Security Adviser to Abia State governor, Captain Awa Udonsi, in this interview with Special Correspondent, ONWUKWE EZERU, speaks on government’s plans to end insecurity in the state, among other issues.
Abia government’s readiness to provide security at yuletide
Preparation for this season had been made three months ago. All we need do is to sustain it. There has been lot of synergy among security operatives. The police on their own had called on market and transport unions, alerting them on the need to carry out information on intelligence gathering. For this period, Abians should be assured of the security of lives and property. Security of the state under Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, who is doing everything possible to ensure that security agents are provided with apparatus to work is a top priority. Security issue is not a thing you discuss in the public, so the strategy and methodology and how to go to combat crime is in our heart. Abians should know that any crime committed will not only be detected, but will be dealt with.
Security advice for individuals and organisations
In Nigeria, it is not adequate to secure everybody one-on-one. Even going by the United Nations standard (police-to-population ratio of 1:400 ratio), we are yet to get there. So, it becomes indicative and instructive that citizens of Abia State, in particular, should understand that they should help to secure themselves. To that extent, they must remain security-conscious at all times, so as not to fall victims to hoodlums. And how do you achieve this? You must be able to know when you are leaving your house; you don’t need to disclose your movement to another person. If you are using public transport, drop before where you are going to in order for criminals not to locate your position.
Apart from this, most of the heinous crimes like kidnapping are pre-planned, so we need to be more careful. The point I want to make here is that most people had been kidnapped in front of their gates. This is because they go and come back through the same route.
Again, report any new face in your area or make phone calls to people living around you to find out if such foreign face is still around your area. These are little things we need to know to save our lives and property.
One other thing we must look at critically in the area of security is the ability of people to come together and create what we call security neighbourhood watch. This enables people living in an area to clear barriers by being vigilant. In most cases, there should be a gate to the two ends of the streets to be manned by this security neighbourhood watch.
Another thing we should know is that Nigerians condemn the police even when the present day policing has gone digital. I am not saying that there are no bad eggs now, but the situation is improving.
Motivating security personnel in Abia
Security is continuous and there is no end to it. Security is very expensive to run. The governor of Abia has not relented in the motivation of security agents, financially and morally. Crime is part and parcel of the society because once it is established, it will take time before it is eradicated. For obvious reasons, some of these criminals are school dropouts who cannot visibly be employed. With what Ikpeazu is doing to create jobs for the youths, criminality in Abia will be minimal with time.
Ban on police road block
The police are obeying the instructions of their superior command by not putting up road block. But that should not be a reason for the police not to conduct stop-and-search on suspected vehicles on the road. It is wrong for the police to stay on the road and allow suspected vehicles to pass. Police on the road should randomly check vehicles. Also, the military on road blocks are doing their best. They have done a lot to reduce car theft, but more effort is needed. Having said all these, the state government is coming out with a strategy to fight the incessant car theft and kidnapping in Abia at least to drastically reduce the trend. However, for those who use N5 million to buy a car but cannot spend less than N20,000 to instal security, much is expected from them. I make bold to say that Abia remains one of the safest states in Nigeria for now.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to eradicate Boko Haram menace by December 2015
Those of us who are management students know that when you set a goal, you set a time as a guide, which, though may not be definite. But the public would want it to be definite. If we want to stop the activities of terrorists at set time, it may not work because the new crime is also new in Nigeria. Like I said before, when a crime manifests, it is difficult to eradicate it. All I will tell Nigerians is, keep motivating the security forces to do more work. Even if by the end of December, there is no bomb blast, it does not mean that Boko Haram has stopped. To this end, we must be security-conscious at all times because the December dead line may not be possible.
