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The recent, historic passage of the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish State Police by both the Senate and the House of Representatives is a watershed moment in Nigeria’s democratic aspiration and evolution. For decades, the progressive political bloc has passionately argued that a federated nation as vast, populous, and socio-culturally complex as Nigeria cannot possibly be effectively policed from a single, distant command center in Abuja. The legislative boldness demonstrated by the National Assembly, and of course, the President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not merely a political victory, no, I see it as a profound structural awakening. It formally acknowledges the undeniable reality that the decentralisation of our national security architecture is no longer a subject of academic debate—it is an absolute, existential necessity for the survival of our local communities.
We do not need to look far to understand precisely why this legislative reform is painfully overdue. The recent, heart-wrenching abductions of innocent schoolchildren and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area of Ogbomoso, alongside recurrent localised terror in the Ibarapa axis and other agrarian belts, have brutally exposed the severe operational limitations of a highly centralised policing framework. While our federal security agents are often courageous and patriotic, they are consistently handicapped by bureaucratic bottlenecks, delayed deployment protocols, and a fundamental lack of indigenous intelligence regarding our complex forest terrains. When armed bandits strike our remote communities, the response time dictated by distant command structures often leaves our vulnerable citizens dangerously exposed.
The institutionalisation of State Police is the ultimate progressive imperative for securing our grassroots. Over the past few years, we have seen glimpses of what localised intelligence can achieve through the commendable, albeit structurally limited, efforts of the Amotekun Corps and our local hunters. Transitioning these subnational security efforts into a fully constitutional, well-funded, and heavily equipped State Police force will fundamentally alter the security dynamics of Oyo State and other states. It means we will finally possess the institutional capacity to recruit indigenous personnel who deeply understand the local dialects, the vast topography of the Old Oyo National Park corridor, and the socio-cultural nuances required for proactive intelligence gathering and swift, tactical bush-combing.
I am, of course, fully aware of the lingering apprehensions among citizens and civil society that State Police formations could potentially be hijacked by overbearing state executives to hunt political opponents. These are valid democratic fears rooted in our political history. However, I am deeply encouraged by the rigorous safeguards and accountability mechanisms deliberately embedded in the newly passed bill—including strict oversight by the National Police Council and explicit constitutional prohibitions against deploying the force to suppress political dissent. In our pursuit of a “Realistic Tomorrow” for Oyo State, we must demand absolute institutional maturity from our incoming political leadership. State power must be wielded strictly as a protective shield for the lives, properties, and farmlands of our people, and never as a weapon of political vendetta.
I look forward as this monumental constitutional amendment progresses to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for mandatory ratification, I strongly urge the Oyo State House of Assembly to be at the absolute forefront of its swift passage. We must collectively push this bill over the final legislative finish line so that the President can assent to it without delay. Securing our state is the foundational prerequisite for every other developmental agenda we have envisioned. We cannot logically discuss mechanised agriculture, direct foreign investment, or educational advancement if our farmers cannot access their fields and our children cannot sit safely in their classrooms. The time to firmly domesticate our security is now, and history will judge us by how decisively we embrace this moment to protect our own.
~ Dr. Adewale Kolapo Kareem (AKK)
Former Oyo State Governorship Aspirant
APC… PROGRESS!
AKK! Aseyori ni tiwa
AKK!! Ajọṣe, Ajoje
AKK!!! A Task That Must Be Done.
Wednesday, July 1 2026.
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