Speeches

Security And Good Governance: The Imperative Of State Police At The Arewa Youth Forum Award For Excellence In Governance

Dec 5, 2009 - INTRODUCTION

It gives me great pleasure to have been invited to this unique event organised by the Arewa Youth Forum. I would like to thank the organizers for their kind considerations and the warm sentiments that they have expressed about the modest work that the Lagos state team is doing along the lines of the themes of this particular forum, namely democracy, security and good governance. It is gratifying to see in different parts of the country constructive groups such as the Arewa Youth Forum whose key stake in the Nigerian project is seeking to make contributions towards the transformation of our society through dialogue, debate and the formulation of options for national renewal and unity. The energies of our youths are better directed towards such pursuits, not restiveness, not violence, not sabotage, not self-abnegating cynicism.

In the final analysis, the challenge of leadership which many Nigerian youths often protest about is a collective responsibility. Leadership is to be seen in a horizontal, not vertical sense, and it is our conviction that every Nigerian, young or old, political office holder or private citizen is well-positioned to make a difference. Whatever choices we make as individuals, we invariably end up realising that we are all involved with Nigeria; making it a country that we all can be proud of should be a common goal. National pride is not an abstraction, it can be felt in how we relate to our daily circumstances. The future of this country belongs to its teeming youth population. Preparing the youths for that future is as much an important task as ensuring that the youths themselves appreciate very early the enormous historical burden that awaits them: the burden of leadership and service which is ironically the truest path to national progress.

In their letter, the organizers had asked me to serve as Distinguished Guest Speaker. I thank them for this honour. Their chosen topic is an interesting one: “Security and Good Governance: Key to Ideal Democracy: the Lagos state Example”. I have taken the liberty to extend the topic slightly to cover the subject of state police. In many quarters, there is a fixed attitude about state police, and the responses are familiar, but there is an urgent need for a reconsideration of the current security and law enforcement model in the country.

The security challenge in Nigeria today knocks at the very heart of democracy and good governance and the scope of freedom and dignity that is available to the average Nigerian. What stakeholders need to address, with the urgency that I recommend, is a simple question: how best can the security and law enforcement framework be improved, deepened, and made more efficient to make the country safer for individuals, for business, and even for government itself. The security interface between government and the governed should not be subjected to political partisanship or private selfish interests but the test of the common good.

II: SECURITY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

It is not an accident that the framers of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution placed an accent in Section 14 (2) (b) on the fact that the “security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” In the oath of office of the President, in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, he is required to swear “to strive to preserve the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria...” State governors, local government officials also make similar pledges within the purview of the Constitution.

Thus, the remit of governing authorities is to ensure that democracy works for the people in a real sense, that “the government of the people by the people for the people” is truly people-driven and people-focussed. It is instructive that the Constitution does not emphasize “the security and welfare” of governing authorities, but it does so clearly and only to the extent that those authorities are recognised as citizens and as people, and that they remain remain so, not overlords or a privileged group.

If there has been any strident criticism of the governance process in Nigeria, it has been that the governing authorities tend to place greater emphasis on their own “security and welfare” to the disadvantage of the “people”, and because Chapter Two of the Constitution which spells out the basic law about the relationship between government and the people is non-justiceable, the people are fatally alienated from government and deprived the benefits of good governance.

Focusing on the fundamental directive in Section 14(2) of the 1999 Constitution, and using that as guide in the governance process is the primary step towards respecting the rule of law. A society where the rule of law prevails is best placed to promote human happiness and dignity. Such will be a society that is based on the foundation of trust, respect, equality and justice.

The security and welfare of the people is the foundation of democratic governance. This is the creed that has guided our administration in Lagos state since the assumption of office in 2007. It is our mission statement, the fundamental objective of our collective mission as a team. Our understanding of security in a broad sense is that it covers all steps that can be taken to improve the welfare of the people and ensure their happiness. It is based on our committment to remove desperate conditions as a way of improving security.

