Many Nigerians have long wondered why security officers are stationed in the South-East while bandits in the Northwest carry out deadly attacks. Many Nigerians believe that the majority of the heavily armed security officials will be moved to the north to combat banditry.
During a press conference in Abuja on Friday, some journalists questioned Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) on why security agents are stationed in the South-East rather than the North. In response to the question, the IGP replied that, in contrast to the North, which has a big landmass, the South-East has a higher population.
The South-East, he claims, has a vast population crowded into a limited area. As a result, security officials must be present in greater numbers due to the enormous populace. Many Nigerians have continued to mistake the announcement after it was released a few hours ago, assuming that the South-East region has a larger population than the Northern zone.
That should not be the case, in my opinion. It is important not to misinterpret the IGP’s message. Because a misunderstanding of the statement could lead to irrational anger, this is the case. The term merely means that Northern residents are dispersed, as opposed to the South-East, where people dwell in close proximity to one another. As a result, more security agents are required in densely inhabited areas, regardless of their size.
It may be argued that if the same number of security agents in the South-East were posted to the North, the area would appear to be unprotected. This is due to the region’s vast geography, which would result in the same number of security officers covering 1,000 square kilometers in the south-east covering more than ten times the same area in the north.
Meanwhile, redeploying security agents from the north to the south-east will overrun the region. With this in mind, the IGP’s comment regarding the South-East having a bigger population should not be misinterpreted as referring to the overall number of persons in the region rather than the population density per square kilometer.