Decentralise Nigeria police to strengthen nation’s security, Aregbesola urges Buhari

AMID growing insecurity in the country, Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, over the weekend implored President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to carry out a thorough decentralisation of the Nigeria Police, with a view to strengthening the nation’s security.

He also underscored the crucial need for the National ‎Assembly and other relevant agencies to enact laws that would strengthen zonal commands of the police, saying the initiative would reduce the burden on the office of the Inspector General of Police.

This was contained in a press statement signed by Aregbesola’s media adviser, Mr Sola Fasure, which was forwarded to the Nigerian Tribune in Osogbo, on Sunday.

The statement quoted the governor to have made these remarks while hosting the director of research of the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies (NIPSS), Professor Habu Galadima during a dinner organised by the state government in honour of the participant of the Senior Executive Course 40, 2018 of NIPSS at the Government House, Osogbo.

According to the statement, “Nigeria needs to decentralise police system for effective, efficient and quality service delivery if the nation is truly desirous of strengthening security. What the country requires is beyond the procurement of physical security apparatuses, but also the effective management of the conventional security outfits.

The statement reads, “it is uncivilized for the Commissioner of Police to be reporting directly to the Inspector General of Police whereas there is zonal command headed by the Assistant Inspector General of Police. There is the need for the police system‎ in the country to be decentralized and federalized for effective and efficient management because that is the only way to go if we truly want to strengthen our internal security”.

While contending that the development would strengthen internal security in Nigeria and enhance the safety of lives and properties of the citizenry, Aregbesola maintained that the task of effective security of the nation should be the primary concern of all and sundry.

Earlier in his remark, the director of research of NIPSS, Professor Galadima, who led the delegation of organisation on a week study exercise described Osun social protection programmes as unparalleled and one of the best in the country.

He stated that “we came to Osun with lots of assumptions and we have validated those assumptions through the good works of Governor Rauf Aregbesola that we have been exposed to. We have benefited hugely from our interactions and through this, we have seen the beauty of Osun social protection programmes that had transformed the lives of many households in the state.

“Our exposure to Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme popularly called ‘OYES’ alone indeed shows that Osun has gotten it right in mobilizing her youths for future leadership and challenges. We have seen that the OYES scheme and other people-oriented programmes of the state are not only designed to alleviate poverty or make life more abundant but also put together to secure a virile future for the people of the state”, Galadima remarked.