October 20, 2000
There are a few things I just don't understand about my country when I think hard. One of such things is this issue of state police force.
Take Lagos.
Take a resident of Lagos, living in a house with a fence, a tall wall with razor sharp wires ringing its top. He has a "maiguard" minding his house, with a gun and a stick. If a thief makes a mistake of coming to the maiguard's master's house, the thief will be lucky to get the stick, and less fortunate to hear a gun boom on his temple. That would be the last sound that he hears on this side of eternity.
If the stick knocks the poor chap out, he will be "arrested" - while stone-cold - before being handed over to the Nigerian Police Force for booking, prosecution and imprisonment.
Is the "maiguard" a policeman or not? MPF - Maiguard Police Force, or if you don't like the word "police" MAIGUARD SECURITY OUTFIT, an MSO!
Now suppose a community of 10 to 20 homes decide to hire a number of maiguards, greater than one but less than say 15. These 15 maiguards constitute a "police force" for this community, its community MSO, n'est ce pas?
Follow along with me with this thought experiment.
Suppose this community is expanded TO THE WHOLE STATE, instead of 10 to 20 homes, we have 6 million homes. That leap is not too much. Why can't this state get a whole set of "maiguards", and call them its "police force?" S-MSO? Ehn?
All that needs to be determined are jurisdiction and powers - NPF on roads and government buildings, and S-MSOs everywhere else. In fact, if Obasanjo does not like "state police", all he need do is say that the Maiguard Security Outfit cannot arrest then charge anybody: they arrest and then hand over immediately to the nearest Nigerian Police Force! [I almost wrote dead or alive, but I relent.]
Am I missing something, my compatriots? Why do we complicate our lives so?
But blame the 1999 Constitution. By placing the "Police and other government security services established by law" as Item 45 of that disastrous document's Exclusive Legislative List, it appears that the constitution thereby unwittingly confers MORE powers to individuals and communities than to an entire state and its government.
That is not commonsensical. But there might be hope on two fronts.
First while announcing the hollow ban on OPC yesterday, Federal Information minister Prof. Jerry Gana, a citizen of Niger State, Northern Nigeria, announced a new initiative that he inscrutably described as a "community-based approach" to security matters.
He said that "If there is community responsibility in security, it would be easy to identify criminal elements in any society, as strange faces would be easily noticed and efforts made to find out their mission in the vicinity."
If this is not a "police force" by another name, one wonders what is. If this is not what OPC has been doing, even if with sometimes devastating results, I wonder what is.
The second front is more interesting. Today, it was reported that Niger State government Governor Abdulkadir Kure, state of former HOS IBB and Abdusalami Abubakar, has issued a two-week ultimatum to the security agencies operating in the state to combat the incessant report of robbery and armed banditry or the state will set up a quasi-security outfit similar to OPC and the Bakassi Boys.
He said that he would name it - yes NPC, Niger Peoples Congress!
Coming on the same day as the banning of OPC, it is the height of irony! But what is the hope? That now that Niger State, Northern Nigeria, has indicated it wishes to set up a vigilante group to combat robbery and armed banditry, it may not be a bad idea after all to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
We shall see.
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