By Musa Bakare
Nations do not become great by clinging to outdated structures. They become great by confronting uncomfortable realities and redesigning their institutions to meet the demands of their time.
History remembers leaders not for preserving broken systems but for possessing the courage to reform them.
For more than six decades, Nigeria has operated one of the world’s most centralized policing systems, while local governments, the tier of government closest to the people have remained financially and administratively constrained.
The consequences are evident across the federation. Insecurity has outpaced the capacity of a single centrally controlled police force, while grassroots development has suffered because local governments lack genuine autonomy.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves recognition for demonstrating the political courage to reopen the national conversation on restructuring Nigeria’s security architecture and strengthening local government autonomy.
These are not merely political reforms; they are nation building imperatives.
Crime is local. Terrorism begins somewhere. Banditry takes root in communities, not in distant capitals. Kidnappers operate on local roads. Farmers are attacked on their farms in rural communities.
In almost every case, the first intelligence about criminal activity resides within the affected community long before it reaches Abuja.
This is why many successful federations have embraced decentralized policing.
Within Africa, countries such as Kenya and Liberia have adopted security arrangements that give provincial or county authorities greater roles in community safety and policing coordination.
While their systems differ, they reflect a common principle: effective security requires governance that is closer to the people.
Nigeria’s current arrangement places enormous responsibility on a single federal police institution expected to secure hundreds of millions of citizens spread across thousands of communities.
No matter how dedicated its officers are, such a highly centralized system inevitably faces operational limitations.
The answer is not to weaken the Nigeria Police Force but to strengthen national security through constitutional reforms that establish complementary state police services under clearly defined constitutional safeguards.
Transparent recruitment, independent oversight, judicial accountability, professional training, and strict adherence to human rights standards can help ensure that state police serve the people rather than political interests.
The same logic applies to local government autonomy.
No nation develops from the top down. Development begins where people live. Roads, markets, primary healthcare, sanitation, rural schools, agriculture, and community infrastructure are local responsibilities that require local authority backed by local accountability.
A local government that cannot freely exercise its constitutional responsibilities cannot effectively deliver development.
Genuine autonomy must therefore go hand in hand with transparency, fiscal discipline, citizen participation, and robust anti corruption safeguards.
President Tinubu has significantly increased financial allocations to the states. It is therefore both morally and constitutionally imperative that state governments cease the practice of withholding funds meant for local government administration.
Resources intended for grassroots development must reach the grassroots if meaningful progress is to be achieved.
President Tinubu’s reform agenda recognizes a timeless truth: excessive concentration of power often produces excessive inefficiency.
A true federation thrives when responsibilities are appropriately shared, institutions are strengthened, and every level of government is held accountable for measurable results.
Nigeria’s unity will not be weakened by responsible decentralization. On the contrary, it will be strengthened when citizens experience responsive governance, improved security, and tangible development within their own communities.
The future belongs to nations that possess the wisdom to reform before crisis compels them to do so.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated the courage to initiate conversations that previous administrations often avoided.
The responsibility now rests with Nigerians to ensure that these reforms are implemented with constitutional safeguards, institutional integrity, and an unwavering commitment to national unity.
A stronger federation requires stronger states, stronger local governments, and stronger institutions. That is the pathway to a safer, more prosperous, and more united Nigeria.
– Musa Bakare, a political analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
