MAYBE the best way to start making my case for local police is to remind us that local and independent police formations once existed in Nigeria before their integration into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). And going by the low rate of crime and the communal peace generally experienced across the nation in those days, the local police formations, from the benefit of hindsight, can be said to have performed better than its unitary replacement, the Nigeria Police Force.

The NPF is one of those experiments Nigeria embarked on as an extension of her interpretation and application of the uneasy concept of federalism. At independence, fired by the zeal to build a strong united nation, we had unified armed forces, unified prison service, etc. So, in that nationalistic mood, we also mistakenly created a national police force which had under-performed over the years. It is high time we corrected that mistake and decentralised this troubled Nigeria Police Force whose serious handicap has made our armed forces to operate routinely as the “first line of defence,” and militarise the society. The time is ripe for Nigeria to reintroduce the local police.

Please note that I use the term “local police” for lack of a better expression as “state police” currently seems to evoke considerable anxiety in the minds of some people. Such people can’t imagine how such awesome coercive instrument as state police could be reposed in the hands of our powerful executive governors. Whichever name we give it, let us decentralise the policing of the country by reintroducing local police forces as they are naturally in a better position to police their familiar environment.

The local police considered themselves members of the community they were policing. Indeed, those were the days of community policing in the real sense. The police went out of their way to add value to the community. The police constable on duty also doubled as the time-keeper for the township as he hourly struck the iron gong once, twice or thrice... according to the hour. The sound resonated throughout the town and helped those who had no time piece to be mindful of the time.  Many people found that police iron-gong sound more helpful than the alternative practice of relying on the movement of the sun to know the time of the day.

The police were only a handful. Every Monday morning, neatly dressed, they mounted parades, inspected by the royal father, in front of the Emir’s palace. I saw no barracks. Every one of them was accommodated in their houses among other members of the community. Their operational tools were also simple and bare. The main ones appeared to be a baton and a shield made from bamboo-like material with which they practised crowd control. They had no vehicle. Police expenditure was minimal; yet, the local police was effective in policing the community.

I am of the strong opinion that in spite of these high-level reservations, there is need for a serious review of the current policing arrangement in the country. Population is growing by leaps and bounds. There is no way effective policing can be assured by the current unified system which, to a large extent, violates the principle of federalism we all profess. And it is questionable to say that state or local police will be more open to abuse than the current unified system. Nor should the state or zone structure of the NPF be considered alternatives to local or state police. The present zone structure of the Nigeria Police Force, which incurs heavy administrative overheads, merely provides promotion posts, as decision-making is still largely centralised.

State police should be instituted and the sooner the better. For sure, some interests may be inconvenienced. However, on balance the security of the generality of the community will be better assured, and the risk is worth taking now. Delay would result into greater loss of lives and properties as our security situation deteriorates further. Given its current revenue challenges, the federal government’s ability to provide adequate and decent barracks as well as the logistic needed to sustain the unified police structure appears to have significantly diminished.

Today’s local or state police, I must observe at this juncture, would necessarily be a modification of the local police structure of my childhood days. Population has increased and the social environment has become much more complex. Today’s criminals are very mobile, sophisticated, and use very dangerous and mass-destructive devices. But our modern criminals generally succeed in their hide-and-strike games because the average NPF policeman is often a stranger to the community the criminal is very familiar with. “Local knowledge” is vital and it is the absence of this which is at the root of the failure of the police to deal effectively with criminal activities across the nation.

Nigeria needs to re-introduce local policing. It could be by the creation of state police or some other local structure. We need to do this now as failure to do so means continuing to live with the menace of barbaric militias and vigilantes of all shades and pretentions. For sure, we can’t make headway with the current police structure which is not only unbearably costly but also largely operates without the full benefit of “local knowledge.”

We must sacrifice political expediency in favour of effective crime fighting to usher in the much needed peace and security under which the welfare of our people can be stabilised. Our ongoing constitutional reviews must give serious consideration to the state/local police and bring it about immediately as a compliment to our security arrangements in the country. The issue should be considered along with devolution of powers to the states and allocation of revenue to go with it.

•Usman, a retired Federal Permanent Secretary in the Presidency lives in Abuja.

The power to the states to establish state police should be granted by law stipulating conditions and standards the breach of which could warrant the withdrawal of such licence. The federal government should institute a supervisory authority or inspectorate whose periodic reports may be placed before the National Assembly. This is in addition to the federal power to declare a state of emergency where there is any abuse or action which threatens peace and stability in any state. “Distant hose can’t put out local fire.” This truism is enough reason for those in authority to re-examine the issues and authorise the establishment of state police which, naturally, will be better placed to fill the huge vacuum in intelligence and crime fighting capability at the grassroots and our metropolitan centres. The time to act and save this nation is now!

Usman, a retired Federal Permanent Secretary in the Presidency lives in Abuja.

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