Nigeria at 59: Let's decentralise policing, build an egalitarian society - Ekweremadu
- Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, is still advocating for decentralized policing
- The Enugu-born senator said it will help Nigeria overcome its security challenges
- The lawmaker made the call in his goodwill message to Nigerians on the occasion of the nation’s 59th independence anniversary
Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has reiterated the need for decentralized policing, including state police to enable the country to overcome its security challenges.
Ekweremadu also called on “leaders at all levels of governance to rededicate themselves to an egalitarian society marked by justice for all, including an equitable distribution of opportunities and amenities as a sure way of securing peace and unity among our citizens across the nation.”
The lawmaker made the call in his goodwill message to Nigerians on the occasion of the nation’s 59th independence anniversary.
His words: “I congratulate Nigerians on the occasion of the 59th Independence Anniversary celebration. One of the greatest concerns among Nigerians today is the growing insecurity in the land.
“I believe that the difference between security at independence and now is mainly in the security architecture. We have moved from decentralised policing with national, sub-national, and local policing services to unitary policing owned and controlled solely by the federal government.
“While the plans by the federal government to introduce community policing gives an impression of shifting of ground, I doubt that such effort without first decentralising policing to allow states, which cannot afford it, to set up their own police services, cannot take us anywhere.
“On the contrary, it is like putting the cart before the horse and the result is very predictable.”
He added that whereas he could easily dust up the Bill for the Establishment of State Police sponsored by him and some of his colleagues in the 8th Senate, he believed that there was first a serious need for the political will and change in mindset for the bill to become law.
Meanwhile, Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom has urged Nigerians to sustain their faith in the unity and capacity of the country to overcome the current challenges and realize its full potential as a prosperous nation.
The governor stated this in his independence message to Nigerians in a statement made available to journalists by his chief press secretary, Terver Akase.
The governor said God has steered Nigeria out of challenges and threats to its corporate existence and stressed that what Nigerians need to do at this time is to draw closer to God in their words and actions.
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