“Nigeria cannot secure 300,000 schools without state police” – Reno Omokri declares

Reno Omokri, former presidential aide, says Nigeria cannot effectively secure its schools without the adoption of state police by subnational governments.

Reacting to the recent abduction in Ogbomosho in a Facebook post, Omokri argued that the country’s security agencies lack the manpower required to protect all schools nationwide.

His words: “Without states buying into President Bola Tinubu’s State Police initiative, it will be impossible for Nigeria’s 230,000-man army to guard all the approximately 300,000 schools across the country.

“They can guard some. They cannot guard all. It is just an arithmetical reality that will not change, no matter how many invectives you hurl at me.”

Omokri said the numerical disparity between the size of the military and the number of schools underscores the need for decentralised policing.

“If our army has 230,000 active men and women, and our schools are over 300,000 distinct units, then how do you suggest we safeguard our schools without State Police?” he asked.

The former presidential aide also pointed to Nigeria’s porous borders and the challenges of securing them with existing security personnel.

“Our borders have been porous since colonial times, and it will take over a million active duty military and paramilitary personnel to police our borders 24/7, 365 days of the year.

“Nigeria currently does not have that many troops, and it will take time and money to build that number up gradually,” he stated.

Omokri said the Nigeria Police Force is already overstretched by its responsibilities across the country, stressing that alternative solutions to the recurring problem of school abductions are needed.

He noted: “The Nigerian Police Force is already stretching itself to protect the civil population and augment the army in flashpoints in the Northeast and Northwest, which are the frontline in the wave of insecurity emanating from the Sahel.

“As a rational citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who God has given the capacity for critical thinking, beyond getting emotionally triggered and throwing curses at me, can you please tell me how the Federal Republic of Nigeria can guard all 300,000 schools in Nigeria if the States do not buy into the State Police initiative?

“If you are sure I am wrong in my assertion, then come to my comment section and educate me by telling me your own solution to the challenge of safeguarding Nigeria’s schools.”