President Muhammadu Buhari is of the opinion that state police is not an option for the nation.
President Buhari made the remark in an exclusive interview with Channels Television which is scheduled to air today (Wednesday).
Several Governors have called for state police as a way to solve insecurity across Nigeria. The Federal Government currently controls the policing system in the country.
The President alluded to the propensity for Governors to abuse their powers as his argument against state police.
“State police is not an option,” he said. “Find out the relationship between local government and the Governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the Governor.”
Traditional Rulers
President Buhari while talking about the level of insecurity in Nigeria, said that traditional rulers must play a huge role in bringing peace to the communities.
He also advocated for more dialogue in solving the farmer-herder clashes recorded across the country.
“The role of traditional rulers must not be undermined, because in their areas they know who is who, even by families, not to even talk of individuals,” he said.
“So, we have to revert to that system for us to have effective security in the localities.
“For example, there were two Governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo state and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighbouring farms, and eating the crops; I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations. Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong, why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders.”
