A public affairs analyst, Shehu Mahdi, has thrown his weight behind the call for the establishment of state police to curb insecurity in Nigeria.
Mahdi made the call on Tuesday during an interview on The Morning Brief, a programme on Channels Television, monitored by DAILY POST.
His comments come against the backdrop of the renewed wave of insecurity bedeviling Nigeria, especially in the Northern region.
“We need to have a practical approach. If you say you want state police, how and when? People have been calling for state police for the last ten years, but the government has been ignoring it. Now they want state police, what approach? Which structure is on the ground for the state police?
“State police is very, very desirable. I am for state police, but not in a fire-brigade approach.
“There is no state in Nigeria that does not have retired Army Generals and other top-ranking officers in the security agencies, yet the government is not tapping into the experiences of these retirees, who know the game better than anybody; instead, they are seen as enemies.
“As long as we don’t bring in critical stakeholders, and as long as the government doesn’t discharge its responsibilities, and as long as money is being absconded and spent at will, we will keep crying over insecurity, and insecurity will keep challenging us,” he said.
