President Bola Tinubu just signed off on a N15 billion police academy in Ogun State while Nigerians dodge bullets, kidnappers, and bandits daily. The timing couldn’t be more tone-deaf.
The new Nigeria Police Academy campus in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area, gets its massive funding from TETFund 2026 allocations – money that could have gone to crumbling universities where students learn under leaking roofs.
Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s spin doctor, dressed this up as “strengthening institutional governance and modern policing education.” But here’s what he won’t tell you: Nigeria’s police are already undertrained, underpaid, and overwhelmed.
Another White Elephant Project?
The academy expansion follows the Nigeria Police Academy Act 2021, extending beyond the main Wudil campus in Kano State. A “high-level consultative meeting” – code for backroom dealing – involving the Police Affairs Minister, Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa, and other officials rubber-stamped the location.
They considered “student intake capacity, funding realities, and long-term manpower needs.” What about immediate security needs? Nigerians are dying now, not in 2030 when this campus might actually produce officers.
The Real Security Math
Nigeria has roughly 400,000 police officers for over 220 million people. That’s one officer per 550 citizens – far below UN recommendations. Meanwhile, insecurity costs Nigeria $4.27 billion annually in lost productivity and military spending.
The N15 billion could have equipped existing police stations, improved officer salaries, or bought patrol vehicles. Instead, it’s going into concrete and bureaucracy.
Follow the Money
TETFund money comes from education taxes paid by Nigerian companies and workers. These funds were meant for education infrastructure, not expanding police academies that might never justify their cost.
While universities strike over unpaid salaries and students learn in overcrowded classrooms, Tinubu prioritizes a police academy in a state where his political allies hold sway.
The president claims this will address Nigeria’s security challenges through “increased police recruitment and improved training capacity.” But recruitment without retention is meaningless when officers earn poverty wages and lack basic equipment.
Nigerians deserve better than another expensive academy while criminals roam free. They need police reform that works – starting with fair pay, proper equipment, and accountability. Not another N15 billion monument to misplaced priorities.
