Nigeria Needs Restructuring, Not Just State Police, Says Ezekwesili

Former Minister of Education Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili has said that while state police may be necessary, it is not the ultimate solution to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

Reacting to renewed discussions on state police under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Ezekwesili said the country risks addressing symptoms rather than the root causes of its challenges.

She acknowledged that public support for state police is understandable given the rising levels of insecurity nationwide.

According to her, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and organised crime have exposed the limitations of a centrally controlled policing system in a nation of over 230 million people.

However, she argued that Nigeria’s security crisis is fundamentally linked to flaws within the country’s constitutional and governance structure.

“The central question before Nigeria should not be whether governors ought to control police forces. The more important question is whether the constitutional architecture governing the Nigerian federation remains fit for purpose.”

Ezekwesili criticised what she described as excessive centralisation under the 1999 Constitution, noting that the Federal Government retains control over numerous critical sectors through the Exclusive Legislative List.

She said policing is only one of several functions concentrated at the centre, adding that meaningful reform requires a broader redistribution of powers among the federal, state and local levels of government.

“State police will be necessary. But necessity does not make it the solution to a dysfunctional Nigeria.”

The former minister traced the concentration of powers to decades of military rule, arguing that the current constitutional framework largely preserved a command-and-control system inconsistent with genuine federalism.

She further linked insecurity, economic underperformance and weak public service delivery to the same structural deficiencies.

Ezekwesili called for a comprehensive restructuring agenda that would rebalance legislative powers, strengthen fiscal federalism, guarantee equal citizenship and encourage productivity and competition among subnational governments.

She also renewed her call for a citizens-driven constitutional process and a referendum on a new constitution.

“Restructuring the dysfunctional territory and system that our beloved country has become is the bold conversation and action that Nigerians can no longer afford to postpone. There are no other viable alternatives left for us at this point.”

The SPPG founder said she would soon release another public memo outlining immediate steps toward achieving constitutional restructuring in Nigeria.

Africans Angle News