Should the Senate have its way, the ongoing recruitment of 10,000 policemen would use quotas based on local government areas. This bizarre twist is the culmination of intrigues and interference by the legislature in a responsibility reserved by law for the executive arm of government. The executive should resist the intrusion, stick with the laid-down procedures and conclude the assignment quickly and transparently.
To address the rising security challenges facing the country, the Federal Government had proposed to recruit 10,000 new hands into the Nigeria Police. It is also in fulfilment of a campaign promise by President Muhammadu Buhari to provide opportunities for the 24 per cent of our youths reported by the National Bureau of Statistics to be jobless.
It has been a keenly watched process, not least because cynical officials have used such recruitment in the past to extort money from applicants through fees and scratch cards. Politicians, including legislators, have also been accused of cornering the few available slots for their children, wards and associates. The Police Service Commission, which is handling the task, has mercifully been prevented this time from extortion.
The intrusion began when the Senate Committee on Police complained that the criteria being applied for the recruitment were “irregular.” It asked the PSC to suspend the recruitment, which the latter did. First, approval for the 10,000 new hires was given by Buhari over a year ago. Ordinarily, one would have welcomed the Senate intervention as a check on the PSC. But subsequent horse-trading among the senate committee, PSC and Police HQs has brought out the disturbing attempt to pervert the federal character principle. According to reports, the Senate has “instructed” the PSC to recruit nine youths from each of the 774 LGAs of the country. This represents the overturning of the long-established federal character practice where recruitment into the armed forces, police and paramilitary agencies is undertaken on the basis of state quotas. Years of northern-dominated military rule paved the way for unfair creation of LGs that today gives the 19 states of the North a big advantage compared to the South. The lopsidedness is revealed in the 44 LGs in Kano State and another 27 in its sister state of Jigawa that was carved out of it in 1991. Yet, Lagos with an estimated population of 21 million remains at 20.
LGs are not federating units; states are. The Senate and complicit officials dishonestly seek to beguile the unwary that it is promoting community policing, but their hypocrisy is exposed when it is considered that Bayelsa with all its security ills, has only eight LGs, meaning that if the illegitimate LG quota system is allowed, it will get far fewer policemen than Gombe, which has 11.
However, it is odd that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has swallowed the Senate’s excuse hook, line, and sinker, saying last week that recruitment would be done on LG basis. The argument for his capitulation is weak, since he anchors it on the number of LGAs in a state. Should the Nigerian Defence Academy now recruit on LG quotas?
In similar federations such as India and Malaysia, recruitment into the federal police is based on state quotas, not on the absurdity of local government areas. LGAs become relevant only when the much-needed state police system takes off and states can use LG quota system for their police formations. Nigerians are not deceived: this is a disingenuous ploy by legislators, government officials and vested interests to put their own nominees in the Force.
But when giving the order, Buhari had expressly mentioned the equality of states. Mike Okiro, Chairman of the PSC, had also earlier emphasised the urgent need to recruit constables, cadet inspectors and assistant superintendents of police with equal intake of cadets from each of the 36 states.
Nigeria continues to be ill-served by lazy, selfish and sectional lawmakers. It is surprising that Buhari, Dambazau and Okiro are surrendering their constitutional executive power to senators. The National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to pass laws and have oversight over executive bodies; but it does not have the power to take over the work of PSC or issue orders and redefine recruitment criteria outside the law. It cannot instruct the PSC or any other executive body.
Dambazau should declare his stand: we hope he will be objective and stand by equity, reason and national interest. The unity of Nigeria, fragile at the best of times, is constantly being tested by such brazen assaults on fairness and justice. Senators should be responsible and stop further alienation of significant sections of the polity by brazen manipulation.
The Nigeria Police needs urgent reforms and reorientation, featuring a new type of leadership. There should be an immediate independent staff audit since the police cannot even give an accurate head count. While Okiro, a former IG, says the Force has 286,901 personnel, the current IG said that the staff strength was 338,490 and required 116,510 more to reach its optimum. In the recent past, a figure of 370,000 police personnel had been bandied about. In this era of cost-saving, Buhari and the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, should demand a fool-proof staff audit before releasing funds to the Force.
The PSC should, in the meantime, ignore any illegal intrusion into its work and stick with the time-tested quota based on equal number of recruits from each of the 36 states.
