Policing Nigeria

By all calculations, manipulation, analogue or digital, the present understaffed, ill-trained people wearing the police uniform, including the about one-third of them serving very few as personal security or orderlies, cannot by any magic police the over 200 million of our dear nation.

Formation of local security units in the current mixed system of semipresidential cum Westminster parliamentary concoction will only create rather than solve our security problems.

We now have about four to five organisations trying to carry out one single operation leading to conflicts between them while the problems continue to expand.

The police in every nation is charged with keeping internal security. In our case, the incursion of the military in the governance of the country made the military to be involved in internal security and with the small number of the then military the coopting of the police in the government including giving them appointments as military governors as well as the retention of the word `Force’ attached to the police tended to detach them from being civilians and merge them with the military.

The suggested solution is to re-organise the. Nigerian Police without the word `Force ‘as the IGP has no `Force’ after his name.

Create seven zones to cover the FCT and the Six geopolitical zones with a DIG in charge of each zone.

The Federal Road Safety Corps, formerly Traffic Department of the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the proposed States Security Units all should all be in the new police setup.

Similarly, the use of policemen as personal security should be reviewed by using non-uniformed security personnel as done in most countries to protect those who need such services due to their appointments.

We should also ensure the deployment and recruitment of police to reflect locality for the lower rank of Inspector and below in order to sustain understanding in the locality and better relationship between the police and the public.

To help increase the size of the new police some retired but not tired military personnel can be recruited. Training and welfare are very important areas for any organisation that needs success. The military should be removed from internal security to their normal services except when required.

Rear Admiral Suleman Said rtd.