The Harrison Gwamnishu saga is an indictment of the Nigerian government’s incompetence and its failure to lead an institutional reform of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that guarantees a crack team of detectives, properly trained and equipped with modern tools and technology, at every division to unmask criminal activities across the nation.

Worse still, there is no cultivated strategy to ensure that community integration of the NPF is guided by mutual trust, transparency, accountability, and collaborative problem-solving. This must begin with proper character assessment of all collaborators to ensure professionalism in their engagement with the public. The Harrison Gwamnishu saga is a sad reminder that policing in Nigeria has become an “anything goes” enterprise.

 

The Tinubu administration must, as a matter of urgency, develop a community integration framework that eliminates doubt, scepticism, and the prevailing ‘anyhowness’, especially when partnering with private individuals or organizations to support policing functions. A few private actors can be integrated to assist the police, but must be carefully vetted.

READ: We must demand clear, convincing plans from aspiring leaders – Francis Onyema

More importantly, we need an institutional overhaul of the NPF to ensure Nigerians no longer resort to self-help or ransom payments for their safety.

I call on Mr President to demonstrate the courage to reform the police and prevent further embarrassment of this nature.

-Francis Onyema, 2027 presidential aspirant