Ezekwesili argues state police alone won't fix Nigeria's insecurity, calls for constitutional restructuring
Former Education Minister Obiageli Ezekwesili told President Tinubu and national leaders today that creating state police won't solve Nigeria's insecurity crisis, arguing it mistakes symptoms for the real disease. She shared an open letter stating banditry, kidnapping and terrorism have overwhelmed the central police force protecting over 230 million Nigerians.
Citing Afrobarometer data, Ezekwesili noted 79% of Nigerians see kidnapping as a serious national problem, 33% personally know kidnapping victims from the last five years, and 63% felt unsafe in their homes or neighbourhoods recently. She stressed these reflect a "profound crisis of state effectiveness" beyond just policing failures.
The core issue, she argues, is Nigeria's flawed constitutional structure that concentrates too much power, money and authority at the federal level. Despite calling itself a federation, Nigeria operates as a unitary system where the Exclusive Legislative List gives the federal government monopoly over 68 items including police. Ezekwesili insists the real question isn't who controls police but whether Nigeria's constitutional architecture remains fit for purpose after decades of eroded state capacity and weakened accountability.
Will you accept that decentralizing police alone satisfies Nigeria's security needs, or do you believe fundamental constitutional restructuring is necessary to address the root causes of banditry, kidnapping and declining public safety?