Insecurity: Obasanjo Canvasses State Police

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the creation of state police remains a better option for addressing terrorism and other act of insecurity facing the nation.

Obasanjo said the growing insecurity in the country has gone outside what the community policing earlier recommended by the Federal Government could tackle.

The elder statesman made this known when the leadership of the National Association of ex-local government chairmen in Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

According to his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the visit was led by the pioneer National chairman, Hon. Albert Asipa, the Ogun State chapter Chairman, Rt. Hon. Soyemi Coker, Hon. Chinwe Monu-Olarewaju (Delta State) (Chairman BOT) and the traditional ruler of Odogbolu, His Royal Highness, Oba (Dr) Toye Mojeed Alatise, Gbegande of Ososa, a former chairman of Ijebu Ode local government area of Ogun State among others.

Obasanjo, who commended the initiative behind formation of the body, said that the development clearly showed that some local chairmen in the country were better than even the top elected leaders.

The ex – President, while responding to one of the speakers, Chinwe Monu-Olarewaju’s submission on creation of community police to curb the wave of insecurity, said that the idea needed to be changed.

“Our situation in Nigeria concerns everyone, particularly, the case of terrorism. The case has gotten over the issue of community police. It is now State police. It is from that State Police that we can now be talking about community police.

“There is also the need to strengthen the traditional system and the local government administration, which I prepared during the popular Murtala/Obasanjo administration, because I believe that there is need to enable that tier of government to work truly as a local government. They have their own Executive, Judiciary and Legislature.

“They were working and they were very visible, building and managing roads, looking into education, health, local administration, agriculture, but they were all gone,” Obasanjo said.

He said that the experience the former chairmen had in local government administration was enough to aspire for higher posts, stressing that some of them have the competence, ability and integrity to get to these posts.

Obasanjo, who was presented with a letter of a life patron, assured that he would look into their request, assuring further that he would be available on request for their needs at all times.