By Oludare Ogunlana
In our opinion, the suspension of the NURTW in Oyo State is a military approach which has been applied several times without any meaningful result. The people Oyo State would have loved to see a clear cut breakaway from the past ineffective problem solving method that has been applied several times without results. Of course, the approach of the government to this problem should have been a combination of a political solution and effective law enforcement which has been lacking.
There is no doubt in the fact that the major reason that makes the crisis to drag all these while was as a result of lack of political will on the part of government to resolve the problem and also the partisanship of the law enforcement agencies couple with the lack of quick response from police and politicization of intelligence report that could have been used detect and deter the threats of the so called criminals among members of the road transport union who are always bend at committing crimes for their selfish reasons. We need to reiterate the fact that the inability of the previous government and the law enforcement agency to recognize and abide by the ruling of the competent Court of Law has contributed immensely to the ongoing violence in the State.
We may also ask that we were members of the Nigerian Police Force for over five hours of which these hoodlums operated unhindered at Iwo Road? Once again, the Nigerian youth became the first victim of ineffective security system and policy failure of government as one of them,(Dr. Auwal Shanono) a final year medical student of Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU) and President of Nigerian Medical Students Association fell by the bullet of blood thirsty gangsters shielding under the umbrella of the NURTW.
The reality is that the response of the Police to crimes has been very poor and the usual increasing police presence at the crime scene on the instructions of the Oyo State Commissioner of Police after the ugly event might have already occurred is stupidly reactive and contravene the newly adopted proactive problem solving oriented policing of the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Therefore, the commissioner of police and the Oyo State political leaders must be held responsible for the lost lives and properties of innocent citizens. We need not to repeat the fact that as criminal activity increases, so does the need for: (1) more pro-active crime prevention strategies; (2) the adequate availability of police patrol; (3) prompt police response; (4) the processing of crime reports; (4) more investigation time; (5) more officer court time; (6) more record keeping and analysis activities; and in the case of violence (7) increases officer safety risks.
Moreover, the research findings have strongly supported the fact that how police commands strategically deploy police officers to prevent and counter crime is what that makes the difference. Simply increasing the number of patrol officers to do more random preventative patrol units will only attain more random results. Strategies such as repeat (targeted) offender programs, directed patrol, saturation patrol, “Weed and Seed”, and in some cases organizing neighborhoods and businesses to prevent crime, and do effective problem solving to address the root causes of crime, are far more promising approaches whereby police departments can effect more arrests and reduce crime.
As the new Governor of the State, as a man of integrity with enormous democratic credentials, the social response to such crime should have been to identify and deal with the causes of the criminal behavior; where possible, to immediately set up a committee to study the root cause of the problem, studies the court rules as regards to the leadership of the union. In addition, assist and encourage the union with a new constitution and motivate the union to abide by the constitution of the union. Also, reform individual lawbreakers among them and make them into productive citizens; and most importantly to punish people that engaged in criminal acts in order to deter others from committing similar crimes. People will not break the law once there is an assurance of severe punishment from the government. The new government must not take sides with any group and must be ready to exercise power. In order to exercise power, the state must be capable of carrying out threats. Doing this requires possessing the instruments of power. In traditional terms, these instruments are divided into three categories: Diplomatic (or political), economic, and strict law enforcement.
In conclusion, the continuous crisis in Oyo State is as a result of leadership failure without the exemption of the Nigerian Police that lacked the strong will to enforce the law. The lawlessness in our law enforcement agencies in Oyo State is even more worrisome than that of the NURTW. There is no doubt in the fact that what is lacking in Oyo state for several years is effective and responsible leadership that can motivate others to behave like responsible citizens. Oyo State in the past lack a virtuous leader and this is the type of leadership that Senator Abiola Ajimobi should provide at this point in time. T'ai Kung once argued that “the fortune and misfortune of the State lie with the ruler, not with the seasons of heaven. “If a leader lack moral worth, then the State will be in danger and the people in turbulence”. On the other hand, if the leader is a worthy, the State will be at peace and the people well ordered.
Oludare Ogunlana is an Intelligence Analyst and President of the Global Alternative Agenda, GAA
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