As the debate on decentralizing policing intensifies, the Ndịgbo Worldwide Union has called for the return of regional policing in addressing the endless insecurity in the country as against state police.
The group therefore called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to prioritize constitutional amendments enabling regional police structures over piecemeal state-level experiments.
It equally called on all patriotic Nigerians to demand a return to the proven federal principles that once united and propelled us forward.
The made its position known in a statement issued by the Secretary of Ndi Igbo Worldwide Union (USA), Chief Charles Edemuzo, on behalf of the President.
The statement said the group affirmed that it “stands firmly with millions of Nigerians who are weary of endless insecurity, bloodshed, kidnappings, banditry, and the daily erosion of trust in our national institutions.”
While contending that state police is not the answer, the group advocated for regional police, modeled on the successful architecture of 1955–1966, as the minimum requirement for meaningful reform.
The statement read n part: “Nigeria’s most progressive, productive, and peaceful era occurred between 1955 and 1966, when the Northern, Western, and Eastern Regions operated with substantial autonomy, including their own regional police forces, explained that iIndigenous officers policed familiar terrain, spoke local languages, and drew on deep community knowledge.
This system fostered rapid development unmatched to this day: world-class universities, booming agriculture, industrial growth, and competitive regional governance that drove national prosperity.
The centralization imposed after 1966 dismantled this effective model, replacing it with a distant, overstretched national force often commanded by officers alien to the regions they serve.
The absurdity of dispatching a Fulani police commissioner—answerable solely to Abuja—to police Ibibio land, Igbo communities, or any unfamiliar cultural landscape is not just inefficient; it is a recipe for alienation, mistrust, and escalated insecurity.
Effective policing worldwide relies on local knowledge—language, customs, geography, and relationships—not remote directives from the centre..
It further argued that regional police would empower officers indigenous to their geopolitical zones to lead security efforts with cultural competence and community trust.
“Align policing with Nigeria’s natural federal structure (e.g., six zones: North West, North East, North Central, South East, South West, South-South), avoiding the fragmentation and abuse risks inherent in.
“Provide built-in checks against any single governor weaponizing police against political opponents or citizens and revive the competitive, development-driven federalism that once made Nigeria a beacon of progress in Africa.
It commend recent expert voices—including police reform analysts—who have echoed that regional formations offer a “balanced, realistic bridge to true federalism,” enhancing responsiveness without the chaos of hyper decentralization.
President Tinubu’s push for state police, while well-intentioned, diverts precious time and resources from this more viable path. Regionalism worked before; it can work again.
“Let it be clear: regional police is the minimum threshold for Nigeria to have any realistic chance of reversing insecurity and rebuilding unity. Failure to restore genuine regional autonomy in security and governance leaves self-determination as the only remaining option for peoples who can no longer endure systemic failure.
Credit: The Sun