BIG GRAMMAR ABROAD, NO SECURITY AT HOME
Shettima’s UNGA address raises questions about Nigeria’s global ambitions and domestic security failures
At the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, delivered a powerful address challenging inequalities embedded in the global order. Her message was clear: the mindset that established, justified and sustained slavery continues to influence power structures within the United Nations and the international financial system.
She questioned why Africa’s true size had been misrepresented on world maps for centuries, as though acknowledging the continent’s geographical scale might intimidate the rest of the world. Her appeal was for a world founded on equality, justice and mutual respect.
Invoking Emperor Haile Selassie’s historic address to the United Nations on 4 October 1963, she reminded world leaders that peace would remain elusive until racial superiority was permanently rejected and every human being treated as equally valuable.
Her message was simple but profound: without equality, there can be neither genuine trust nor meaningful transformation. The world needs peace and, as the iconic song made famous by Dionne Warwick reminds us, ‘What the world needs now is love, sweet love.’
Mottley’s speech was a reminder that international leadership must be measured not merely by eloquence but by its commitment to justice.
State Police: A Breakthrough with a Dangerous Catch
The transmission of the State Police Services Bill to the 36 state Houses of Assembly marks a significant development in Nigeria’s long-running debate over policing.
The National Assembly passed the proposed constitutional amendment and transmitted it to the state legislatures for consideration. Osun subsequently became the first state to approve the proposal. At least 24 state assemblies must endorse the amendment before it can proceed to the President for assent.
For years, Nigerians have demanded a policing structure capable of responding more effectively to local security challenges. State police could help address crimes that overwhelm the centralised system, improve intelligence gathering and bring law enforcement closer to communities.
But the question is not simply whether state police should be established. It is how they will operate, who will control them and what safeguards will protect citizens from abuse.
The timing also deserves scrutiny. Why has this reform gained momentum only after years of public pressure and worsening insecurity?
With another election cycle approaching, Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the urgency reflects a genuine commitment to public safety or the political calculations of those in power.
The danger is that decentralising police authority without adequate safeguards could replace one set of security problems with another.
A governor who exercises unchecked control over a state police command could turn a security institution into a political weapon.
During elections, such a force could be deployed to intimidate opponents, suppress dissent and undermine citizens’ rights.
State police could strengthen community security. But without judicial oversight, legislative scrutiny and independent accountability, they could also become instruments of political oppression.
Local government autonomy is equally important.
Communities cannot enjoy genuine grassroots security when their institutions remain financially and politically dependent on state governors.
Effective local policing requires cooperation between state and local authorities, not the concentration of power in the hands of one individual.
The objective must be to bring policing closer to the people without placing their rights and freedoms at the mercy of individual governors.
Nigeria’s Credibility Begins at Home
The contrasting UNGA messages and the State Police Bill expose two sides of Nigeria’s political reality.
Abroad, the government demands international recognition, greater representation and a stronger voice in global affairs.
At the 81st UNGA, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Tinubu, called for reforms to make international institutions more representative and responsive to contemporary realities. Nigeria also renewed its call for permanent African representation on the UN Security Council.
At home, however, citizens continue to demand security, accountability and reforms that successive administrations have failed to deliver fully.
The State Police Bill offers an opportunity to address one of those failures. But legislation alone will not guarantee security, just as an eloquent speech cannot automatically earn international respect.
Nigeria’s credibility will ultimately depend on what its leaders do with the authority they already possess.
A country cannot convincingly demand justice abroad while tolerating injustice at home. It cannot insist on equality among nations while failing to protect the dignity and security of its own citizens.
And it cannot claim to speak for Africa’s aspirations while treating domestic accountability as an inconvenience.
The world may applaud Nigeria’s speeches. But Nigerians at home are waiting for something more concrete: a government that protects them, respects their rights and delivers on its promises.
Big grammar may command applause abroad. Only good governance can earn respect at home.
Okiwelu Azed P. writes from Asaba.
