We need to restructure Nigerian security agencies, says Makarfi

A former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, has said there was nothing wrong with restructuring Nigeria as long as the foundations were not tampered with.


The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential hopeful said institutions of government, including the security agencies,  must also be restructured to serve Nigerians rather than the leaders.

Makarfi, who spoke at the plenary of Unity Schools Old Students Association, USOSA, where he gave a keynote on ‘Peace and Unity: The Role of Unity Schools,’ in Port Harcourt, Rivers Sate weekend, said: “The way Nigerian institutions operate currently, they only serve the interest of the leaders to the detriment of the citizens.

“If you look at the armed forces, police, customs and other agencies of government, they always serve the interest of the leaders and carry out orders whether lawful or unlawful.

“The armed forces should be more interested in defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria rather than elections. The police will also favour those in power. Customs will clear goods as long as there are instructions from the political leaders.

‘’These institutions should be serving the people. All Nigerians must be equal before the law. That is one restructuring of the institutions that must be done.”

The former senator further said the question of Nigerian unity should be settled by now but noted that because “leadership over time has failed to genuinely address issues of particular concern to some of our compatriots, you still hear agitations here and there.”