From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The first military governor of old Rivers and Chairman, Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, the Amanayanbo of Twon Brass, King Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff has thrown his weight behind the creation of State Police.
According to him those against the calls for the establishment of state police are confused and ignorant people.
Diete-Spiff who spoke during the launch of a book titled “Gbogbosi-Gbogbosi (Never Again), A collection of memoir of the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970) and diary of Major Michael Oputa (rtd) written by Osborne Robison, at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Yenagoa, argued that with state police, there would be improvement in security and stability of the country as well as increase in employment.
The monarch said those kicking against the idea are not abreast with the current situation in the country.
” Those against state police are wrong. If you make laws, you must have people to enforce it. It’s like breaking egg to make an omelette. Why should people refuse state police based on the claim that state governors will hijack it for personal gains?
“If the country wants to go parliamentary, we should stay parliamentary. If we want to stay presidential system, we should stay presidential. We should even have police at the local government levels. If they are entitled it is right. Frankly, the country should develop slowly. –But if we go too fast what we predicted could happen.”
“In the past, the local government councils have their police. They have the customary police and they did a good job. But today, we deploy the military even to road blocks to the extent that they have lost their respect in the society. Let us have state police, we have come a long way. And when you imagine a situation where policemen from each state are on ground, who will go and hide in the bushes. It will even create more jobs. It will make people have sense of belonging in the country called Nigeria”.
The monarch however cautioned authors writing on the Nigerian Civil War by not opening old wounds with new books adding that old wounds are hard to heal.