GEJ your point is very clear to a lay man to understand.

So when GEJ, When

Nigeria is not ready for fuel subsidy removal.

In my view this is a no brainer. Most concerns are based on the assumption the state police are at the exclusion of Federal law enforcement. This is untrue. There are many countries with local, state or regional police in place but I don't know of any country without a national police. They are not exclusive or competitive but complimentary.

Secondly I think it is all about laws. To make it simple. We all have security men working for us (in Nigeria) in our homes and offices and enforcing our rules. Why isn't the government scared of them. Why don't they rig elections and intimidate political opposition. Why don't we arm them - the law. When they commit crimes aren't they accountable to higher authority.

Look we are just playing around. We need law enforcement at the grassroots. Accountable and available. That is how intel is generated. At the grassroots. That is how you reduce corruption, when the cop lives next door just like you maiguard, to truly serve and protect.

We are not saying they should be kitted with AK47's and APC, but boots on the streets with walkie-talkies as first responders to call in the Feds for fire power.

It will amaze you just how diverse crime is, quarrels, road accidents, exam malpractice, and all sorts bog down the NPF rendering them ineffectual. This should not be.

Michael Jackson's doctor pilled him to death and it is an issue in Quantico, haba.

And we the citizens are not ready for Fuel Subsidy as well, shikena! we are not ready for everything Mr. Odechukwu president 1.

you are right mr.president and in the same manner, we are not ready for the removal of fuel subsidy.
there are two basic things that can serve as pre-requisite for the removal of fuel subsidy viz;
1. stable electricity
2. functional refineries

my major concern here is, WHY DIDN'T JONATHAN MENTION ALL THESE THINGS IN HIS MANIFESTO WHILE HE WAS SEEKING FOR THE POST OF THE PRESIDENT?

okay why cant each region have their own indigenous police community,that can answer to federal govt if their is any problem can be checkmate by FG,why community policing is very important cos at it is now,the country is battling with terrorism, armed robber, kidnapping, rituals,corruption,now it has come to these; GEJ should consider community policing to monitor locals.

Why would Goodluck support 36 despots when HE can be the only Despot.

I have advocated for the creation of State police and will continue to do so.

However, I’m not naive enough to think that politicians will not use them to terrorize the citizenry and may even use them to forestall any attempt by the Federal government to arrest the politicians.

Even right now, in practice, it is not clear whether the Police have jurisdiction over the Military men in uniform.  There have been many reprisal attacks and killings among men in uniform over petty issues.

But the pros of community policing far outweighs the cons. The people best suited to control a neighborhood are people that grew up and went to school there. Who will know the thieves and troublemakers better than people that went to school with them? Certainly, not someone foreign to the neighborhood that does not even speak the same local language.

Goodluck Jonathan's statement on state police is misguided. If he thinks state police will be abused by the governors, then he should as well abolish state courts. Which is more dangerous: States/governors controlling their own courts (as they do now) or having state police?

Why haven't they used their state high courts to jail their political opponents or members of other parties. Is that not easier to do than a police that only has powers of arrest and has to prove criminal wrongdoing to secure conviction?

The long years of military rule and its command and control philosophy has bastardized every vestige of federalism in Nigeria. Of what use is a state passing laws when it has no law enforcement agency to enforce its own laws and has to rely on federal might?

That is the root of insecurity in Nigeria i.e a unified police force with no roots to the area they police.

Who taught GEJ to think? Must be Reuben Abati, he's right.
It's easier to control the State securities than the Courts.

I believe the arguments put forward for and against the creation of State Police in Nigeria are equally valid.

Maybe the way forward is a compromise:

- The Federal Government through the Nigerian Police Force or Service continues to fund the Police and indirectly have centralised control over the service.

- The Police Force is separated into Federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Anti-terrorist squads and State based police force which will be recruited exclusively from  the individual states in which they serve.

- That will mean that police officers serving and working in any particular state must be residents of that state but not necessarily indigenes of that state.

