Lagos — The search is on, presumably in earnest, for a replacement for the post of Inspector-General of Police (IG). The position will become vacant on July 24, as the incumbent IG, Mike Okiro, will retire on that day.

Given the deteriorating security situation in the country it is an important issue that should be handled with care. Partisan considerations must be set aside in favour of merit, a positive attitude to the overall interest of the nation, and managerial acumen. These are the attributes we should be looking for. From the point of view of dispassionate historical assessment, the jury is still of course very much in recess as far as Mr. Okiro's tenure is concerned.

However, there is an understandable feeling of unease about the overall security situation nationwide. This not only affects the well-being and state of mind of the citizenry, it is also a crucial factor when investment decisions are being made. For those involved in country risk analyses - the template which guides investment making decisions - security is a crucial basis of assessment. The office of the head of the nation's internal security mechanism is therefore a pivotal post.

Section 215(a) of the Constitution is unambiguous about the method of selection. The Inspector-General of Police shall be appointed by the President "on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Nigeria Police Force'. The critical fact here is that the President is already hamstrung. Since the IG can only be selected 'from among serving members of the Nigeria Police Force', there is a clear limitation on how far the President can cast his net. This is rather unfortunate. Any review of the Constitution must take a considered view of this provision from the perspective of effecting changes which will make it more flexible.

Flexibility, in our opinion, is very important. The nation's police force is a large and complex organization. The policing system covers a wide territory peopled with groupings at different levels of development, that has a diverse topography and a hotchpotch of different languages and cultural attitudes. Working such a system requires great intellectual preparation, administrative acumen and managerial sagacity. Such a combination means that the modus operandi must be such that the net to be used for selection should be cast as wide as possible. It should be recalled that it was precisely for this reason that in South Africa, Dr. Nelson Mandela spread his net as far as possible in selecting an appointee for the equivalent post of IG.

On being sworn in as President, Dr. Mandela observed a difficulty in the talents available in-house in the search for a new post-apartheid head of the police force. He therefore decided to go outside. His appointment of N.M. Meyer, at the time the head of South African Breweries (SAB) (now the second largest brewer in the world) was bold, inspired and sagacious. The managerial capacity which had been used to build up SAB was brought into play and a new policing system based on the application of cutting-edge scientific budgeting and managerial systems was the result. The overall result was positive and beneficial. We need to look at the Mandela precedent in making appointments such as this. In addition, it must be noted that President Obama recently appointed Leon Pauetta, an outsider, to head the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Once again, the net was cast as wide as possible.

The IG we are looking for must have all the managerial attributes already outlined above. For the security situation is getting grimmer by the day. With an incessant wave of bank robberies, illegal (oil) bunkerers and an upsurge in what is clearly organized crime, the situation is dire. For this reason, the appointment of a new IG must be accompanied by vigorous, innovative reforms. Those in authority must have the intellectual and moral humility to accept that we do not, today, really have a modern policing system applicable to this age. There are critical shortages of skills in computing, in forensic detective work and in scenario planning. In addition, a highly centralized policing system in a multi-ethnic state covering a vast territory is an absurdity and it is never going to work.

There is therefore a crucial need to dispassionately explore alternatives. The key factor here should be decentralization. It is a clear contradiction in terms to operate a unitary police force in a multi-ethnic federation. We must be aware that the British colonial authorities who gave us the bizarre nomenculture of Inspector-General of Police have never had any such post in their own country. What they have instead are over forty different police formations reporting to the Home Secretary (the Interior Minister).

The decision on who will be the new IG is pivotal. It should be taken in the national interest. There must be no room for suspicions that partisan or selfish considerations, such as positioning for the 2011 elections, will come into play. Self-serving parochial jockeying for preferment should also be discouraged. The post, like that of the Chief Justice and the governorship of the Central Bank, is too crucial and strategic for such narrow considerations.