Former Kano State Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shakarau, has advised the federal government against allowing the proposed state police to carry firearms and other dangerous weapons.
Even though he reiterated his support for the creation of the state police, Shekarau warned that “the operatives must not be allowed to carry firearms and other dangerous weapons.”
Senator Shekarau, a former minister of education, however, expressed fear that if not properly implemented, the proposed state police can aggravate political hooliganism in many states.
Recall that the presidency and all 36 state governors as well as other stakeholders had unanimously agreed on the creation of state police over incessant security challenges across the country.
But the former Kano governor, while appearing on a Kano-based Arewa Radio monitored by the Tribune Online, expressed his fear with the spate of lingering political violence across many states in the country.
He added that most of the atrocities were allegedly sponsored and promoted by politicians.
He advised that the decentralized police should be tailored around the model of the Kano State Hisbah Board, which was used to address cases of social vices during his tenure in office as a governor of the state.
While commenting on the federal government’s student loan policy, Shekarau said the conditions of the policy were too harsh for an average Nigerian student.
According to him, the students are expected to provide sureties with a certain unrealistic amount of deposits in their bank account.
He then stated that conditions among others will make it difficult for an overriding majority of Nigerian students to access the loan.
Shekarau, however, appealed to the Federal Government to review and expunge some of the harsh conditions in the bill to enable more Nigerian students to get access to the support.
