Former Kano Governor Shekarau: State Police should be driven by communities, without ‘party thugs’

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, the former governor of Kano State, emphasized the importance of ensuring that the proposed establishment of state police is community-oriented.

He highlighted that involving community leaders in grassroots policing would help keep it independent of political party influences, particularly those associated with “party thugs.”

Shekarau shared these views during a speech at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) while attending the launch of a book titled ‘The Psychology of Growing Old: A Personal Experience for both Young and Old’ authored by Sehinde Arogbafa.

Emphasizing the significance of intelligence gathering in security, the former governor stressed the need to prioritize this over just relying on advanced weaponry.

Holding the additional role of a former Minister of Education, Shekarau underscored the vital role of building strong connections between law enforcement bodies and local communities. He highlighted that a community-driven policing model could promote trust and collaboration between the police force and citizens.

“I prefer not to label it as state police because the common expectation is to see the typical Nigerian Police uniform at the state level, complete with firearms, equipment, armored vehicles, and so forth,” Shekarau remarked.

“That is not the objective. For example, the Hisbah Guards in Kano do not even carry weapons, yet they effectively maintain control, and people hold them in high regard.

“Hence, what we truly need is an approach that originates from the grassroots. The administration should structure a system where individuals at the grassroots can nominate those fit for the role. Allowing the government full control could lead to the infiltration of party thugs who may be utilized to oppress and intimidate the populace,” he explained.

“The Nigerian police and military cannot feasibly oversee the entirety of Nigeria. In reality, we have less than 400,000 police officers in Nigeria to supervise a population of 220 million,” he pointed out.

“Egypt, with a population of 80 million, employs four million police officers. How can we expect the Nigerian police to cover every corner of the country? It is simply not feasible,” he added.