For the people to feel secure and be confident that government is serving their purpose, they must be convinced that government is committed to creating opportunities for their self-actualisation. They must see government working actively to defend their best interests according to the law. They do not want to be told by force or deceived into thinking, that government is working; they want to see and judge for themselves, that the kind of politicians that are in office are those politicians who are prepared to serve, respect the rule of law, and do their utmost best to make life better for all. In Lagos State, we have taken a few steps in the last two years guided by these considerations.

One, we have tried to make Lagos, a cleaner city and environment. We started by identifying all the dirty spots which provide a haven for criminally-minded persons, or those spots which encourage the abuse of the environment and under the Greater Lagos, mega-city intiative, we launched a city beautification project. We started by planting flowers and establishing parks where none had existed. This was initiated in the early days of our administration and some people started complaining about how their money was being used to plant flowers. We received mails and petitions asking the government to get going and stop planting flowers.

But we were not just planting flowers. We were convinced that people are likely to feel more secure, more humane and more dignified in a clean environment. We decided to order the environment in order to re-order our lives. We got persons to clean the streets, literally sweeping every dirt off the streets, the Drain Drucks team was introduced to clean the drainage systems and allow proper drainage in many parts of the city.

Government took a look at all the shanties around the city and directed that existing laws about urban and physical planning should be enforced. Government surveyed all the places where people literally dumped refuse on the roads and put an end to such behaviour by providing more infrastructure for refuse disposal. The quality of the enviornment, the space of human habitation is a direct signifier of human security or its absence. We got rid of those places where crime was planned, arms deposited and booty was shared and turned them to parks.

The landlords of many buildings which had been restructured to have small extensions abutting the road and causing traffic hold ups were advised to restore such buildings to their original designs. Street gates are very common in Lagos. Because people are afraid, they live behind huge fences and even the streets are gated, making movement impossible, especially during emergencies. We got the landlords and the neighbourhood associations to agree to keep their street gates open till midnight. In retrospect, the landlords obliged because we explained to them what they stood to gain.

One of our early tasks was to set up a Committee to assess the security situation in Lagos. One of the recommendations that came out of that process was the identification of blind spots around the city which encouraged crime and the need to provide street lights in those areas. Today, many parts of Lagos are lit up at night.

What has happened is a gradual transformation of the city and the local neighbourhoods. Those who used to protest about the planting of flowers and trees and some of the intial steps that our administration took are now promoters of the vision of a greater Lagos.

Through some of these simple steps, for they appear really simple, we have been able to achieve many things all at once. We have created jobs, putting many people to work thus achieving the objective of economic security for an increased number. We have also observed that the planting of trees and flowers on the long run serve the purpose of conservation and environmental management at a time when climate change poses a serious challenge to the world. The last two years have also been for us, a learning process.

One key lesson is that in ensuring the security and welfare of the people, making the people the owners of the process is critical. Their buy-in is the key to success. The rule of law is better enforced when the people can sense sincerity. Leadership is about small things that matter but which end up making big differences.

Oshodi market used to be a busy and chaotic part of the city. The rail line had been taken over by traders, persons relieving their bowels at will, petty criminals and all traders who had abandoned their shops and moved onto the highway, creating an artificial traffic hold-up. Today, Oshodi has been transformed. The principal lesson that we are learning is that the people feel more secure when they see that government is committed to their welfare and they too will be prepared to make their own contributions. Lawlessness on the part of government is partly what causes a resort to self-help among the people.

Two, still in pursuit of the security and welfare of the people of Lagos, we have been busy in the past two and a half years trying to improve infrastructure. Many neighbourhood roads have been fixed in collaboration with the local government authorities. Governance is not a thing that people see on television only when government officials describe what they are supposed to be doing.

Our concern in Lagos has been to take government to the people in their neighbourhhoods. There is still a lot to be done, but our process is integrity-driven, and we are not afraid to work in the people’s interest. Contractors and all others in charge of project execution know that our administration is interested only in results and quality performance, the rate of service delivery has been satisfactory.

The Lagos administration is addressing health security. We are equipping the hospitals. Access to quality and affordable healthcare is a strategic aspect of the security and welfare agenda. In addition, we took on the challenge of transportation security and introduced a multi-modal mass transportation system that seeks to explore the physical character of Lagos.

