State Police: Tinubu Is Pushing Nigeria Towards A Disaster

 By Olu Fasan

Recently, President Bola Tinubu unceremoniously sacked Kayode Egbetokun as Nigeria’s 22nd Inspector-General of Police, IGP, reportedly for expressing strong reservations about the creation of state police. Tinubu swiftly named Tunji Disu as the new IGP.

Disu immediately declared that “state police has come to stay” and set up a panel to develop a framework for establishing it. So, one senior police officer lost his job as the nation’s top cop because of his principled opposition to state police; another clinched the prestigious job by enthusiastically embracing the idea and showing willingness to give the president what he wants.

Active Citizenry: If Nigerians Don’t Hold Their Leaders Accountable, Who Will?

 By Olu Fasan

Nigeria is one of the very few countries where politics is the most attractive human endeavour, where holding a political office is more profitable than running a business. In Nigeria, politics is the quickest route to wealth, thanks to outrageous salaries and allowances – Nigeria’s federal legislators earn far more than their American counterparts – and corrupt self-enrichment.

In Nigeria, politics is largely a quest for private gain rather than public good. But nothing entrenches these perversities more than the lack of strong institutions and active citizenry. For not only do the system and the citizens allow wrong politicians to get to power, there’s virtually no institutional or societal pressure to hold elected politicians accountable.