BUILDING A REALISTIC SECURITY SYSTEM THAT IS AFRICAN IN OPERATION
BY : OLOKE JESSE ABAYOMI
(CHAIRMANSHIP ASPIRANT FOR MOPAMURO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KOGI STATE)
IN my developmental series (1-8) published sometimes in May/june 2020, I frowned at the system of operation and composition of our vigilante services ,who predominantly are made up of security neophytes . They are made up of young boys and girls who see it as “job” anyway!
I opined that, the job of providing security for our communities should be for professionals who understands the requirements the job entails. Not just for job seekers who, at the sight of ordinary wall gecko or rat, cringes!
I said in my series that if elected as the executive chairman of my local government, I shall go back to the day of yore, and engage the hunters!
Some people obviously were reading my texts, as recently, the hunters had taken over and we hear of arrest and killing of notorious criminals everyday!
The vigilante services are now observers, and this is exactly the reason for this write up.
Nigeria is practising the presidential system of government which should be sine-qua-non to the American’s system, since they are the universally known democracy that practices that system creditably well.
In a presidential system of government, Power are shared between the federal, the state, and the county /local government in what is called : exclusive, residual and concurrent Powers.
Security is on the concurrent list, that is, the control over security provision is shared between federal, state and local government. Therefore, there should be the federal police, the state police and the local police or Sherrifs respectively.
I must say here that, Nigeria has not really practice what we claim to operate on, but a pseudo presidential system some called a marriage of parliamentary cum presidential system.
Recently however, there are much hipe about having a state police and community policing. Obviously, the existing system has failed.
Community policing is a welcome development. It is long overdue.
This system is not new to our society, as the early colonialist adopted that system when they came in to control our various communities. Why was it successful? Our various system then allows it. We had the Dogaris and the traditional palace guards and the local hunters under the control of the chief hunters, who in turn is under the control of the chief warrior (Balogun ).
His excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has done well in cobbing criminal excesses in kogi State. The vigilante services he introduced has work at lease in isolated cases as against some daring reality. The recent synergy with local hunters is an excellent decision which I have always advocated.
This hunters knows our Forest in and out. Some of them travel for days on hunting expedition into the tick forrest. They meet these criminals in their camps. They travel with powerful fortifications spiritually.
when General 0lusegun Obasanjo said, we should storm South Africa during the apartheid regime with African bomb, he knew it exists. I believe it does too. At least my Bible tells me it does, when Moses visited pharaoh as commanded by God together with Aaron his brother to tell him to free his people, Moses did some Magic which included turning a Rod to snake. The Egyptian magicians (Babalawo) did likewise. Infact, the Bible records 5 or 6 magic which Moses did and was repeated by the Egyptians. Have you forgotten that woman at Endo that King Saul visited after the death of prophet Eli at the tick of the night to wake up prophet Eli, which she did?
Am not advocating the endorsement of voodooism to fight crime, but Iron sharpens iron, and those who knows what am talking about will agree with my point, that, our hunters don’t hunt with ordinary Dane gun 0r seat at a table in a cozy office, but in the bush and these criminals hides in the bush like rats. Let hunters hunt them out like games.
Therefore, the proposed community policing system should be for the vigilante organisations as we presently have them in kogi state while the job of vigilante services should be left in the hands of hunters as we use to do.
finally, I will advocate that the present ongoing compilation of names of boys and girls or acquintancies for the job should be re addressed critically. Kogi state, for example, could amend the bill establishing the state vigilante services for such community policing. While hunters together with these vigilante groups be saddled with combing our bushes and high ways for bandits and criminals.
oloke Jesse Abayomi writes from Mopa in mopamuro local government area of kogi state. He is also a chairmanship aspirant for the executive chairmanship seat for mopamuro local government area.