Three, the Lagos state administration is also investing in education. An educated citizenry, with an assured future is bound to contribute more to the development of a safe and secure society. Education should be necessarily linked to employment opportunities. Hence, every effort is being made to encourage entrepreneurship at all levels to promote industry and the creation of wealth. Nigeria is long overdue for a revolution in the education sector to increase the country’s competitive index and to further build human capacity. We realise that this is not a task for government alone, it will require as in everything else undertanding and sacrifice on the part of the people.

But by far, our most remarkable experience since 2007 is the realisation that Nigerians are not entitrely a community of cynics but normal people who can be motivated to achieve more if government plays its part, if it communicates its vision effectively and shows a commitment to remain steadfast. In this regard, whatever has been done in Lagos, and for which reason I have been asked to speak at this occasion about the Lagos Example, the credit must go to the people themselves whose support and understanding have been the driving force of the process of development and renewal.

Our experiment since 2007 with the Lagos State Security Trust Fund provides a useful illustration in this regard. Whatever government does in the areas of economic security, food security, housing security, job security, health security, the critical cord that binds all of these is physical security. The conceptualisation, as well as the operationalisation of security must be done, at both policy and implementation levels in a holistic sense. Physical security in particular guarantees the security of life and property. People want their welfare issues to be addressed but they want to be alive to enjoy the benefits and they want their property, no matter how modest to be safe. It is the lowest common denominator on which everything else rests.

NIGERIA’S SECURITY SITUATION

The statutory responsibility for ensuring the security of life and property is the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government, through the creation and the existence of a Federal Police Force. Other security agencies and all their enabling statutes place their authority and control under the Federal Government. But it is a framework that appears not to be so efficient. It needs to be reviewed to reflect today’s realities and the true spirit of the Constitution in relation to the idea of federalism.

The internal security situation in Nigeria is one of the sources of the criticism of government performance. Cases of criminal conduct have become rather too frequent and the casualty figures across the country are frightening. Regular reports of highway robberies, carjacking, attacks on homes, assassinations, terrorism, sectarian violence, political disturbances and the sheer inability of the police and other security agencies to curtail the threat. This makes the need for a review of the country’s security model even more compelling.

The Nigeria Police Force is probably the most abused public institution in Nigeria. It has undergone so many reforms in the last two decades, but policing Nigeria remains a daunting challenge. Many crimes remain unresolved, the police are overworked and overstretched. And yet the people continue to look up to government to fulfil its obligation to protect their lives and property. The inability of government at all levels to enforce law and order is a major cause of underdevelopment. It promotes impunity and social crisis. Every year, Human Rights Watch and other international agencies deplore the security situation in our country.

THE LAGOS INTERVENTION INITIATIVE

From the very first day of assumption of office, it was clear to me that nothing would work if we did not frontally address security. Within two months of our assumption of office in 2007, this was one of the first issues that we sought to address.

The Lagos State Government inugurated a 31-man security committee headed by former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Musiliu Smith to assesss the security situation in the state and to offer recommendations as to how the Lagos State Government can help improve it. This was a follow up to our campaign promises prior to the election.

The findings were most instructive. Among other things, it was established that the state Police command was facing a resource-deficit in every respect. The population of Lagos is about 18 million. The entire Nigerian Police has between 300, 000 – 500, 000 men to police a national population of 140 million people, a very small fraction of that serves in Lagos. Besides, the state command lacked functional operational vehicles; its capacity to respond to emergencies was low.

Based on the Musiliu Smith committee’s report, the Government promptly set up a Lagos State Security Trust Fund, an interventionist agency and a creation of the law, whose mandate includes mobilising corporate Lagos, and private persons to contribute to a pool of funds to provide resources for both the Police and other security agencies . To jump-start the process, the Lagos State Government immediately approved N2 billion for the provision of 240 Toyota Hilux patrol vans, 6000 rifles and ammunitions, 1766 bullet-proof vests, 200 walkie-talkies, 240 vehicle radios, police uniforms, 21 communication masts in 20 local development areas and 300 base stations.

