[b]Why we need state police, by Fashola

By Our Reporter23/08/2012 00:00:00

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Gov Fashola



What is your reaction to the agitation for state police in the country?

When I hear these questions, they suggest to me something is wrong with Nigeria and nothing is wrong with Nigeria. It diminishes me as a Nigerian when you ask me if I can manage a police institution. Let’s subject it to experimentation: Do we manufacture cars here? Don’t we drive cars? So, it’s like saying don’t give them cars because they won’t know what to do with it? If there are excesses within a system, there must be a self-curing mechanism within that system to deal with the excesses. Recently, we saw a shooting incident in Colorado. Who was on top of the case? It was the state police. Later, they called in the FBI when they saw that it was high wire explosives. And that’s what we are saying that let the state police be here, it doesn’t mean the federal police won’t exist. If you are running a system that is not working, have the courage and confidence to change it, knowing that if it doesn’t work, you’ll change it again.

Does that mean that those opposing state police have no genuine reason?

People forget that this federal police was not what we had before. We used to have a regional police system and it was applicable in a federal environment. It was alleged that some people abused it. But some people found the courage then to change to a central system because it was not working. Over 40 years after, that central system is now not working again, so, you are saying we should forever continue to say, well, they killed one person today, kidnapped one in the afternoon, murdered one in the evening but we must not touch what those people did 40 years ago? And we are expecting that it would change by itself or continue to simply pray?

I can’t be persuaded by that. If we changed it and it doesn’t work, we’ll find something else. The Georgian people for example, when their police wasn’t working disbanded the whole thing. For me, that’s extreme treatment because given what I’d done with the police here, I know if they have half the opportunity, they’ll do even better. We didn’t change the police here; we simply provided them with resource and opportunity. So, it means that they can work if they have the opportunity.[/b]
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/politics/58684-why-we-need-state-police-by-fashola.html

Fashola buys bullet proof vests,patrol vehicles,patrol power bikes,Armoured personnel Carriers etc.yet some silly corrupt old-people like former inspector-general of police including Tafa balogun and surprisingly the current IGP opposes the creation of state police!

Methinks,some people just want to continue to waste the lives of young nigerians through the current antiquated police system while they continue with the stealing of police funds.Central Policing must be resisted!