Northern politicians not ready for State Police – Mahdi Shehu

Public Affairs commentator, Mahdi Shehu has said that whilemany Nigerians agree that creating state police is necessary, he doubts whetherNorthern politicians are truly prepared to support it beyond public statements. He made the comments in a post shared on X on Friday, wherehe accused political leaders in the North of failing to invest in key sectorsthat could have prevented the security crisis currently affecting the region. According to him, “State police are more than desirablegiven the commitment of stakeholders. But I have my doubts if Northernpoliticians are ready for the state beyond the oral demand.” He said many of the security challenges that later spreadacross the country started as local problems but became national disastersbecause leaders in the region continuously and deliberately refused to makeinvestments into critical sectors. “This is considering how they allowed local security issues blownand snowballed into national catastrophe on account of their continuous anddeliberate refusal to make investments into critical sectors.” Shehu criticised what he described as years of misguidedspending by Northern politicians on projects that bring little or nodevelopment to their communities. He argued that instead of prioritising security, education,and health, politicians focused on elite projects that do not stimulate growth,listing several examples such as: “High administrative costs at government houses, Buildingand renovating government lodges and guest houses, Constructing classroomswithout teachers, Renovating hospitals with no drugs and medical staff,Spending billions on luxury vehicles like Prado SUVs, Buying cars fortraditional rulers and renovating palaces and sponsoring pilgrimage trips formyopic and selfish reasons. He warned that such spending habits show that the politicalclass may not be committed to the serious groundwork required to establisheffective state police.

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