Between Police and Developmental State

issa aremu

Last Thursday (9th July 2026)  Arise TV hosted a Dialogue on building national consensus for state police and national security. Commendably timely.  It undoubtedly promoted the much needed literacy about the imperatives of state/community/decentralized policing as distinct from the current assumed centralized National Police Force (NPF). At times like this, Arise Dialogue offered  a worthy  platform for reaffirmations and even some rethinking of positions by key state actors. Almost all  panelists are state governors and legislators. The  conclusions  of the Dialogue would enrich the rapidly advancing process audaciously initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. On June 24, 2026, he transmitted the historic executive bill aimed at moving policing to the Concurrent Legislative List and establishing a dual federal-state policing structure via  the proposed  State Police Bill (Constitution Alteration Bill).  Critical takeaways from Arise platform include Safeguards Against Political Abuse, Technological Integration through smart security infrastructure and imperatives of Local Government Autonomy and  Funding.

The Platform  further reopens the healthy debate  about how to improve on our approaches to inevitable reforms. The Dialogue reveals  that gradual, inclusive  and consensual dispositions to reforms could benefit from the inputs by all stakeholders resulting in their collective ownership and support.  The on-going  police security sector reform just as the just concluded tax reform rightly departs from the shock therapy approach that heralded Fuel Subsidy Removal and the Foreign Exchange Unification.

However as  a participant-observer at the Dialogue, I bear witness to an elitist top-down consensus building towards  an emerging “Nigeria-security/state”. And why not? More than ever before, quantity as much as quality control of the existing national policing structure capture the imagination of policy makers and citizens alike. What with the legacy of glamorized insecurity challenges like insurgencies, robberies, banditry ? With hundreds of abductions yearly, (a significant number of victims being schoolchildren and rural working community citizens, the most recent being the rescued students and teachers of Oyo state after a 56-day in captivity), the overarching protection of citizens from both internal and external security threats cannot be overstated.

In any case, notwithstanding the discordant views about the efficacy of the Constitution, every body is at home with  Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended: that the “security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. And that is the real issue!  The Arise Dialogue commendably threw up a bagful of policy ideas almost repetitively  on policing but inexplicably almost nothing on the welfare and development component of Section 14(2)(b.

