Tobias Sylvester
President Muhammadu Buhari has ruled out state police, insisting that it’s not feasible in Nigeria given the hostile relationship between state governors and local governments.
Buhari stated this on Wednesday during an interview with Channels Television while reacting to the recent clamour for state police in many parts of the country, owing to the rising insecurity.
The president asked Nigerians to question why governors, who are in the forefront of the clamour for state police, have not given powers to local governments.
He said, “State police is not an option. Find out the relationship between local government and the governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally?
“Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the governors.”
On the current security situation in the country, the president advocated a bigger role for traditional rulers in bringing peace to communities as the royal fathers know the people in their domains.
President Buhari dwelt on reports of farmers/herders clashes in the country and wondered why there should be such occurrences among people who used to coexist peacefully.
He added, “For example, there were two governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo State and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighbouring farms, and eating the crops; I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations.
“Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong. Why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders?”
KanyiDaily recalls that the Nigerian Governors had revealed that the quest for the creation of state police was not intended to undermine the existing Federal Police, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
