Governor of Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, Professor Babagana Umar Zulum, has lamented the infiltration of politics into recruitment in Nigerian security agencies, warning that the nation cannot get the required commitment and dedication from the operatives as long as those being recruited are job seekers.
Professor Zulum stated while delivering a lecture entitled “Ungoverned Space and Insecurity in the Sahelian Region: Implications for Nigeria Domestic Peace and Security” at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State on Wednesday that one of the major problems of security agencies in recent time was that the process of recruitment has been politicised.
According to the Governor, “the major problem is recruitment process, those being recruited into Nigerian Army, Police, and other security agencies are job seekers, many of them are there because they don’t have a job.
Those enlisted twenty years ago are performing well but these people are looking for employment only, so there’s no commitment and dedication.
“These days, the Governors, Ministers and other top government functionaries have slots. Nobody is to interview them whether they are qualified or not. Admission into Nigerian Army, Police and others are now politicised.”
On State Police, Governor Zulum said it will further worsen the security challenges facing the country than addressing it adding that the long term implication of state police has to be examined before it can be embraced.
“Honestly speaking, I, Babagana Zulum will not support it not because I don’t like it but because of the implications. Nigeria is not mature for state police, some state governors can use it to wipe away other tribes apart from their tribes. So we have to be very careful. If half of the power given to the Nigeria Army, Police and others are given to state police, Nigeria will be in the problem,” he said
Governor Zulum who said Nigeria did not have an effective monitoring mechanism to check all the anomalies in the government stated that Nigeria needs to establish an independent monitoring mechanism that can provide an adequate check and balance for the country to move forward.
“Unless we get it right nothing will happen in this country, if we want to make progress, we must ensure that we pick the best. If not we shall continue to recruit the dull ones, we must engage those that can deliver because we have a lot of competent Nigerians.
