Nigeria, July 19 -- Some of us have consistently argued that many of the pressing challenges confronting Nigeria are rooted in the country's governance structures. If we are serious about solving these challenges, then we must be equally serious about structural reforms. That is why I am excited by some of the far-reaching reforms the present administration is pursuing, particularly the decentralisation of the Nigeria Police as a response to the country's worsening security situation.

The debate over state police is not new. It has remained a recurring subject in Nigeria's security discourse for more than four decades. Before the military coup of 1966, Nigeria operated a decentralised policing system comprising the national police, regio...