By CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

Our government's use of multi-pronged approaches in tackling Nigeria's security challenges will yield no positive results unless and until sub-national governments are constitutionally empowered to have their own state police forces. The government's execution of measures other than establishing state police forces will scratch the surface of the problem without solving it holistically. Despite the efforts, which the federal government has been making to stem the tide of perpetration of crimes in Nigeria, our country is still in the throes of asphyxiating security challenges.

Aren't we witnessing the resurgence of the perpetration of homicidal and terrorist acts in different parts of the north, now? Swathes of northern states have become ungovernable spaces, now, what with bandits, terrorists, and Boko Haram insurgents killing people and abducting school children, there. The spike in the perpetration of acts of banditry and terrorism may be a corollary of the designation of Nigeria as a country of special concern by President Donald Trump of America.

Over the weeks, Nigeria was engulfed in acts of terrorism and banditry. An attack was launched in a church in Eruku, Kwara State, which led to the deaths of two persons and the abduction of some worshipers at the church. And hundreds of school children from St. Mary's Catholic School in Niger state were herded into captivity by dare-devil terrorists. Before then, terrorists had raided Comprehensive Girls' School in Kebbi State and abducted scores of students from there.

The recent kidnapping of school children in the north and their dramatic release, the gruesome killing of the Benue state natives and the appropriation of their lands by Fulani herders, and the security problem bedevilling southern Nigeria have outraged Nigerians and portrayed our country in a very bad light. The unending homicidal happenings in Nigeria, which are carried out by non-state actors, tend to justify President Trump's designation of Nigeria as a country of special concern. However, the irrefutable fact is that Nigeria is in the firm grip of banditry and terrorism.

But what will bring about the disintegration of Nigeria is our leaders' inability to prevent our country from descending into an anarchic situation. When part of a state in Nigeria is under the control of terrorists and bandits, it is a portent of doom for the country. Why? Those non-state actors can levy war against Nigeria and bring it to its knees.

But Nigeria's gradual sliding into an anarchic state, when the country is bifurcated along ethnic and religious lines, will embolden separatist groups to start using violent means to pursue their goals. Can Nigeria survive a second civil war without it dismembering? So it is incumbent on President Bola Tinubu to extirpate terrorism, banditry, and insurgency in Nigeria.

But then, in reaction to the kidnapping of school children and killing of people by terrorists and bandits, President Tinubu made promise to us that he would recruit more police and military officers to increase the numerical strength of security personnel in Nigeria. Doing that will be a judicious act. It is an indisputable fact that we need more boots on the ground to combat terrorism, banditry, and Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

And more importantly, our president has given impetus to our people's clamour for the establishment of state police in Nigeria. He has given directive to the national assembly regarding that. The establishment of state police in Nigeria, it is believed, will be the magic wand and silver bullet that would solve our country's lingering security challenges given the fact that our country has humungous population and large landmass. The fact is that Nigeria is too big to be policed, centrally. And the number of police officers in our country is too small for policing our large population.

If each state in Nigeria has its own police force, it will help a great deal in reducing the high incidence of perpetration of crimes in Nigeria. State police officers who serve in their home state are familiar with their people's culture and their state's terrains. As the state police officers are from the same ethnic group as the people they are protecting, the state police officers can coax the people into volunteering intelligence reports to them.

Again, when state police force is established, which will be under the headship of a state governor, there will be swift and immediate response to distress calls. As the governor calls the shot, bureaucratic bottlenecks and red-tapism that hinder the police officers' performance of their duties will be drastically reduced.

More so, a decentralized police force will be more effective in combating crimes and maintaining law and order in the state as the state government can recruit enough police officers to police the state. Contrast that situation with our federally controlled police force, which is understaffed.

Lastly, the establishment of state police force will be in tandem with the features and principles of federalism. The establishment of state police is the way to go in the fight to rid Nigeria of criminal elements. And it will guarantee us political stability.

•Chiedu Uche Okoye, a poet, writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State. He can be reached via 08062220654 and 09125204141

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