Mr Chima Chukwuyenre is the immediate past chairman of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Imo State, and currently the national consultant to the National Chairman on Community Policing. He was the chairman of the Nigeria Association of Hoteliers, Imo State chapter, for a period of eight years. In this interview, he speaks on the ongoing effort to legislate state police organizations into existence, explaining his view as how it should be organized.
What’s your view about the renewed push for police organizations funded by states?
It’s not today that I started hearing of the clamour for State Police in Nigeria or community policing but the question is how has the Nigeria Police fared? I have always said that the foundation of something determines how it will stand and how far it can fly. Before we talk about State Police, let’s talk about national policing. There’s a wide gap between Nigerians and the Police who are paid to protect and to serve the people. Nigerians are still afraid of the Nigerian police; if they see them they run away instead of coming closer. That’s exactly what we’re going to see when you talk about State police. The big question about state police we are talking about is this: Who will fund it? Is it the state governors? There’s a common saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune. You ma be wondering why I’m saying this I was alive when Bakasi started in Abia State ,they breed a lot of criminals with high level of witchcraft to determine who’s a criminal but after a while the government began to use them and that was the beginning of their downfall until they totally collapsed and nobody is talking about it . State police can only work if we’re going to stand upon the point of righteousness and truth and transparency, we’re choosing them because we want them to police the State but if it’s getting them for political purpose to withunt the oppositions it’s most unfortunate,but I personally advocate for a State police and community policing as long as we understand what it is ,creating State Police without, training, funding or arming them what do you think would be there motivation in rendering their services, so it’s not just a matter of making noise without knowing what’s involved . There are stakeholders let’s say for instance in Imo, talking about State police,we have sons and daughters retired with good records to head the position and that’s talking about putting a round peg in a round hole , I’ve seen a lawyer managing a hospital, what do you think he can achieve, if that is not done it will fail woefully and embarrass everybody and becomes a reproach. My opinion is that if we must do it then let’s involve experts who knows what security is all about, who have idea of what a State police is all about and recruiting those that will be there matters it’s not requiring political thugs, it’s not a matter of settling with political appointments, chose them because they’re qualified, screen them, profile them, somebody that has been a criminal before should not be chosen no matter how clean he has become, it’s not a matter of Boko Haram or herdsmen have repented or ISWAP has repented and you recruit him by so doing you’ve armed him and tomorrow you find them inside the bush, so I believe what is worth doing is worth doing well, if we must talk about it then let’s start from the drawing board, Americans win and loose wars on the drawing board.
Giving the security challenges we have in the country today if the State police becomes operational,do you think it well help curb the challenges?
Yes if it pulls through it will help quite a lot because Nigeria does not have good number of police presently , thank God for the President Tinubu who just woke up and withdrew policemen from VIPs and about eleven thousand six hundred policemen were withdrawn ,these are people guiding private individuals it will tell you that we have lesser police guiding us ,I believe if they do the right thing it will make an impact but remember that State Police without intelligence gathering amounts to nothing ,American succeeded in security because they spent a lot on security, without information you can not succeed ,if something happens in this neighborhood and I tell the Commissioner of Police he would go their and apprehend the culprits, it would be assumed that I who gave the information did ninety eight percent of the job, so if we’re talking about State police we should also talk about how to gather information, how to know those who comes into the State their purpose, I strongly believe that if we do the right thing we would be able to secure the land .
Most people has expressed fear that funding would actually be the problem,do you subscribe to their view ?
I’m also afraid because I was here when some people were recruited, trained , one two,three months nobody paid them and they left. I think right from the day they were recruited and taken to the camp they should give them something reasonable, first of all they need an insurance, if you’re recruiting such people they must be insured in case they got killed or something happens to them in the course of their duty there should be something to take care of the family, they must be well paid, they must be supervised that’s what we’re lacking in the Nigeria police, supervision talking about State police without supervision amounts to nothing. Also funding is very paramount if you’re not going to pay them then there’s no need recruiting them .
Are you also afraid of corruption in the system?
You can’t rule out corruption if not properly handled in the State Police ,you can see what’s happening all over individuals arrest and collect money Man O war and any other uniforan can arrest and collect money ,what happens on your head determines how your body is going to function ,so if the man at the head is righteous everybody working under him will also follow suit and vice versa. Let me tell you something that happened sometime ago a young man was apprehended in a hotel for trying to kill a girl and harvest her organ when he was apprehended and they called the police he confessed earlier that he killed somebody in Benin for N2.8 million for the job and he gave them the organs but as soon as the police came this boy offered them ten million naira instantly without the police asking ,tell me how many Nigerians will resist such temptation, how much is your salary,a man you’re paying one hundred and fifty thousand naira monthly can he resist ten million naira, but when they’re well paid give them good houses, free education, free medical care then they would be able to resist temptation but if they’re paid peanut that uniform and gun you’re going to give them is a license to extort money from people.
Federal government has actually put in place Forest guards,do you think if they’re combined with State police the country’s insecurity challenge would be surmounted?
Forest guards Is a waste anybody talking about Forest guard is not educated and exposed,look at what governor Mbah has done in Enugu State, why should our soldiers be combing inside the bush while something like a drone could have solved, what would a Forest guard do with a pump Action gun, how far can they go. This bandits they can go from one bush part to the other to neighbouring States they’ve perfected their ways in the bush, how do you think they can match them with their Pump Actions, Nigeria should learn how to use drones once drone is used for surveillance in the forest no criminal will rove around in the forest anymore.
