issa aremu Last Thursday (9th July 2026) Arise TV hosted a Dialogue on building national consensus for state police and national security. Commendably timely. It undoubtedly promoted the much needed literacy about the imperatives of state/community/decentralized policing as distinct from the current assumed centralized National Police Force (NPF). At times like this, Arise Dialogue offered a worthy platform for reaffirmations and even some rethinking of positions by key state actors. Almost all panelists are state governors and legislators. The conclusions of the Dialogue would enrich the rapidly advancing process audaciously initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. On June 24, 2026, he transmitted the historic executive bill aimed at moving policing to the Concurrent Legislative List and establishing a dual federal-state policing structure via the proposed State Police Bill (Constitution Alteration Bill). Critical takeaways from Arise platform include Safeguards Against Political Abuse, Technological Integration through smart security infrastructure and imperatives of Local Government Autonomy and Funding. The Platform further reopens the healthy debate about how to improve on our approaches to inevitable reforms. The Dialogue reveals that gradual, inclusive and consensual dispositions to reforms could benefit from the inputs by all stakeholders resulting in their collective ownership and support. The on-going police security sector reform just as the just concluded tax reform rightly departs from the shock therapy approach that heralded Fuel Subsidy Removal and the Foreign Exchange Unification. However as a participant-observer at the Dialogue, I bear witness to an elitist top-down consensus building towards an emerging “Nigeria-security/state”. And why not? More than ever before, quantity as much as quality control of the existing national policing structure capture the imagination of policy makers and citizens alike. What with the legacy of glamorized insecurity challenges like insurgencies, robberies, banditry ? With hundreds of abductions yearly, (a significant number of victims being schoolchildren and rural working community citizens, the most recent being the rescued students and teachers of Oyo state after a 56-day in captivity), the overarching protection of citizens from both internal and external security threats cannot be overstated. In any case, notwithstanding the discordant views about the efficacy of the Constitution, every body is at home with Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended: that the “security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. And that is the real issue! The Arise Dialogue commendably threw up a bagful of policy ideas almost repetitively on policing but inexplicably almost nothing on the welfare and development component of Section 14(2)(b. Are we for a developmental or police state? Nigeria is not a debating society. The promise of independence in 1960 was to reverse century long British colonial underdevelopment. Security undoubtedly is a critical success factor for a developing Nigeria. But it is the means, the end is growth and Development as a necessary precondition for poverty and crime eradication. The founding fathers (and mothers) were clear on this. Which explains why after lowering the Union Jack, in 1960 they launched in earnest Development Plans in quick successions: First National Development Plan (1962–1968), Second National Development Plan (1970–1974), Third National Development Plan (1975–1980) and Fourth National Development Plan (1981–1985). Indeed the Second National Development Plan (1970–1974) was revolutionary. It Introduced five core national objectives (enshrined in both 1979 and 1999 Constitutions ) “targeted post-Civil War reconstruction and balanced rural-urban development” .The five core national objectives namely “A united, strong, and self-reliant nation:.A great and dynamic economy: A just and egalitarian society:A land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens: A free and democratic society” added up to a compulsory mantra of undergraduates of Economics and social sciences in the then fast developing Nigeria of 70s and 80s. 1999 constitution actually emphasizes security and welfare within the context of the broader inherited legacy of national Development Agenda. Two Core Constitutional Provisions are relevant here for national security. First , all government powers and authority are derived from the people, and that the protection of citizens’ lives and property alongside the provision of basic needs remains the fundamental duty of the state. Secondly on Social and Economic Welfare: Chapter II under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, the constitution directs the state to ensure: Adequate means of livelihood and suitable emplo
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