Are we  for a developmental or  police state? Nigeria is not a debating society. The promise of independence in 1960 was to reverse century long British colonial underdevelopment. Security undoubtedly is a critical success factor for a developing Nigeria. But it is the means, the end is growth and Development as a necessary precondition for poverty and crime eradication. The founding fathers (and mothers) were clear on this. Which explains why after lowering the Union Jack, in 1960 they launched in earnest Development Plans in quick successions: First National Development Plan (1962–1968), Second National Development Plan (1970–1974), Third National Development Plan (1975–1980)  and Fourth National Development Plan (1981–1985). Indeed the Second National Development Plan (1970–1974) was revolutionary. It Introduced five core national objectives (enshrined in both 1979 and 1999 Constitutions ) “targeted post-Civil War reconstruction and balanced rural-urban development” .The five core national objectives namely “A united, strong, and self-reliant nation:.A great and dynamic economy: A just and egalitarian society:A land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens: A free and democratic society” added up to a compulsory mantra of undergraduates of Economics  and social sciences in the then fast developing Nigeria of 70s and 80s. 1999 constitution actually emphasizes security and welfare within the context of the broader inherited legacy of national Development Agenda.  Two Core Constitutional Provisions are relevant here for national security. First , all government powers and authority are derived from the people, and that the protection of citizens’ lives and property alongside the provision of basic needs remains the fundamental duty of the state. Secondly on Social and Economic Welfare: Chapter II under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, the constitution directs the state to ensure: Adequate means of livelihood and suitable employment for all citizens. Just and humane working conditions. Adequate medical and health facilities.Equal pay for equal work. Apart from occasional references to new fashionable buzzwords:“kinetic and non-kinetic” by some panelists, almost  all discussants were mute on socio economic factors of mass youth unemployment and unemployability, poverty and new illiteracy that fuel criminality of varying hues. To tame factors that fuel wholesale insecurity, we just must name them.   And show what we done to address the problems. The governor of Zamfara State Dauda Lawal, a panelist disclosed he bought as many as 500 vehicles for the police since his inauguration on May 29, 2023. He is certainly more than prepared for the state police if he had expended as much on Federal police. But that is assuming security is  all about spending billions on vehicles for police men who suffer wage income poverty and crisis of pension after work.   “High poverty rates (exceeding 70%), widespread illiteracy, and a lack of economic opportunities for young people make rural populations highly vulnerable to recruitment by criminal gangs” fuel insecurity in Zamfara state than shortage of vehicles for the police . The star of the Arise Dialogue was the veteran Local Police statesman- activist BUKAR USMAN.He generously distributed 400 copies of his published “Case of Local Police” for those who still care to read. Bukar Usman is strong on  nostalgia for post-colonial “era of community policing at its best: simple, inexpensive and yet effective”.  Bukar USMAN’s case  however suffers the same limitations of security discourse devoid of Development context. You cannot be romantic with crime- free Northern Nigeria under the legendary Premier AHMADU Bello (1954–1966) without contextualizing the development agenda of Northern Nigeria which he commendably championed. He focused on rapid modernization, through industrialization, regional self-reliance, and educational advancement. Aggressive Education policy frontally tackled mass illiteracy through  secular and integrated Koranic schools. The Premier founded the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and  Kaduna Polytechnic to produce indigenous professionals. He also established financial and development drivers like Northern Nigeria Development Commission and the Bank of the North to industrialize the region and empower local entrepreneurs. All the above created mass decent full employment that kept youths out of criminality. Security,whether local or regional, is indispensable to achieve the development agenda. Let’s get it right. The recent security challenges once again raise the noise level of the importance of the Development Agenda for Nigeria.Ungoverned spaces without factories are inevitable sanctuaries for insurgents and criminals.  Nigeria is undoubtedly under policed. But much more worrisome is Nigeria’s  economic under-performance with growth rates lagging behind population rate and mounting grafts/grabs’ rates. Hundreds of thousands of police state and Federal policemen cannot halt the tide of crimes associated with unemployed and un-employable youths. Replace light arms in the hands of children out of schools with working  tools on farms and factories. The governor of Zamfara State Dauda Lawal, should revive scores of cotton farms and Zamfara textile mills which once employed thousands of direct and indirect youths and kept them off crimes. Zamfara has a comparative advantage in the Cotton value chain  through farming, ginning, spinning, weaving, and sewing  that is vital for boosting economic growth and creating jobs in agricultural regions.

The governor of Ogun State Prince Dapo Abiodun, a panelist rightly established the nexus between food security crisis and general insecurity. I agree with Senator Adams Oshiomhole that President Tinubu  is an uncommon  statesman committed to reform the police as an instrument for peace and security for development through phased devolution to the states. Some Presidents would not let go. But even at that it is because President Tinubu prioritizes security within the context of Renewed Hope Development Agenda that focuses on eight areas:Reforming the Economy:National Security, Food Security:Energy and Natural Resources: Infrastructure:Education and Health: Diversification: and Good Governance: To help the President and Nigeria succeed in managing the security challenge, therefore, there is the urgent need for a pan-Nigerian, non- partisan commitment and consensus building to the Development Agenda with Security as a critical success factor! President Tinubu recently unveiled the Renewed Hope National Development Plan (2026–2030), a five-year economic blueprint targeting a $1 trillion economy by 2030, a successor Plan to the previous Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025). Key Focus Areas include double-digit GDP growth and Social Protection. The plan is also designed to achieve the long-term objectives of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 of which is national security and policing.

•Issa Aremu is a Member National Institute Kuru Jos/ Direct General Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin.