By Emmanuel Ado
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
Though Senator Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna State, ceased being a senator at the end of the 9th Senate on June 11, 2023, he definitely has an unfinished business at the National Assembly. The business is to lead the Nigerian Governors’ Forum’s campaign for the amendment of Section 214 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. The section states, inter alia: “There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provision of this section no other Police Force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof”.
This provision needs to be urgently amended to allow for the creation of state police, which, as a senator of the Federal Republic, Sani had vigorously advocated.
In the words of the Kaduna State governor: “The prevailing security situation in the country demands for a significant shift. I will work with my colleague governors and members of the National and State Assemblies to make state police a reality”.
Sani is being called upon to gratuitously take the driver’s seat in the effort to establish state police because he pledged to do so during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, and especially as he has built a reputation for walking his talk. Finally, because the security situation, which had compelled him, as a senator, to campaign for the establishment of community policing, rather than abate, has continued to deteriorate.
As senator, Sani sponsored four consequential bills; the Police Service Commission Act 2001 (Repeal & Re-enactment Bill), State Police Service Commission (Est) Bill, 1999 Constitution (Alteration) Bill, Nigerian Police Act (Amendment) Bill for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to allow for the establishment of state police, to enhance the security of life and property of Nigerians. Sani’s bills were, unfortunately, defeated during the harmonization conference due to unfounded fears of misuse by governors, promoted by some members of the National Assembly who are, more often than not, at loggerheads with their governors.
Sani’s bills were a bold initiative that would have fundamentally restructured the security architecture and helped in addressing the lingering security challenges facing not just Kaduna State but the entire country. And, until the National Assembly summons the political will to effect the necessary reforms, the problem will persist.
Nigeria is, undoubtedly, in a state of deep crisis. But the leadership of the nation has a sacred duty to ensure that the blood-thirsty terrorists who have become more daring and arrogant in their deadly activities do not win. The governors, following intense pressure from their citizens due to the rising insecurity, have established vigilante services. While the South-West and South-East established Amotekun and Ebubeagu outfits, respectively, these efforts have, tragically, failed to address the problem because they are not allowed to bear sophisticated weapons to confront the better armed terrorists.
Several reasons support the need to restructure Nigeria’s security architecture. For instance, Nigeria’s ratio of 1:540 police-to-citizens is far below the United Nations recommended ratio of 1:450. The establishment of state police will improve the ratio and give the governors, who know the peculiarity of their states, the power to tackle the challenge. Again, it will help the governors to respond quickly to local security challenges, because they won’t be waiting for directions from Abuja.
This is the compelling reason why Sani should constructively galvanize his governor-colleagues, under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), to lobby the National Assembly to effect the amendment of the obnoxious Section 241. Because the nation does not have the luxury of time, Sani should also immediately commence engagement with the leadership of the National Assembly on the establishment of community police from where he stopped. Thankfully, Tajudeen Abbas, the Honourable Speaker, House of Representatives, hails from Kaduna State.
Sani should be rest assured that, this time around, his efforts would not be in vain considering that it is an idea whose time has come, and the fact that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an unwavering advocate of restructuring, would append his signature, once the National Assembly passes the amendments.
Sani is being charged with this historic duty because he has displayed an understanding of the issues at stake. After all, he was the distinguished senator that represented Kaduna Central District, the area most affected by terrorism. Today, he is the governor of the state that is at the frontline of the terrorist activities, comprising attacks that sometimes lead to retaliation, which has assumed ethnic and religious colorations.
The payoff for Sani, who has shown leadership and is the vice-chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, is the return to normalcy, because it is the primary responsibility of government to ensure the security and welfare of citizens, as enshrined in the Constitution. The added bonus is that Sani would be remembered by posterity for providing leadership at a critical moment in the history of Nigeria.
Another assignment that Sani owes Nigerians is to impress on President Tinubu to urgently embark on the recruitment of, at least, 500,000 men and women into the armed forces, which he promised during the campaigns. The present 600,000-strong armed forces and police cannot effectively confront the dire situation at hand. The move will be a win-win, as it will lead to job creation and the swift defeat of insurgents.
Nigeria, during the unfortunate civil war, reacted to the problem of manpower shortage by mobilizing all able-bodied citizens and training them into a fighting force, the reason why the country was able to fight the civil war decisively.
Going forward, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be “encouraged” to immediately suspend the summon of the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogala, to appear before it, because nothing useful will come out of their interface with the lawmakers, so long as the fundamental issues of more boots on the ground, improved intelligence, the centralization of policing and lack of equipment remain unaddressed. Ditto for the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who predictably reacted to the situation by reposting some police commissioners, an action which sadly portrays them as incompetent, but changes absolutely nothing.
Governor Sani and his colleague governors must prevail on the National Assembly to make the amendment of Section 241 a priority. They must impress it on the National Assembly that the amendment cannot wait for the usual full scale exercise which has a December, 2025, deadline, according to Benjamin Kalu the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, and the Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee.
The continuing security challenges confronting the nation is a sad commentary on how badly the country has fared since independence. It is a scandal that Nigeria, in the last 17 years, hasn’t been able to resolve the threat to its sovereignty. While the private sector has filled the yawning gaps following the collapse of Nigerian Airways, Nigerian Shipping Line and the the Nigeria Telecommunication Ltd, same cannot be done for the security sector. This is why the establishment of state police and massive recruitment into the armed forces are the way to go, and now!