- The entire Police Force will under the oversight of a fully independent quasi judicial police serve commission ( Federal and at state level) not appointed at the discretion of the executive branch meaning the President or any of the Governors will not have control over the Police Service.

This is just my idea but i feel we need to start thinking outside the box on such complex issues.

We don't have the resources to support such a plan. Perhaps we should give some cities special status, and have a tested scheme for independent Police systems. Some countries in our status have such ,

What do you expect from retardeen

In the US, the mayor of the city appoints the police commissioner and hence is the head of the police force of that city. Same with governors and state police. When crime rates go up, the mayor/governor is held accountable. In Nigeria, the state governors find it hard to fight crimes like kidnapping and theft when the rates go up in their states because the police is appointed federally. The state has to make petitions to the federal govt to deal with crime-related problems. It is then up to the federal govt, who are more detached and removed from the problem, to decide if to listen or not. This is the fundamental problem of the Nigerian Police Force. Each state's police should have its own mandate; Lagos PD, Benin PD, Abuja PD, PHPD etc

it should be up to each state to decide how much of its budget it wants to spend on the police force. This should not necessarily mean a decentralization of the police in its entirety but the establishment of state police to operate concurrently, independently and mutually, with a federal police. Each would have it's own jurisdiction but in cases where jurisdictions overlap, the federal police would supersede the state police. For example, the FBI supersedes the LAPD or NYPD when their jurisdictions overlap

And it will be the job of the federal police to keep those governors who try to abuse their power over the state police in check

MannyLa,

Should I remind you that most of those States can barely keep their heads afloat, financially,
Ideas that make sense in a single-culture environment like the US, may not work in a multi-culture area like Nigeria, keep that in mind. It is up to the Police to assist the relevant State Police Commissioners with their duties.

If you look at the JOS riots, you can't just blame the Fed Govt, what has the States done to improve Security? i.e CCTV cameras, etc.

We do not live on an island, we are they to assist each others,

@ Frog,

First of all, the US is by no means a single-cultured country. If anything, it is way more diverse than Nigeria with the amount of foreign nationals who become naturalized citizens. In chicago, u have greek town and a lot of polish nationals. In sunnyvale CA (silicon valley), u have the largest group of indians and pakistanis u will find in the US. U have a lot of italians in Jersey. A lot of Jews in Orange county CA. Need i go on?

Secondly, most states are struggling to stay afloat financially b/c they mismanage their funds and spend almost the entire budget on wage expenses. They have no legitimate revenue sources other than their federal allocation. many states dont collect taxes. Edo only started recently. They waste so much money on committees for the most ridiculous things and never get anything productive out of these committees. Not to mention the constant theft of funds. Need i go on. Trust me the money is there and can be generated if the right ppl are put in office.

Finally, no one is asking for an autonomous state police. They will work in cooperation with a federal police and the part of the money allocated to the current police in the budget can be given to the states to run and maintain their police force. Besides, Security and Power (electricity) are the two most important and fundamental problems facing Nigeria today. Our budget should reflect this.

And in reference to the jos crisis, if the state had ctrl over its own police, it would've spent more money trying to solve the problem. How much money are u willing to spend on something u have no control over?

MannyLa,

The US is a singular-culture country, though with people from different nations. It has a single language; you can only marry one spouse, and do you expect to make your culture the norm in their constitution? Keep trying. No, we will make your language the official language of the US. hahahahah --they would have driven you out of their country by then.

As per JOS, even if it had its own State Police, the issue was about cultural differences, it would have been worse, with State Police under the guide of a Governor, that would most likely side with his ethnic group.

The solution remains, fixing the current problem with the national Police as it is.

in california, there are tons of ppl who dont speak english. spanish is an official language in many places and is being taught in schools. whites are fast becoming a minority. many chinese and asians also dont speak english

In nigeria, there is only one official language and thats english.

and as for the jos thing, the individual police and their dpos and commissioners will always side with their tribes whether state or federally controlled. Or do u expect the commissioner to sit idle while his own ppl get slaughtered?

frog12:

MannyLa,

The US is a singular-culture country, though with people from different nations. It has a single language; you can only marry one spouse, and do you expect to make your culture the norm in their constitution? Keep trying. No, we will make your language the official language of the US. hahahahah --they would have driven you out of their country by then.

