Eradiri Applauds Tinubu’s Political Will On  State Police, Tasks Governors To Tackle Insecurity

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Former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for demonstrating the political will to advance the long-debated establishment of state police, while urging governors and local government chairmen to provide the leadership needed to tackle insecurity.

Eradiri, a former Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths and later Environment, described the proposed state police initiative as a long-overdue reform that previous administrations lacked the courage to pursue.

He commended President Tinubu for taking the decisive step to actualise the proposal, saying the move reflected the President’s vision and resolve.
“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,” Eradiri said.

He added that the President had demonstrated similar courage in driving reforms in other critical sectors, particularly the energy sector.

While welcoming the initiative, Eradiri cautioned that creating state police alone would not end Nigeria’s security challenges unless governors and local government chairmen took responsibility for addressing the underlying issues fueling insecurity.

According to him, the country’s security crisis is rooted more in poor leadership at the subnational level than in the absence of state police.

He argued that many governors have failed to confront the fundamental drivers of insecurity, including unemployment, ineffective local governance, and inadequate investment in security infrastructure, stressing that stronger leadership at the state and local government levels is essential for any policing reform to succeed.

He said, “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.”

The former IYC leader stressed the need for disciplined and competent leadership at the state and local government levels, urging governors to invest in policing, infrastructure and economic development to create employment opportunities for young people.

He blamed abuse of power, corruption and incompetence among political leaders for worsening insecurity, insisting that governance at the grassroots had become ineffective.

“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,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with other countries, Eradiri noted that local governments elsewhere drive development, lamenting that Nigeria had failed to utilise its grassroots institutions effectively.

He also expressed concern over the declining agricultural sector, warning that insecurity would persist unless the state and local governments tackled leadership failures and revived the economy.

Eradiri questioned the preparedness of states to operate their own police formations, asking whether adequate training facilities and incentives existed for recruits.

He urged governors to strengthen support for existing security structures by improving welfare, providing modern technology such as drones and other equipment, and enhancing the operational capacity of local vigilante groups.

“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.