A couple of weeks ago, three people very close to me had their homes and therefore, privacy, violated. The three of them live off Admiralty Way which is about the busiest street in highbrow Lekki Phase One. They live in gated areas. They live in gated homes. In addition, they have private securities. Yet, as easy as you like, they had their security breached and their cars vandalized. The main thing taken from each car was the brainbox. The cars, as you can imagine, are high end cars. I have since learnt that they were not the only ones to have suffered these attacks along the same Lekki axis. It seems this is the season of stolen brainboxes for quick cash. And by extension, the season for the police to make some dough.

I can read the play book. The owners of the vandalized cars will invite the police to arrest the ill-trained but possibly complicit security personnel and perhaps the Human Resource Manager of the parent company. They will have to provide money for transport and for investigation. The arrested security people will cool their heels in police cells for a couple of days after which another round of bargaining starts with the police holding the aces. Money exchanges hands, surety is accepted and security people are released. The case gradually cools off after the initial anger and outrage – no point spending good money after bad. And because the case is unsolved, the supply chain of stolen brainboxes and other valuable car parts is unbroken. Crimes exist everywhere in the world. But unresolved cases are deemed unacceptable by most countries – unlike in Nigeria where funds and the will to follow cases to their logical conclusion are largely absent. Meanwhile, some well-wishers would have told the owners of the vandalized cars where to get Tokunbo brainboxes – if they don’t already know. And if lucky, it might even be their own stolen brainbox. A few places are well known for vehicle spare parts in Lagos. The police visit these places regularly more to collect their weekly toll than to apprehend anybody. More like protection money, Mafia style. To buttress my point, there is a street in Oregun, a mere five-minute drive from the seat of Lagos State Government, where illegal diesel has been sold for decades. It started as a small business. Now, the diesel drums are everywhere on the street. The police visit from time to time but the trade is still booming. What does that say?

There is corruption inside virtually every door in the public service. It is getting more and more brazen by the day. It however becomes doubly saddening when the police and the judiciary, the two main custodians of law and order, are this steeped in corruption. Corruption in the police runs from petty to serious through the entire hierarchy. Most police-owned sports facilities for example, are maintained by civilian users. Yet budget is made for their maintenance almost every year. A close friend was once involved in a police case where he wanted the case file transferred from one zone to another because he feared the police boss in the other zone had been compromised. The money being asked for to transfer the case file ran into six figures!! And it had to be in cash. I imagine every police station has POS operators hovering around to make such ‘arrangements’ possible since most encounters with the police invariably involves money.

The clamour for State Police has been on for many years. It had almost always been championed by opposition. This is perhaps the first time the ruling party is not averse to it. The reason is obvious. Insecurity has overwhelmed the current police structure making people turn a blind eye to what needs to be done to make State policing viable. The advantages of State Police are many. But we should not discountenance the disadvantages. Or ignore the fears of those who have been against it. State Police should bring policing close to the people. At least theoretically because the officers will be from the people and will live among the people. They should thus know the hideouts of criminals and the dangerous spots in the neighbourhood. They should know those who have no income or live beyond their income. They should know when residents are being infiltrated by strangers. Deployment should also be nimble and fast allowing States to troubleshoot as quickly as possible. But knowing where criminals live and hangout is not the same thing as acting on the knowledge for the good of all as we have earlier pointed out in the examples of stolen brainboxes and diesel. To get the State Police we desire will depend on policies around recruitment, training, funding and accountability. And the political will to make State policing work for all including opposition. The policies around these critical criteria have failed the existing police system. They might yet fail State policing if care is not taken. A situation which could affect the morale, character and effectiveness of the new State units. Or worse, make them to become complicit and allies to crime. The fear of State capture is also real and must be reckoned with. Governors who will pay the piper might dictate repressive tunes. Local Governments, like State Police, are also supposed to be good for the country. They are supposed to bring developments – in roads, health, education, agriculture and even cottage industries – to the grassroots. They are supposed to transform rural communities. The reality unfortunately, is State capture and emasculation of Local Governments by almost all Governors. The insecurity in the north might have been averted or at least minimized, if local governments were functioning optimally and Governors had over the years, used their security votes for what they were meant for. Worse could happen to State Police because of its coercive power.

I am for State policing. The advantages are legion. But we have to look beyond mere slogans to the modalities. We have to look at the current abuses of Local Governments. We have to look at the abuses of our present unitary police system by State actors. Abuses which could be exacerbated at the Local and State levels.

The Nigerian Police needs serious reforms and I fault the current Inspector General, an otherwise accomplished Police Officer, for not making the Police Force more accountable and more responsive to the yearnings of the people. Creating smaller units without reforming the parent unit is like pouring old, contaminated wine into smaller, newer wineskins. The taste is not likely to be too different.