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As a result of the rising security challenges across the country, President Bola Tinubu has formally declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered the massive recruitment of personnel into the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Police. Consequently, the President has authorized the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to recruit additional 20,000 officers to raise the total number to 50,000. He also directed the Police to use all National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps around the country for adequate training of new recruits.
The President said that all the police officers withdrawn from VIP guard duties should undergo crash training and debriefing for delivering of more efficient police services when deployed to security-challenged areas of the country. He charged the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately deploy all the trained forest guards to flush out the terrorists and bandits lurking in our forests. He directed them to recruit more men to man the forests, stressing that “there will be no more hiding places for agents of evil.” The country has recently witnessed mass abductions of schoolchildren, teachers and Christian worshippers in Kwara, Kebbi, Niger and Kogi states.
The President has also urged the National Assembly to commence the review of our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them. He said that his administration will support state governments which have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from the terrorists bent on disrupting our national life. He enjoined Mosques and Churches in vulnerable areas to seek police protection during prayers or service. Due to incessant clashes between herders and farmers, the President urged herders to embrace ranching and end open grazing.
Earlier, the Senate had urged President Tinubu, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, to recruit 100,000 additional military personnel to address the country’s increasing security challenges and population growth. It also resolved to set up an ad hoc committee made up of the Finance, Education, Defence, Army, and Navy committees to investigate the Safe School Programme, especially its funding, expenditure, and effectiveness in securing schools.
Considering the upsurge in abduction of schoolchildren and Christian worshippers in some parts of the country, it is commendable that the President has ordered massive recruitment of personnel in the Armed Forces and the Police to enhance nationwide security. It is also laudable that the Senate urged the President to recruit additional 100,000 military personnel. Let there be diligent background checks on the new recruits. Besides recruiting more personnel into the Armed Forces and the Police, they should be adequately trained.
The federal and state governments should work in concert to establish multi-layer policing in the country. With the worrisome level of insecurity in the country, we should at least have four layers of policing—federal, state, council and community. The current structure of the Nigeria Police cannot adequately protect over 200 million people. State governments should also partner with the federal government to provide the necessary environment for the training of the newly recruited police personnel.
However, the recruitment of new personnel into the Armed Forces and the Police should not be politicized. On no account should people of questionable character be recruited in the security agencies. The recruitment process must be transparent and credible. All the states must be adequately represented in the recruitment.
Beyond the recruitment of more personnel into the security agencies, the federal government should acquire drones and other technological equipment in the war against terrorism. The government should also procure more sophisticated equipment for the Armed Forces.
We believe that procuring more sophisticated military equipment and technology will enable our troops win the war against the terrorists, bandits and other criminals. The federal government should acquire satellite equipment and other modern technological gadgets to enable the military adequately decimate the terrorists in the country. Unfortunately, some terrorists are controlling some local government areas in the northern part of the country and collecting taxes from the local people. This development challenges our sovereignty. It is an embarrassment to the government and the people of Nigeria.
The President’s declaration of national emergency on security is in the right direction. However, the military and other security agencies must be psychologically and physically motivated enough to confront the marauding terrorists and bandits. At the same time, we lament the closure of some schools in the north because of insecurity. The security agencies must rise to the challenge and ruthlessly decimate the terrorists.
