Date: 2021-06-30

A retired assistant inspector general of police (AIG), Baba Adisa Bolanta has stressed the urgent need for the federal government to reform the Nigeria Police Force.

He said this has become necessary to ensure the effective policing of the country and put an end to the security challenges confronting the country. "There is the urgent need for the government to reform the Police Force. Yes, state police is desirable, but not now, because it takes a long time to train police personnel," Bolanta stated.

The retired AIG also called for adequate funding and recruitment of personnel for all the security agencies in the country to enable them perform their duties optimally.

Bolanta spoke at the 2021 conference of the Ilorin chapter of the Nigerian Mining And Geosciences Society (NMGS) held in Ilorin, Kwara State. His paper was themed, " Geosciences Practice In The Face Of Current Security Challenges."

Stressing the need for the de-politicization of recruitment into the nation's security agencies, Bolanta blamed the rising insecurity challenges across the country to institutional weakness.

"Due to politicization of recruitment process, today in Nigeria, the police are so weak that they cannot confront common criminals; we have immigration officers who cannot check the influx of illegal aliens into the country.

"To overcome the security challenges facing our country, we must fund the security agencies properly. At present, they are not properly funded and equipped to perform their duties effectively," the retired AIG posited.

Proffering solutions to Nigeria's security challenges, Bolanta who pointed out that over 35 percent of the Nigerian youths between the age of 19- 29 are jobless, urged the government to create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths, noting that:" An idle mind is devil's workshop."

He also asked the government to create enabling environment for businesses to thrive, as the civil service is already over-bloated.

Earlier, the chairman of NMGS, Ilorin chapter, Prof Sola Ojo, had lamented that the morale of Nigerian geologists are low because of lack of gainful employment of young graduates, adding that:" Even those employed are not fully empowered." "Geologists should be empowered to do their jobs and should not be made to sit in the office doing nothing," Ojo added.