The Lagos state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday commissioned the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety corps in the hope of strengthening security in the state. Speaking at the event, the governor explained that the security corps will be working closely with already existing security agencies to maintain law and order in their immediate communities.

The governor stated that the members of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LSNC) are well trained in seeking “peaceful resolution of conflicts, proactive policing engagement as against reactive policing, dispute mediation, skillful negotiations and other skills that would assist in curbing crime and nipping in the bud the activities of criminally-minded individuals.” About 7000 new jobs were created while the officials of the LNSC were presented with 171 saloon cars, 377 motorcycles, 4,000 bicycles and other required equipment.

While this effort of the government is commendable,especially in the area of job creation, there is only so much the establishment of security corps can do. To make this simple, what we need as a solution to the security problem in most Lagos neighborhoods is not the creation of another security agency. We have more than enough. Getting them to work should be the focus.

There is no knowledge more prevalent about our security forces than the fact that there are a number of people that are unskilled, untrained, unlettered, grossly illiterate and terribly lacking in the knowledge and understanding of their tasks as law enforcement agents amidst our security agencies, especially the Nigerian police. How then can the LNSC, a group of people supposedly trained in the act of securing lives, work with people that have so far failed in their tasks?

In a place like Lagos where policemen maintain laws during the day and break them during the bight, where there is a disturbingly lackadaisical attitude from the policemen, where at every point in a criminal investigation you must drop some tips—even to pick up your phone that you were required to hand over in the first place, how well can such people carry out or work with the security corps to ensure the safety of lives and property? Why create another security agency when officers of the existing agencies still wallow in gross indiscipline and corruption? I have a suggestion-why not simply mop up and restructure existing ones.

Provided the new security agency, the LSNC, is able to work effectively, they, the men of the Nigerian police– the same lazy and unresponsive officer will be called upon to close the ‘case’ because the security corps report to them.

Having seen so many instances of security agents treating civilians badly, are there laws in place to keep members of the neighbourhood security corps in check?

A good majority of police officers in Lagos and all over Nigeria are corrupt, ; largely anti-civilian elements who hurt and extort the same people they are asked to protect. They are often  unskilled and badly equipped. In order to strengthen security in Lagos, wcreating another security agency that might wind up harassing the same people they are to protect is not the answer. What simply needs to be provided is improved training for existing security agents.

Rather than creating a completely new security agency, retraining men of existing security agencies for optimal functionality should be the priority of the Lagos state government. Without a functional Nigerian police force and other security agencies serving as the foundation upon which security initiatives like the LNSC is laid, the initiative will only end up creating more problems than a  solution.

While the initiative might be a way to engage unemployed people, it serves no other significant purpose beyond that until proven otherwise. What we must do to ensure the safety of lives and property is to avoid the creation ofinefficient security agencies, but to ensure there is a functional Nigerian Police Force.

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