Osun state Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has advocated a technology-based approach in the fight against insecurity in the country.
He urged the security agencies to adopt a new thinking that will galvanise uptimum results and set the country to the path of peace, unity, progress and prosperity.
Governor Oyetola made the call on Thursday during
the 2019 National Security Conference and Public Lecture, organized by the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), of the Nigeria Police Force, Osun state command, at Aurora Event Centre, Osogbo.
Oyetola who spoke on the theme of the conference, “Kidnapping and Banditry: Understanding the Twin Menace”, said winning the war against kidnapping and banditry requires a deep understanding of the history of insecurity vis-a-vis the forms of crime, causes, threats, strategies for containment and eradication.
He said the security agencies must begin to appraise the successes and failures so far and weaving a workable strategy around them in a bid to stem the tide and rid the nation off the menace.
According to the Governor, kidnapping and banditry are unarguably two dreaded monsters, both crimes are fallouts, in the main, of real or perceived injustice in the nation accentuated by youth unemployment and poor economy.
Oyetola who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji, said the dire security situation in the country has become a national issue that must be tackled squarely without ethnic or religious inclinations.
He said the kidnapping and banditry have constituted a menace to the Nigeria’s national and corporate image, thus posing a threat to people’s personal safety and business.
The Governor said, “We must understand as a people and as government that kidnappers and bandits are our common enemies who are waging a war against us.
“Security experts contend that war is fought and won on the altar of strategy. We require a strategic and creative thinking and employment of technology to win this war.
“Security must be well-funded and security agencies must be provided with state-of-the-art arms that are superior to what the bandits use to secure all of us.
“For our intervention to be successful, we need to bridge the gap between planning and implementation. We must change our perception by seeing kidnapping and banditry as crimes and treat them as such.
“Perpetrators must be prosecuted and brought to justice. Giving any crime for that matter ethnic toga weakens the war against crime and gives more arsenals to our common enemies to continue to terrorize us”.
Governor Oyetola called for a collaborative effort among the stakeholders, saying the dire security situation in the country requires meaningful contribution of all.
He said his administration has been working assiduously to keep the state safe and sustain its status as one of the peaceful and safest states in Nigeria.
Governor Oyetola held that his administration will spare no effort to continuously safegaurd the state and her people, guarantee the security of lives and property of the citizenry and as well ensure the welfare of all.
“Part of the proactive approach that our government adopted in frontally tackling the security threat is to meet with security stakeholders in Osogbo and Ilesa to galvanise the people behind our plans.
“Governors in the South West States have held a security summit which took the decision to work in concert against the security challenge. A follow up meeting to examine the approach was held in Akure last weekend.
“The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, met on Tuesday here in Osogbo with our traditional rulers to perfect the plans against banditry.
“Apart from the collaboration with neigbouring states, we have mobilized vigilance groups and local hunters to police the flash points and other parts of the state.
“I have visited mining sites to assess the security situation there and the extent of environmental degradation. Following wide consultations, I have the full support of all the security agencies for our security plans.
“As a complimentary measure, we are working hard to tackle youth employment, revive the economy and provide infrastructure to keep our people prosperous and safe”, Oyetola said.
Chairman, Osun State Chapter of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Comrade Amitolu said the programme was organized to reawaken the people’s consciousness to security in the country.
Shittu said theme of the conference, “Kidnapping and Banditry: Understanding the Twin Menace” was carefully chosen to address and find workable solutions to security challenges confronting the state and Nigeria as a whole.
“This programme is put together to support the government as to the need to end the security challenges confronting our nation.
“The issue of security should not be left in the hands of the security agencies or government alone, but rather should be seen as a duty for all and sundry.
“It is time for us as individuals, governments, stakeholders and corporate bodies to work together in synergy to secure our communities, areas and domains from bandits and criminals.
“We must contribute our quota to strengthen the security architecture in the state by giving genuine and useful information that can help to curtail the security menace”, Shittu added.
The Guest Speaker, Mr Segun Fanu, identified lack of institutional capicity, loss of communal values, weak security system, unemployment and poverty among others as reasons for a kidnapping and banditry in the country.
He recommended a collaborative effort and synergy among the security agencies and stakeholders, as panacea to security challenges in the country.
Fanu, who described security as a duty of all, said the time has come for government policy on non-payment of ransom to be invoked.
He called for the adoption of proactive approach to crime fighting by the police force and increase operational funding and logistics system to the police.
The Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye, advocated community policing as panacea to insecurity in the country.
He said the House under his watch has been working round the clock with the executive arm of government to enact laws that will permanently put an end to all forms of security challenge confronting the state.
Owoeye who described kidnapping and banditry as crimes against humanity, called on the perpetrators to have sheath the swords and have a rethink
Leave a Reply