Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged Nigerian leaders to broaden the national debate on insecurity beyond the proposed creation of state police, insisting that deeper constitutional restructuring is required to address the country’s governance challenges.
In an open letter shared on Monday, she addressed President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the public, arguing that the current security crisis reflects structural weaknesses in the federation rather than a policing gap alone.
Ezekwesili said the renewed push for state police has reopened a critical national conversation, but warned that it risks diverting attention from more fundamental issues affecting state capacity and institutional performance.
“The Tinubu administration’s renewed push for State Police has reopened one of the most consequential public policy debates in Nigeria’s democratic history.”
She noted that insecurity in the country has reached alarming levels, citing kidnapping, terrorism, banditry and violent extremism as evidence of a system under strain.
According to her, these challenges have overwhelmed the existing centralised policing structure.
“The country’s security architecture is failing. Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, violent extremism, communal conflicts and organised criminality have overwhelmed the capacity of a centrally controlled police force to secure lives and property across a country of more than 230 million people,” she stated.
While acknowledging public support for decentralised policing, she argued that it does not address the root causes of instability. “Yet the fact that State Police is necessary does not mean it is sufficient.”
Ezekwesili stressed that Nigeria’s insecurity is tied to broader governance and constitutional issues, not simply law enforcement deficiencies.
“The security crisis is real, but it is not fundamentally a policing crisis. It is the manifestation of a deeper constitutional, governance and political economy crisis that has steadily eroded state capacity, weakened accountability and undermined the effectiveness of public institutions.”
She also pointed to survey findings indicating widespread public concern over safety, including high levels of kidnapping and insecurity across communities, describing them as evidence of declining trust in state institutions.
According to her, Nigeria’s constitutional structure concentrates too much authority at the federal level, limiting the effectiveness of governance at subnational levels.
“At the heart of the problem lies a constitutional order that concentrates excessive authority, fiscal resources and political power at the centre.”
She added that while Nigeria operates a federal system in name, its structure remains heavily centralised in practice.
“What Nigerians often describe as federalism today is therefore, in many respects, a unitary system wearing federal clothing.”
Ezekwesili maintained that policing reform must be considered alongside wider constitutional adjustments, warning against treating state police as a standalone solution.
“The proper national conversation is not ‘State Police or no State Police.’ The proper conversation is whether Nigeria is prepared to redesign a constitutional order that has concentrated too much power at the centre.”
She concluded that only a comprehensive restructuring agenda could meaningfully address insecurity, economic stagnation and weak public service delivery, which she described as interconnected outcomes of the same systemic weaknesses.
“Nigeria does not merely need a new policing architecture. It needs a comprehensive restructuring agenda anchored in a new constitutional settlement.”
