Buhari orders immediate employment of 6,000 Police men

Nigerian President, His excellency General Muhammadu Buhari has ordered immediate recruitement of 6,000 Police Men, He says thus“I have approved the recruitment of 6,000
policemen by the police authorities and I
directed that those recruited must come
from all the 776 local government areas of
the federation.
“Even if it means recruiting one person
each from the 776 they should do that
instead of going to motor parks, railway
stations or market for the recruitment
exercise.
“I gave (police authorities) them this
directive,’’ he said.
The president, who expressed reservation
on the call for the establishment of state
police as being advocated by state
governors, said Nigerians must abide by
constitutional provision in regard to the
matter.
It would be recalled that the chairman,
Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulaziz Yari,
had in February said creation of state police
would help in addressing spate of
insecurity in the country.
Yari, who is also the Zamfara state
governor, said this at the end of a two-day
summit organised by the Senate Ad hoc
Committee on Review of Current Security
Infrastructure in Nigeria.
He said: “Today we have reiterated the
position of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
“And the position of the security summit
we held in August, that there is a need for
the state police; we can say it is the only
answer.”
However, President Buhari maintained that
the creation of state police would not augur
well for the finances of the states, adding
that some of them were finding it difficult
to meet their financial obligations to
workers and other state needs.
“We must carefully look at the position of
the nation’s constitution on the issue of
state police before we take final decision on
the matter if the constitution allows state
police so be it.
“But don’t forget that many times the
federal government gave out what we
referred to as bail out to state governments
for payment of workers’ salaries. How many
states can pay salary promptly? and you
want to add more financial burden to the
states.
“It is not proper to employ a person, train
him on how to handle weapons and then
refuse to pay him – you can imagine what
would happen in such situation,’’ he said.
On his purported comment on youth while
in London, President Buhari dismissed the
report, saying that the media only preferred
to interpret and report what they like
instead of concentrating on developmental
journalism.
He said: “You know Nigeria’s population is
now between 180 and 190 million and 60
per cent of this population is youth that is
30 years down ward.
“You know in the North most youths are
uneducated or school dropouts. If not
because we had good harvests in the last
two farming seasons the situation would
have been deteriorated.
“These youths even if they travel out of the
North for greener pasture they hardly make
it economically because what they earn as
income cannot afford them to meet their
basic needs or return home.
“All these explanations I made, they refused
to highlight them in their report and you
know the media in Nigeria in most cases
only do what they like.
“For instance the nation’s achievements in
the agricultural sector where millions of
Nigerians benefitted financially were left
unreported by the media. - By Jeremiah Genesis Ezra