Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has advocated a technology-based approach in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.
He tasked the security agencies to adopt new thinking that will galvanise optimal results and set the country to the path of peace, unity, progress and prosperity.
Oyetola stated these during the 2019 National Security Conference and Public Lecture, organised by the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), of the Nigeria Police Force, Osun State command, in Osogbo on Thursday.
Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Kidnapping and Banditry: Understanding the Twin Menace”, the governor 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.
Oyetola contended that 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 him, “kidnapping and banditry were 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.”
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prince Wole Oyebamiji, Oyetola said the dire security situation in the country had become a national issue that must be tackled squarely without ethnic or religious inclinations, stressing that “kidnapping and banditry have constituted a menace to Nigeria’s national and corporate image, thus posing a threat to people’s personal safety and business.”
He stated, “We must understand as a people and as the 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 strategic and creative thinking and the 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 terrorise us”.
“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.
In his remark, the chairman, Osun State chapter of the PCRC, Comrade Amitolu said the programme was organised to reawaken the people’s consciousness to security in the country.
“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”, he said.
Credit: tribuneonlineng.com
