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| Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani |
A former governor of Enugu State, Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani, has canvassed against creation of state police as the solution to incessant security challenges ravaging the country. He instead, suggested convocation of an ethnic nationalities conference.
Sen. Nnamani who is also a lawmaker representing Enugu East senatorial district, while weighing in on the spate of bandits’ attacks and kidnappings across the country, faulted calls for creation of state police.
Some security experts and state governors such as Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, Kaduna State governor, Nasir El Rufai, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, among others have all supported state policing as practical way out of current insecurity in the country.
For Sen. Nnamani, he believes it is not the way forward because some of the factors that led to its abolition are still ongoing in Nigeria.
“That is not the solution. State police will not work in Nigeria,” he told Channels Television.
“Remember that we had some form of state police – regional police, we had an ordinance of 1916 that formerly established regional police. There were factors that led to the abolition of state police.
“All those factors that led to the abolition of the regional police and formal entry into the central police have not changed. Nigeria is organic, it is one unit and what that means is that if the eye is having a problem, the brain could have a problem,” he explained.
However, the senator opined that state policing can only be effective if it operates in every state simultaneously, just as he warned that should it not be so, it would result in inherent inequality.
Sen. Nnamani also maintained that there would be an imbalance if Lagos with low poverty rate has state police.
On the solution, he said “Nigeria is a country of multi-ethnic African nationalities – those ethnic nationalities are in Nigeria on basis of inequality,” adding that, “The constitutions that have been derived from all these fora are inefficient, unequal, and unjust because those constitutions are results of political machinations of people who got the people to make the constitutions together.”
“What we need is a conference of ethnic nationalities on equal basis. Multi-ethnic nationalities have to conference and produce a system that is equitable, fair, and just,” the former governor suggested.
“The system, as it is – the National Assembly, State assemblies…, are inherently unjust because of the way they were derived,” Sen Nnamani added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Nnamani condemned payment of ransom to bandits to secure the release of abducted persons, describing it as ineffective.
“Talking about ransom, paying ransom is ineffective because clearly, these different groups do not have the same goals.
“In addition, the leadership is different. So, ransom would not work; rather, it could incentivise internal terrorism also called bandits,” he said.
There have been reports that bandits use proceeds from kidnappings to purchase arms, one which was recently confirmed by Islamic cleric, Shiekh Ahmad Gumi.
While dismissing claims that bandits have the support of public office holders, Mr Gumi said “the bulk of the money they collect is used to buy weapons. Bandits are independent now, and nobody influences them. In fact, they buy informants now, and they are fighting an ethnic war which makes it easier because they are not fighting for ideology.”
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