There had been in place in Lagos, a Rapid Response Squad. In collaboration with the state police command and the understanding of the office of the Inspector General of Police, we took steps to strengthen this important structure for ensuring prompt and effective response to distress calls.

Since 2007, the Lagos State Trust Fund has recorded phenomenal progress. Through it, the Government has been able to establish an excellent communication line with all the security agencies in Lagos, and also with communities at the grassroots level who have been co-opted into the state security framework. So far, the Lagos State Security Fund has held three town hall meetings where it presented to the general public its financial reports as audited by PricewaterHouseCoopers, an outline of its various interventions, and other areas of need.

To date the Lagos State Government has committed over N3 billion to the fund, but an interesting feature of this intervention is the enthusiastic support it has received from Corporate Lagos, and from ordinary members of the community, who have donated vehicles and varying sums of money. Local Council and Local Development Areas have also been major contributors to the process; about a month ago, local council chairmen in Lagos on their own donated 114 patrol vehicles to the Lagos State Police Command, with a pledge to supply additional ten Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) in due course.

So far, we have been able to prove through the Lagos State Security Fund and related initiatives that policing Nigeria can become more effective if it is a collaborative effort and not the exclusive preserve of a Federal Government. The attempt to maintain unitarism and over-centralisation in the security arena creates artificial uniformity, but it negates efficiency. State and local governments being the levels of government closest to the people are in a better position to enrich the security process. No amount of investment in other areas of development will make sense without a direct and practical attempt to ensure the safety of life and property.

Our partnership with Corporate Lagos has further demonstrated the value of Corporate Social responsibility. Contributions to the Trust Fund are entirely voluntary; yet the response from the public has been overwhelming.

The evidence of the workability of our approach to the security challenge was provided recently at the Lagos State Government’s Third Town Hall Meeting on Security with the theme: “Sustaining and Growing the Security Model”, in a presentation by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo. Mr Akpoyibo submitted that in Lagos state, “high police visibility, improvement in logistics and response time, enhanced intelligence gathering and the deployment of other proactive strategies have led to a remarkable drop in crime in the state.”

With the aid of bar charts and graphs, he offered an empirical illustration of his claims. He said for example that in 2007, there were 22 attacks on banks in Lagos; this had reduced to 13 in 2008, and by 2009, 5. In 2007, 9 of the attacks on banks were successful, in 2008, only two, and 2009, only one. With regard to cases of kidnapping, the Lagos State Police Command was able to rescue 15 kidnap victims out of a total of 15 reported cases. In March 2009, a ransom of N30 million that had been paid was recovered from suspects who have since been charged to court.

The general crime statistics provided by the Police Commissioner indicate a steady decline in crime rates across the state. In all, crime reduced by 79.9% as at end of September, 2009. And he gives due credit to “the State Government” which “through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund has played significant roles in improving the Command’s capacity and logistics”, the content of which he outlines as follows:

– Resuscitation of the Command’s Rapid Response Squad
– Donation of 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs)
– Donation of over 300 patrol vans fitted with communication gadgets
– Donation of arms (AK 47 riffles)
– Donation of 1 million rounds of live AK 47 ammunition
– Donation of Bullet proof vests
– Donation of 5 patrol boats for the Marine Police
– Donation of 10 BMW Power Bikes to the Command
– Maintenance and fueling of all RRS patrol vehicles
– Payment of monthly allowances to personnel of RRS
– Recent donation of 124 patrol vehicles to the Command courtesy of the Local Government councils
– Mr Akpoyibo further admits that

• This state of affairs has endeared the city to many with several multiplier effects:

– More industries and business men are relocating to the state,
– More job seekers and citizens are daily migrating to the state in search of greener pastures,
– Citizens already domiciled in the state are continuously relocating their dependants (aged parents and siblings) to Lagos for fears of insecurity elsewhere, etc.

These factors have in turn led to increased pressure on the Command to sustain its achievements in the areas of crime fighting and the general provision of security.

