Community Policing Is Still Not Enough To Curb Insecurity In Nigeria – Edwin Clark

Popular Nigerian nationalist, E.K.Clark has come out to speak on Amotekun, our constitution and the bill to grant amnesty to repentant Boko Haram members.

Clark revealed that he approves plus supports Amotekun and he also salutes its creators for their courage and boldness to take the step.

According to him, however, community policing is still enough and we might still need to resort to self-defense once in a while when insecurity strikes.

He added that he is happy the law will soon be passed by the several Houses of Assembly in the South-West.

His words, “I was outside the country when I heard of Amotekun and I approved of it. I supported it. We the leaders of the South and the Middle Belt supported them and congratulated them for having the courage, the boldness and the wisdom to do what they did particularly when it is realized that only Oyo State is governed by a different party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, all the other five are All Progressives Congress, APC. So one is very happy that leaders of our people can differentiate between what is political party and what is in the interest of their area and the country at large. So we appeal to every area to do what the South-West has done.

Community policing is not enough which is being controlled from the centre like the normal police; so I think we have to resort to self-defence as mentioned earlier by Lt. Gen. T.Y. Danjuma. We are appealing particularly to my region, the South-South that the governors should meet and take a similar decision, no one is going to keep quiet while his home is under siege, and his people are being killed and women are helpless. That is why we supported Amotekun. Even though there were some counter statements that were made, the people stood firm and I am happy that the law will soon be passed by the various Houses of Assembly in the South -West.”

“Every region or state should adopt that because that is the only way to prevent the attacks on our people. They are not uniformed men, they are not state police, and all that they are doing is to complement the police which do not have enough men to go round. I was surprised the other day when it was reported to me that the governors of the South-East are dancing what I don’t know, they took a decision that they have also formed their own before Amotekun and they were not copying anybody, for them to turn round after holding meeting with the security men, they now said community policing is what they are doing; so what about the one they have put ahead before?

Though I am very surprised, but I am happy to note that the entire people of the South-East will like what is going on in the South-West and I think the governors will listen to them to change their mind to do what they have said they have done before. The forest guard and so on and we all were proud that the governors of the South-East have now established their own defence force. I am saying that every region in Nigeria should have a similar thing like Amotekun, let it be uniform.”

On our constitution, “It is a Constitution that is one-sided, it was produced by the military, it majorly favours one section of the country. In fact, Nigerians wanted a new Federal Constitution based on the 1963 Republic Constitution.

The 2014 National Conference made a Draft Constitution based on the 600 recommendations made by the Conference. It will be tidier if the National Assembly would examine the 2014 Draft Constitution attached to the Report than amending the 1999 Constitution which was not made by the people of Nigeria.”

On Amnesty of repentant Boko Haram members, “The former governor of Yobe State is talking rubbish by comparing what happened in the Niger Delta of which I was in the forefront and what is now happening in the North-East. In the first place, the militants in the Niger Delta did not kidnap ordinary Nigerians; they were kidnapping foreigners in order to draw the attention of the Federal Government and the world to the suffering they were undergoing in their own area by the neglect of the Federal Government.

And I remember when the militants kidnapped 14 expatriates that were working for Wilbros in Port Harcourt, I came to President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abuja and I told him that I will appeal to the boys to release them, please don’t do anything, it is better to consider them because they have not killed Nigerians they have not done anything, and he agreed. And we talked about Tompolo, he said he learned that he was not well educated and I said yes, what can we do for him? I said let the oil company give him an appointment to supervise the pipelines which he will do with the other militants, and he agreed.”