KYARI, THE POLICE AND THE MONKEY'S SKILLS.

Last week, the hierarchy of the Nigerian Police decided to harmonise two Ad hoc units:IGP's Intelligence Response Squad(IRS) , headed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner, and the Special Tatical Squad (STS) , led by Abu Kolo, also a DCP, and placed them under the newly upgraded Force Intelligence Department (FID), under Ibrahim Lamorde, a Deputy Inspector General.

All these are part of the reforms, mostly cosmetic, being carried out by the Buhari administration to take policing closer to the people. A way of admitting that the current system has failed, but are not willing to accept the obvious reality that regional, state or community policing are the only options that can solve the problem, not creating more administrative centers of a federalist stranglehold on local or regional security needs.

But I digress.

Anyway, with the new model, the two squads will now report to the DIG in charge of Intelligence as a matter of procedure, but will still exercise semi autonomy powers in discharging their duties.

But since it was announced, I have read and watched, with increasing amusement, how people who are supposed to know better, are reacting as if it is the end of civilization as we know it. That if Aba Kyari and his boys were not allowed to roam free, without supervision, then all is lost.

In the first place, Kyari and Kolo are serving police officers who are still under the command of the IGP. Their squads are creations of immediate necessity, and not parallel law enforcement agencies, and they are still an integral, if not conventional part of the Police.

Second, such sentiments was what led to the Magu situation, where you allow certain individuals, who are part of the system, to think and behave like if they were above it. We cannot continue to create superstars instead of super structures, and then expect to get super results.

I am not naive not to think that this does not involve internal administrative politics and office intrigues, but that should not be the reason why we personify successes but blame the collective for the failures.

Because if both Mr. Kyari and Mr. Kolo were such superstars, how come armed robberies are still rampant in Lagos despite their stints as OC SARS in the state.

I still believe the Nigerian Police should be disbanded. The reminder should become Federal Marshals and Conventional Policing return to Regional or State levels. Just like I believe that all police ad hoc formations should by placed within the state police structure with everybody reporting to the CP.

With that tracking equipment given to every command, instead of only the HQ, what is left would be federal crimes and cross border crimes for Federal Marshals to solve.

After all, a monkey can only display his acrobatic skills where trees are in proximity to each other. Place it on a well tarred Expressway, and the monkey will walk like the rest of us.

Let us build institutions, dismantle it if its not working and put up another. But never replace it with perceived strong men because it is convenient, nor make short time intervention permanent because it is popular.

My10kobo.