Pushed to the wall by the ever perplexing state of insecurity in the country, Zamfara State government this past week called on the citizens to take up arms to defend themselves. The state government even said it would facilitate the procurement of basic weapons for its citizens, especially farmers, to defend themselves against bandits who make a sport of killing vulnerable people. The government therefore directed the police command to issue gun licences to all who qualify and are willing to obtain firearms to defend themselves.
But in his reaction to this, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, said the governor lacked the constitutional powers to ask citizens to bear arms or direct the Commissioner of Police to issue gun licence to them. According to him, “We do not take instruction from the state governments. We have a Commander-in-Chief. The constitution gives the right and powers to the C-in-C for the use of the armed forces and I believe what we’re doing in Zamfara State and across the states of the federation is not different to the provisions of the constitution.”
While Irabor may be right to maintain this position, is the Zamfara governor wrong to ask his people to defend themselves? What manner of leader would see his people being slaughtered day after day and not feel like doing something unconventional about it? What kind of leader would fold his arms when his people are being killed by outlaws when those who are supposed to shield them are nowhere to be found? So, why would the Zamfara governor who, as the chief security officer of the state, is unable to stop the killing of his people not proffer what he considers the solution to the lingering problem?
Although we feel Governor Bello Matawalle’s pains and share his frustration, we do not agree with his directive to the citizens to bear arms in self-defence. A situation where everyone that can get a gun has one can only result in anarchy, disorder and chaos. When everyone is allowed to bear arms to defend themselves, what we shall have is a rule of might, where only the most wicked or ruthless would survive, and not the rule of law. It is to circumvent such situation that the power to defend all citizens is vested in the government. But when the government fails to appropriately discharge this duty what should the citizens do? When the federal government that is saddled with the responsibility of defending the people fails to do so, should the people throw up their arms and wait for the ruthless marauders to make mincemeat of them?
The midpoint between the ineffective federal policing system that we run and the anarchy that may likely ensue should every citizen be allowed to bear arms in self-defence is state policing.
The indisputable fact is that the closer the police authorities are to a locality, the more familiar they will be with the terrain and the better prepared they will be to quench any criminality in the area. So, the choice we have to make as a people is whether we want to allow every Nigerian to bear arm in self-defence or we want a policing system that understands the environment well enough to defend the people against all forms of aggression because it is crystal clear that the federal policing system in the country cannot ensure the safety of Nigerians.
Although the issue of state policing has been on the front burner for a while, the major argument against it is its likely abuse by state governors. Some people have said given the mismanagement of state electoral commission where only the ruling party wins the local government election in a state, the governors cannot be trusted with managing state police well.
The fears about the likely abuse of state police are real and the concerns genuine. Our politicians have repeatedly demonstrated their incapacity to manage human and material resources. They have given us cause to conclude that they cannot be trusted with power of any sort. Many of them have failed to rise above mundane considerations in the discharge of their duties. They have proven that their major reason for seeking power is empire building and personal aggrandisement, not public good. Political leaders have raped the country and betrayed the people.
However, does it make sense for us to attempt to correct a wrong by emplacing another? If politicians have mastered the art of manipulating the system for their own benefit, should we as a result act contrary to the dictate of our constitution? Nigeria operates a federal system of government, but is a centralized policing system in tandem with the spirit of federalism?
The point raised by those opposed to the establishment of state police that politicians would abuse it is malodorous. The reason is that a system cannot improve until it is allowed to run. Let us have state police and keep interrogating the system. That is the way forward.
The most pessimistic Nigerian will be quick to admit that there has been an improvement between 1999, when the current democratic experimentation commenced, and now. Then, the level of impunity among political leaders was so high that they conducted themselves in a manner suggesting that they were doing the people a favour by looting the treasury. Back then, they easily rode roughshod over us. But that is changing. Events have taught the political leaders that they cannot continue to take the people for a ride.
Again, between 1999 and 2007, results of elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not, in many cases, reflect the people’s wish as the electoral body had a reputation for manipulating figures in favour of the ruling party. Did we because of that stop the electoral process? No, we kept at it and as we continuously interrogated the process, it kept improving. Though it is still far from being perfect, it is common knowledge that INEC is no longer what it was in 2003.
If impunity of politicians has reduced, if electoral fraud is declining, how are we sure that despite our fears, having state police will not turn out for the good of the country if we keep taking the leadership of the institution and politicians to task? Only those who dare have a chance to win. If we dare to have state police, we cannot but win.
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