Governors Urged to do more to Secure their States

State Governments have been urged to do more to Secure their States and stop complaining about the perceived control of Security by the Federal Government.

Lead discussant on the TVC News programme, Journalists Hangout Babajide Kolade-Otitoju disclosed this while reacting to the decision of the Kogi State Government to invest about $60 Million Dollars in securing the State through partnership with a Chinese firm.

He said the initiative by the Kogi State Government shows that it is a State that is not playing with the Security of its Citizens not minding the fat that Nigeria Still operates a centralised Policing structure.

The move according to him signifies the growing desirability of the concept of State Police in the Country.

Going Further, He described what he saw in Zamfara State as a very good example of what CCTV Coverage of a State should be while also commending the Kano State for a job well done.

He added that all Other States must rise up to the occasion and secure their States not minding the current situation which does not favour States with Governors nothing more than Security Logistics officers.

For His part, Executive Director of Journalists for Democracy, Adewale Adeoye, commended the Kogi State Government for the Step describing it as the right step in the right direction.

He added that the investment and employment generation part of the $60 Million Dollar deal expected to generate 685000 employment opportunities for the people of the State is also a game changer.

He however sounded a note of caution for the State Government asking for proper vetting of those to be employed to run the Command and Control Centres for the Surveillance equipment to ensure its effectiveness.

He also added that despite the new equipment the State Government must also do more to ensure people have food on their table to guard against Sabotage.

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” I think the States need to do their best ad their best will go a long way, to not do anything sitting down will be criminal, but to do their best is the way to go”

“We know that the Policing Structure in our Country is not the best in terms of what we need to do, Governors need to be put in charge of the security of their States and the concept of state police is becoming increasingly desirable and when this is done, Governors will be firmly in charge of the Security of their States”

” Governors are nothing but Chief Security Logistics Officers because they provide the equipment the Police need in their State, Kogi is doing its bit to secure every inch of the State, sometimes i ask myself where we will be if the governors are not providing the logistics the police need, Kogi State has done well in the area of Security but as we all know, the Governor has not defeated insecurity, it keeps ahppening people keep coming into the State to cause trouble, to kill people, to kidnap people, to attack, so this is commendable, i am happy that they are now approaching this insecurity through the use of technology, Technology will help us pinpoint the location of criminals and we will take decisive action against them, i was reading what the CEO of the Kogi State Promotion and Public Private partnership, Abdulkareem Isiaka was saying, He said we will see you if you are driving, if you are walking you have metal on you, if you are talking we will be able to pick it up and then if you do something wrong, we will be able to pick you up through our field personnel, as long as the criminals don’t know where the command and control centres are they will not be able to do anything about it”

“Let me give you an example of what is happening in South Africa , Durban, there is extensive CCTV Coverage, many criminals prefer not to go to Durban, they have a lot of Indians and white people as well, they will operate in Johannesburg and Other places and get away with it but not in Durban”

” What is the point in commiting a crime when you know you will be caught, I remember that story, in my view it makes sense that states should do it at their own level, i was in Zamfara and i was impressed by what i saw, even the Falgore forest in Kano, their is CCTV Coverage, bandits used to be there but today they have been flushed out and their is even an Army training facility in Falgore so they know its a No Go area, as you are riding your bike, they can see you, so if they see 3 bikes at the Same time they know they could be bandits, they will send an aircraft to finish the Job, its the same thing, something similar that Zamfara has done, someone snatched somebody’s money in front of a bank in Zamfara, they were watching him and they got hold of him, this is not fiction, i saw this myself”

” In fact their CCTV Coverage is the best i have seen in this country and i have seen that of at least 3 or 4 States, but that of Zamfara is quite good, this is what they need to invest in”

” I think this is a very impressive step by the State Governor, Some of the State Governments have always cited lack of Capacity because of the Federal Government’s control but the Governor has taken a very bold initiative investing $60 Million and when i read it, he said it has the capacity to create 685000 jobs, maybe because of the internet facilities maybe people will be able to make use of the IT Component, it will also drive investment, of course it will drive investment, Kogi State used to be one of the most peaceful States even when it was part of Kwara, very peaceful State, and one of the growing Industrial Centres in Nigeria with Ajaokuta the main industrial base of Nigeria but it has been in the news for the bad reasons, attacking Churches, attacking police Stations, not just in urban areas but also in rural areas, so i think what the governor has done is very good, the essence of Security is to prevent Crime, so when criminals know that they will be caught and their is a high probability that they will not go into that area, Kogi is the gateway to the Southwest, South South, and the South East, so what the Kogi Government is doing is very good and its going to have ripple effect on the surrounding States, so i think this is a very bold initiative, however having a very good action or project is not even enough, because their is usually the human error, corruption, they will be handled by human beings so their is still a lot to be invested in the capacity of those people that will manage it, Secrecy, to ensure that it is managed by people with credibility so that criminals will not be able to infiltrate, You know criminals are terrible people but they are also very intelligent”

“They are reading this they want to take Counter measures, so one of the greatest steps to take is to give people food to eat, so i think the investment component of this is very good”

” I think at this Stage there should be no going back on this, the Chinese are here, the Policy direction has been well consummated, when it comes to Security, that is something this governor does not joke with, he is very direct in his approach to security, sometimes, he even accompanies Security agencies on patrols, you know he has accompanied them on patrols before, that demonstrates how determined he is to secure his State and he knows that real growth and development will not happen in an atmosphere of insecurity, look at how much Agriculture contributes to our GDP, if increasingly Bandits are preventing people from accessing their farms, should it surprise you that our GDP is declining Months on Months, they are preventing people from accessing their farms, so states must take concrete steps to boost security, i know a lot of them are trying their best but they still need to do more, our people do not deserve to be killed cheaply like they are being killed now”