Buhari, Osinbajo Make Case for State Police

Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta

President Muhamadu Buhari monday made case for state or community policing to tackle the internal security challenges facing the country.

President Buhari made the call in Abeokuta at the 20th memorial service of the first female industrialist in Nigeria and third Iyalode of Egbaland, Mrs Esther Bisoye Tejuoso.
He was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF), Babachir Lawal.
Buhari rued that the Nigerian Police has not been able to “resolve” the puzzle behind the murder of the matriarch of Tejuoso dynasty 20 years after her killing.

He therefore, called on Nigerians to be more committed to the “unity, security and progress” of the country.

Buhari said the enduring and honest legacies of the nation’s past heroes should inspire the rest of the living to be dedicated to progress and salvage Nigeria from from the current economic recession.

He described Bisoye as a “mentor and shinning light” to many, saying if the nation’s past leaders had the kind of “foresight, uprightness and magerial skills” the late female industrialist had, Nigeria probably would not be having the current economic trauma.

He said the legacies of the third Iyalode of Egbaland is a “reference point for Nigeria,” adding that her “midas touch is needed today” to also get the country’s economy back on the right track.

“If our leaders had demonstrated the foresight, uprightness and managerial skills of Chief Bisoye Tejuoso our economy would have been better.
“Our past leaders refused to save and diversify the economy. Chief Bisoye Tejuoso’s success story in business can serve as a roadmap on how we can come out of recession…
“She rewarded excellence and merit. She was a true heroin and a woman of courage. Her life should propel us to dedicate our lives more to the unity, progress and security of our country,” the President said.

Mrs. Tejuoso, mother of a prominent Egba traditional ruler, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, was said to have been assassinated by 10 gunmen in her Lagos home on the September 19, 1996.

However, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who recalled how the late industrialist gave him N12,000 in 1984 when his rented apartment in Lagos was gutted by fire, said Nigeria with a population of about 170million people cannot be adequately policed from Abuja Central Command.
According to him, “state police or something like community policing is the way to go” to tackle the nation’s security challenges.

Osinbanjo revealed that while there are less than 15,000 cases of conviction in Nigeria regarding criminal offences, they have 2.2million convicted criminals behind bars in the United States of America.

He said by that data on convicted criminals, it is either Nigeria has “more well behaved citizens or there is something wrong with the criminal justice system in the country.”
The vice-president, however, said that the administration justice in Nigeria must be properly looked into while the police should also deploy hi-tech to investigate and unravel crimes and their perpetrators.