I have chosen to quote from the Lagos State Police Commissioner’s presentation at length simply to offer a picture of how a state police command with only a few operational vehicles as at early 2007 has become well-resourced, with improved capacity and better results on account of a general partnership at all levels of government and the involvement of civil society. Both the Federal Government and the Inspector General of Police are currently considering a new policing and funding model based on the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Police Reform.

Making the security process people-driven rather than power-driven, making it participatory, rather than exclusionary, should be the philosophic foundation of the proposed reform. With the Lagos state example, I recommend a return to the debate about state police.

State Police

The Constitution does not suggest that the responsibility of ensuring security and welfare of the people as defined in Chapter Two should be restricted to the Federal Government. It is contradictory to exclude state and local governments from discharging the critical function of providing security.

If we insist on pursuing old methods that have not worked for us, we have no right to aspire for change or different results. We are running the Police Force along substantially the same or similar lines that the colonialist bequeathed it to us, while they have reformed essentially. A British unitary government runs a decentralized Police Force while Nigerian Federal Government runs a unitary Police Force.

The 1999 Constitution declares in Section 318 that government includes the government of the Federation or of any state or of a local government. State Governors are the Chief Security Officers of their states. The position of the law is that the Governor of a state can give lawful instructions to the state Commissioner of Police for the maintenance of law and order and those instructions must be obeyed (AG Anambra v AG Federation & ors. 2005 9 NWLR (pt. 931), p. 572).

The reality is that the state commissioner of Police reports to the Inspector General of Police who reports to the President. By this arrangement, state governments are placed at the mercy of the Federal Government, even when they are faced with challenges of local crime. In real terms, they have no control or influence over the number of men recruited for or deployed to their states.

A restructuring of the Nigeria Police Force to provide for the greater participation of state governments is long overdue. This will be in keeping with the constitutional principle of federalism. Section 2(2) of the Constitution expressly states that “Nigeria shall be a Federation consisting of states and a Federal Capital Territory”. It is unfortunate that aspects of the same Constitution including Section 214 on the existence of a single police force negate this fundamental principle.

Nigeria is a diverse country, with each part having its own peculiar local security challenges. The unification of the security system of the Federal Capital Territory, 36 state governments and 768 local governments does not serve the purpose of the 140 million people who belong to various ethnic groups with different histories, norms, religious beliefs, and cultural attitudes. There is need for a more realistic and democratic approach.

Debating State Police

Those who oppose the idea of state police do so on the grounds that it will be abused by political office holders. Their sentiments are derived from their assessment or received opinion about the performance of the Native Authority/Local Government Police Force in the Northern and Western regions during the colonial and post-colonial period up till the period of military intervention in 1966. Thus, a certain kind of state police once existed in parts of Nigeria if not in the entire country.

So much has been said about the involvement of the Native Authority and Local Government Police in partisan politics between 1952 and 1960, and how political abuse, and request for the carrying of fire arms by this category of law enforcers led ultimately to the Ironsi military regime abolishing it in 1966, nearly sixty years after its emergence and existence. The same argument about political abuse can be applied to the Nigeria Police Force today. Those who control it from the centre have been repeatedly accused of using it to pursue their own political ends. The NPF is as guilty of whatever infractions the NA/LG police force of old may have committed.

Received opinion about the decentralized law enforcement structure which existed in Nigeria prior to 1966 has made it difficult for critics to pay attention to the larger value of a participatory, grassroots-based policing framework. It is true that the local police of old in terms of structure were accountable only to those from who they received their orders with little input from the public. This was what made the abuse possible. But a return to the same model must include an insistence on public accountability. The Lagos State Trust Fund example ensures that the Fund is not accountable to the Governor, but to the people of Lagos and all stakeholders.

The Native Authority/Local Government were found useful for years by both the colonial authorities and the Nigerian Government. They began as palace officers, and later grew to become officers of government running parallel to the central Police Force. They complemented each other, and made law enforcement more effective. The Native Authority and local policemen could boast of a knowledge of local crime patterns that was not available to the central police.

