western states must ensure that their strategies are harmonised to achieve a common purpose.
“We cannot afford to work in isolation at this momentous. Our ultimate aim must be the socio-economic integration of the region, which reflects our collective aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous environment.
“As we seek to collaborate to combat a common challenge, it should also not be tasking for those of us in the saddle to begin to think of the socio-economic benefits accruable from working together to make our region less dependent, almost solely, on external sources for survival.
“Our collective goal should be the security of our space and safety of our people in all ramifications. On this, there should be no compromise. We must, consequently, be proactive in tackling the current security issues. The adoption of a scientific approach towards the resolution of the current crisis will bear far-reaching effects.”
Osun State governor, Oyetola observed that for the South West to achieve its goal of security delivery, the states in the region must collaborate and share information to collectively secure our people.
“Our security chiefs also need to share information among themselves while also doing the same with their contemporaries across the states. Technology is at the heart of modern security delivery. We must invest heavily in technology to be ahead and to win the war.
“As we are all aware, security wars are fought and won on the altars of intelligence gathering, planning and implementation. I urge us all to be strong in these critical areas so that, together, we can deliver peace, security and prosperity to our people.
“The nation is grossly under-policed and the police force is sorely underfunded. Contrary to the United Nations’ ratio requirement of one policeman to 400 citizens, the Nigeria Police has less than 400, 000 officers to cover 180 million people. The force said it needs 155,000 more men to police the nation’s population. The implication of the above is that we need to recognise this situation as an emergency and treat it as such. The police should be adequately funded and provided with enough personnel and other logistics support to do their job.
“Perhaps on account of the security challenges that we face today, there might be no better time to revisit the call for state police as local officers are better suited to secure our communities.
“However, the security agents are squarely battling the current security breaches. But given better support, they can do more. We must sensitise our people through our traditional and community leaders to live in peace with herdsmen and other settlers.”
Lagos State governor, Sanwo-Olu, in his contribution, called for the engagement of teachers, parents, and community leaders to ensure that community policing becomes one of the very strong bedrocks that could be used to set issues around security.
“For us as South-West governors, we believe that community policing is the way to go, neighbourhood policing is one of the critical points that we need to have, and it can work side by side with federal police,” he said.
Ogun State governor, Abiodun, said each of the states in the region has peculiarities in the area of security. He called for a clear roadmap to security of the region and the nation, as well as periodic reviews to evaluate achievements.
The summit was organised by Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission.
