PORT HARCOURT — Former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for demonstrating the political will to establish state police, but warned that the initiative alone will not end insecurity unless governors and local government chairmen provide effective leadership.
Eradiri, a former Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths and later Environment, described the proposed state police as a long-overdue reform that previous administrations lacked the courage to implement.
“I think it is better late than never. We are coming late on the issue of state police. It has been an issue Nigerians have been yearning for over the years. Nobody had mustered the political will to actualise it, but we want to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for having the political will to actualise it,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu had shown similar courage in pursuing reforms in other strategic sectors, particularly the energy sector.
While welcoming the proposed state police, Eradiri insisted that Nigeria’s security challenges stem largely from poor leadership at the state and local government levels rather than the absence of state policing.
“It is not just about the state police. From the local government to the state, the drivers of insecurity are those areas that the governors have failed to deal with. We don’t expect state police to perform any magic because it will not,” he stated.
According to him, governors must address unemployment, poor governance and inadequate investment in security infrastructure if the proposed policing system is to deliver meaningful results.
He also criticised the administration of local governments, describing them as mere centres for sharing public funds instead of engines of grassroots development.
“The strongest arm of government is the local government, but we have turned it into a settlement process. People just go there and, at the end of the month, share the money. This has to stop,” Eradiri declared.
He lamented that Nigeria had failed to harness the developmental potential of local governments, unlike many other countries where grassroots administrations drive economic growth and security.
The former IYC leader further expressed concern over the decline in agriculture, warning that insecurity would persist unless governments revived the economy and created jobs for young people.
Eradiri also questioned whether states were adequately prepared to operate their own police formations, stressing the need for proper training facilities, improved welfare packages and modern security equipment.
“Some governors are doing their best to support the police. The welfare, the environment they live in and the provision of technology like drones and other equipment must be provided to the state police,” he said.
