CULTURAL SOVEREIGNTY AND DIDACTICISM: CONTINUING COMMUNITY POLICING IN NIGERIA BY OTHER MEASURES

By

RAJI, ABDULWASIU ADEYEMI PhD
Department of Public Administration,
School of Management Studies,
Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
+2347030713469
abdulwasiuraji5@gmail.com

AMANA, ISAAC AKOGWU
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities,
School of General and Communication Studies,
Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
+2348065127171
akogwuisaac.amana@yahoo.com

AKOWE, JOEL PhD
Department of Public Administration,
School of Management Studies,
Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
+2348036054508

and

AMODU, LOVETH TALATU
Department of Office Technology and Management,
School of Management Studies,
Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
+2348130997170

ABSTRACT

The rate of insecurity in Nigeria is alarming, to the extent it has defied all conventional, including preventive and combative policing and security measures. This may not necessarily be due to the ineffectiveness of the conventional policing methods that replaced the traditional social control system from the colonial periods. However, the problem intensified by the interference of historical forces such as foreign religious proselytisation, colonial administration, economic and political exigencies, technology or modernity and the globalisation of the world. The community policing methods as recommended by scholars and stakeholders appear to be inadequate, because in spite of its introduction, the rate of crime has not waned considerably. This study therefore sets out to examine the point of departure from the traditional settings, the extent of change, the resilient elements of social control like ane and other festivals, ebo, abule, egwu, enyi, ugbo, among the Igalas. The egungun festivals at okemesi and atikpa among the Yorubas, the omabe and ogbilo festivals with reference, and how they can be examined towards complementing the community policing system. The study collected data from primary and secondary sources, using qualitative methods to analyse the data so gathered. Findings indicate that conventional policing and the community policing as proffered and practised cannot adequately assuage the crime rate in Nigeria. Cultural construction theory will be used to explain how culture is influenced and how it can be constructed to meet the needs of time. It recommends a re-examination of the social control mechanisms of the precolonial days towards determining the extent of its effectiveness and its suitability for crime control in Nigeria. It is advised that attention should be focused on both combative and preventive measures which the community policing system tends to promote.

Key words: Community Policing, Sovereignty, Didacticism, Social Control.