Tunbosun Oyintiloye
A retired military general, Alani Akinrinade, has stated that efforts to secure the country should be community driven rather than relying a centralised structure.
Gen Akinrinade further recommended that all regional security outfits evolve into state police forces.
This was revealed on Saturday while assessing the general governance in the country in an interactive session with the team of Osun state Ministry of Information (Civic Engagement) led by the Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Civic Engagement, Hon Olatunbosun Oyintiloye at his country home, Yakoyo, Ife North, Osun State.
The retired general maintained that ‘policing system in every country is naturally meant to be driven through community structures for excellent and effective intelligence gathering which is the onus of security system.
‘Central government should not exclusively control security institutions as other components, especially in a federation should be inclusive because of the essence of proximity in the policing system.
‘The centralization of security system by the Federal Government which brings about the enlistment of non indigenous personnel into the policing structure of a state as against the use of indigenous individuals like the case of foreign countries, has rendered Nigeria’s policing system ineffective and unproductive.’
Akinrinade, an elder statesman, stressed the need for the Federal Government to embrace state police forces by giving the leverage for all regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West and Hisbah in the North, among others, to develop into state police services, saying that policing is dynamic and must conform with contemporary circumstances.
He pointed out that Nigeria must eschew any form of suspicion coming from the agitation for state policing, recommending an institutional and constitutional mechanism which will curb the arbitrary use of the state policing structures.
Reacting to a community policing arrangement under the federal police force as against a policing structure under the jurisdiction of State Governors, Akinrinade said that a State should not be expected to use its resources to run a policing system which is not exclusively under its supervision, noting further that a State should be allowed to use its resources for its own policing arrangement backed by legislation.
Akinrinade commended the efforts of Amotekun and other regional security outfits for taming the threats to regional security, which had resulted in reduced level of kidnapping, cultism, cattle rustling, gangsterism in the country.
Commenting on the performance of Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in office, Akinrinade described the Governor an of integrity, patience, humility and high sense of service to humanity.
He equally extolled the team work involving Oyetola with other South-West Governors that led to the creation of the Amotekun security outfit, a response to the surge in insecurity threatening the peace of the State and the region.
‘We’re not disappointed in him for he has performed excellently well through his service driven leadership occasioned by his people-centered governance within about an half of his first term in office while it’s believed that the second half of his administration will even be more efficient and productive.
‘As a leader with a listening ear who takes people’s demands and yearnings as imperative above any other thing, he (Oyetola) has been able to engender peace and stability in the polity by moving away from controversial policies which do not conform with the opinion poll,’ he added.