Whatever may have been the shortcomings of the NA/LG police, they helped to enforce law and order at the grassroots level, and in more significant ways. Although they did not carry arms and ammunition, the dogari or the yan doka in Northern Nigeria and the olopa and the akoda in Western Nigeria were most effective in checking certain categories of crime.

They were trained by the Government Police Force and over the years, standards and guidelines for their upgrading were defined. In 1950, the colonial authorities had sought to abolish the Native Authority Police but this was resisted by the Nigerian Government. The use of the police to intimidate political opponents and the power-besottedness of the politicians of the period between 1952 and 1966, eventually led to the abolition of the NA police. By 1970, it had been integrated into the Nigerian Police Force.

But political abuse alone does not explain its failure. The military authorities which seized power in 1966 were more interested in a unitary system of government, not a system that would empower local authorities. A long period of military rule resulted in further centralization of the Nigerian Police Force with the levers of its control in the hands of one man with Federal authority. But this has not translated into a better security system.

The Nigerian Police Force is incapable of handling all the security challenges in all parts of Nigeria. Previous attempts made at decentralizing it have not made any difference either. In desperation, the people in many communities have created local militias or vigilante groups ostensibly to provide security for the people and their neighbourhoods, but because these alternative structures have no basis in law, they have been open to terrible abuses and characterized by a mindless resort to self-help in the dispensation of justice.

The framework that we recommend can rein in all of these structures and channelize their energies under the umbrella of state police. After many years of exerting a monopoly over the maintenance of law and order, it is not unlikely that police chiefs, serving and retired may consider the creation of State Police an assault on their powers. But this needs not be the case. There may also be persons for whom the prevailing status quo is an opportunity for self-enrichment and so they may resist the change that is proposed. Public interest should be the paramount consideration.

The argument does not attack the merit of decentralization. It focuses on possible abuse by the leadership and rests on the pillar which assumes that bad leadership will prevail at all times. I reject that notion.

The Proposed Structure

In Federal democracies such as India, Australia and the United States, the concept of State Police exists. In restructuring the Nigerian Police system, lessons can be learnt from these other jurisdictions. States and Local Governments should have the powers to enforce their own laws. But since firearms is on the Exclusive Legislative List, state policemen do not need to carry firearms. They can work in cooperation with the Federal Police which can focus on inter-state, international and multi-jurisdictional issues.

Local forces will be required to concentrate on the enforcement of environmental regulations, enforcement of traffic rules, and physical development regulations and other crimes that make no standard demand on the use of firearms. They will operate as community policemen with first hand knowledge of their beats, and enhanced information-gathering capacity.

Already in many states of the Federation, this form of policing exists with the officials bearing different kind of names, in Lagos for example, we have the LASTMA, and task forces on the environment and physical planning. They work in some instances alongside Federal security agencies. Where serious crimes are involved, the Federal Police can take charge of the situation. .

Under the new arrangement, the State Police will be trained by the Nigerian Police Force in designated regional commands in the six geo-political zones. This will create a minimum condition of service and standard of operations nationwide, but each state contingent will be directly responsible to the state authorities. State governments can be assisted to cope with this additional responsibility through Federal grants or an appropriate adjustment of the revenue allocation formula.

The advantages in the proposed arrangement are many. More job opportunities will be created. The Federal Police will become more compact and can concentrate on the prevention of serious crimes. An effectively de-centralized policing system will ensure better security, higher levels of confidence in the governance process, and a sense of belonging among the people. With a corresponding reduction in crime levels, the objectives of human welfare and national progress will be better achieved. With state police operations, the prevailing antipathy towards the Federal Police and sentiments about the ethnicity of police officers serving in parts of Nigeria will be eliminated.

We urge the National Assembly to make the necessary provisions and set the ground rules for the immediate involvement of state governments in the maintenance of law and order through the instrumentality of state police as defined through a general assessment by the people of Nigeria.

CONCLUSION

In the end, the political will to provide good governance and respect for the rule of law in governmental processes is the main means towards making Nigeria a much safer place for both govenors and the governed. I have already taken more time than I originally intended, so at this point, let me rest my case. I thank you all, ladies and gentlemen, for listening.

BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN
GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE