A former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for showing the political will to push for state police, even as he warned that Nigeria’s security crisis runs far deeper than policing structures alone.
Eradiri, a trained engineer who also served as Commissioner for Youths and later Environment in Bayelsa State, said his professional background in engineering had shaped his belief that real solutions to insecurity require structural, not cosmetic, fixes — and that Tinubu had displayed uncommon vision and strength in areas where his predecessors lacked courage.
He described the state police proposal as a long-overdue reform.
“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,” he said.
He added that the President had shown similar determination in other sectors, particularly energy.
However, the engineer-turned-politician was quick to caution that state police would not, on its own, fix Nigeria’s security problems unless state and local government authorities stepped up with genuine leadership.
Eradiri argued that Nigeria’s insecurity is rooted more in poor governance at the state and local level than in the absence of a state police structure.
According to him, many governors have failed to tackle the real drivers of insecurity — unemployment, weak local governance, and poor investment in security infrastructure.
“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,” he said.
The former IYC leader, drawing on his engineering training to stress the importance of systems and groundwork over quick fixes, called for disciplined and competent leadership at the state and local levels. He urged governors to invest in policing, infrastructure, and economic development to create jobs for young people.
He blamed abuse of power, corruption, and incompetence among political leaders for worsening insecurity, insisting that grassroots governance 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.
Comparing Nigeria to other countries, Eradiri noted that local governments elsewhere drive development, lamenting that Nigeria has failed to properly utilise its grassroots institutions.
He also raised concerns about the declining agricultural sector, warning that insecurity would persist unless state and local governments addressed leadership failures and revived the economy.
Bringing an engineer’s eye for feasibility to the debate, Eradiri questioned the practical readiness of states to operate their own police formations, asking whether adequate training facilities and incentives exist for new recruits.
He urged governors to strengthen existing security structures by improving police welfare, providing modern technology such as drones, and boosting 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