As per JOS, even if it had its own State Police, the issue was about cultural differences, it would have been worse, with State Police under the guide of a Governor, that would most likely side with his ethnic group.

The solution remains, fixing the current problem with the national Police as it is.

Did you just say California? You are running out of ideas.
As per Jos, having a federal Police means everyone, including the Commissioner abides by Federal laws --a deviation, would cost you your job, If it is noted that anyone takes sides,

In Nigeria, there are many languages, English is not the only official language, there are 3 others, are you really a Nigerian? Besides, you can have a Tiv become President; in the US, I want to see a Yoruba become President. hahahahahah.

Nigeria is not even ready to be a country. Just scrap Nigeria already or merge the fking place with Niger.

Is it just me or are Nigerians completely blind to the horrible disaster that is fast approaching them?

there are three other official languages? no u sir are dearly misinformed. hausa igbo and yoruba are not official languages but the major indigenous languages. There's a difference. u do know the meaning of OFFICIAL right? and whats ur response to spanish being an official language in the US right? All govt-related things are available in spanish as well. what's ur response to that?

And as long as a yoruba man is born in the us, he can become president. the fact that it hasnt happened doesnt mean it cant. look at obama. ppl thot a black man couldnt be president. Has a tiv man been president in Nigeria yet? has an edo man? ijaw? efik? ibibio? calabar? The fact is only the major tribes have enjoyed the presidency in Nigeria. Same concept as it is in the US. The majority enjoy the presidency in a democratic country. it's simple logic. i I think i'm wasting my time trying to make a point.

and in response to ur jos comment, same thing can happen at state level:if he doesnt abide by the laws, he can lose his job. ur point is moot.

the fact that u do not know how diverse the US is tells me u have not spent a great deal of time here.

Most states are not viable. The governors don't have ideas on how to utilize available resources to create wealth. Most of the undue revenue allocated to them monthly is diverted to their private accounts.
The creation of a state police will be the licence they need to effectively eliminate all political opponents and critics.

Nigeria is definitely not anywhere ready for state police. Nigeria's politics is not ready for such things. With the kind of corrupt, super rich politicians you have now, you're just asking for 36 countries in one. Each enclave will become a law unto itself and damn the consequences. I can't imagine a t.a. orji or uduaghan with state police

I will say again, the US is a country for European descendants,
Spanish being allowed is only a formality, to help those that speak the language, and unable to understand English, mostly the elderly.  English is the official language there, and it will even become a national law (most states have it already), when the Republicans even win the house.

Now, to Nigeria, English, just has the 3 major languages, are official languages.  Do you research properly.  English is acceptable as a transaction or business language for the Govt.  What's there to stop other State Assemblies from communicating in their Language?  I think the Lagos Assembly must have passed such a law; even the Ibo speaking states have done similarly.

As per a Yoruba being the President, if you are born there, maybe, but do you really want to be a slave while being in charge? hahahahahahahah, Obama has no where to go, but his mother's country; I doubt he even knows his father's families as much.


The fact that majority enjoys Presidency is flawed, how about Apartheid South Africa?  Nigeria was by military power only, and with the rotation in place now, every group will enjoy such top position, as Jonathan is now.

You, a Yoruba, want to become president of USA, just give them Amala to chop, hahahahahahahah
The US has no concept of Power rotation, only majority votes, and that's mostly the majority race.

@Mannyla,

Please let me correct one of your notions; English is the official language of the United States, although Spanish is a supporting language or common language spoken by a majority but NOT official.

State police is a bad idea. The governor pays the police thus dictates the tune. He can fire police chief for any flimsy excuse.