I have three inter-related historical and contemporary concerns. The first is our colonial and immediate post-independence experience with Native Authority Police established, for example, in Northern Region. The Police were instruments of reactionary local despots.
Anyone who disagreed with those in control of the police could be banished in the land. Opposition political parties found it extremely difficult to operate.
Permits for holding political rallies were denied. The police became synonymous with the state and vice versa. Individual liberties and rights were trampled upon. All forms of trumped up charges were brought against individuals for no other reason but for belonging to different political parties.
The second related point is the experience of state electoral commissions. Most Nigerians initially supported the idea of State Electoral Independent Commission, SIEC. However, the Justice Uwais Commission reported an overwhelming support for scrapping of SIEC.
This opinion came from every corner of this country and irrespective of political parties. What has changed with few years of our electoral experience? It is the reality that it is almost impossible for opposition political parties to win any local elections because of state governments control of the SIECs. Of course there are exceptions and they are few and in-between.
The position of Nigerians is instructive because the Uwais report was an aftermath of the shambolic elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. One would have expected Nigerians to have called for the abrogation of INEC. However, the opposite was the position of Nigerians-that even local elections should be conducted by INEC.
If we combine the power of policing with that of conducting elections, one can only imagine the type of elections that will be conducted, and the fate of individual freedoms, liberties and rights. Given the state of insecurity occasioned by ethnic and religious violence it is not exaggeration to say that minority ethnic and religious groups will feel very unsafe to be protected by a police that is dominated by majority ethnic and religious groups.
For example, will Christians feel safe to be protected in a police barrack which is dominated by Muslims and vice versa. In fact, minority groups will not even dare to seek for protection in offices and barracks of the police. Even now there are allegations of security agents taking side during ethnic and religious conflicts.
A third reason is financial implications. Let me acknowledge that many state governments do support police formations in their jurisdictions.
Without state governments’ support, most police formations would have been worst than they are now. It is safe to say that it is the support of the states and the N20 extortion on our roads that enable the police to provide even the current level of service. However, setting up state police has very important financial implications which many states cannot afford.
Many proponents of state police have argued that not every state must have its police formation if it doesn't want to or if it can't afford to. This argument doesn't reflect our realities. It down-plays the role of the police as an instrument of coercion that has been abused.
Every governor would rather have any type of state police so that he or she can intimidate and kill opponents. Secondly, it doesn't take into consideration the "irrationality" or bounded rationality of our politicians. Take, for example, the issue of state universities.
Because education is on the concurrent list, probably every state has now a university. We know that it doesn't make sense for many of these states, including mine, Yobe, to establish a state university because they don't need one. Many of these state universities are severely underfunded. In fact, even federal universities are severely underfunded.
What many of these states need are quality secondary and primary schools and not universities.
We should also ask ourselves if we are applying a correct medicine to a problem. No doubt that the quest for state police has been with us for a very long time but it became strident as a result of the current insurgency.
•Mr KOLE SHETTIMA is Director of the MacArthur Foundation.
