State governors must be warming up to put in place the enabling structures for the establishment of state police. If any one of them is doing that already, it is because he has taking to heart the mood and promises of members of the National Assembly on the issue. In a rare coincidence the two houses debated insecurity in the country on Tuesday, and concluded that the solution to the problem is an amendment of the Constitution to give legal backing to State Police. They also resolved to do that within a short period of time.
Governors would therefore hope that President Muhammadu Buhari would most likely sign the bill, if only to please the electorate in the months before the general elections. It will also bring some relief to the president on the clamour for the cracking of the security challenge.
At the Senate, Ike Ekerenmadu, deputy Senate president who also chaired the committee on the issue was mandated to present a bill within two weeks. While presiding over the debate by the representatives , Speaker Dogara said the public confidence in the security chiefs had waned. He was reacting to the presentation of members from Plateau State who alleged that development there suggests that the attacks by the herdsmen is ethnic cleansing.
The two chambers appear to be appreciative of the frustration of state governors who are said to be chief security officers in their states. The governors cannot give instructions to the security chiefs because the security apparatus are centrally controlled.
The issue has been debated over the years, particularly by those who have been calling for restructuring of the Nigerian political system. But one major argument against it is that governors may abuse the gesture.