Insecurity

Lack of Motivation of Security Agents Worsening Insecurity in Nigeria-Prof Olagoke

By solomon2day
On 10/05/2019
In The People Talk

It is a known fact that Law Enforcement Agencies now go about their primary functions with the able assistance of criminals.

This is a reflection of the sorry state of law enforcement in Nigeria, indeed most operatives hinge their functions on blackmail, frame ups and set ups of innocent citizens , to compensate for the absence of professionals.

In 2002, several rank and file of the Nigeria Police Force engaged in extra judicial killings. This prompted calls for psychiatric tests for serving and would be recruits to flush out drunks and criminals who had infiltrated the force. The situation remains the same in 2019.

Like the Russian roulette, the circle of corruption and inefficiency has continued to recur in the police force and usually making frantic moves to spin out every police officer that assume the position of Inspector General.

Insecurity is the order of the day all over Nigeria and Nigerians insist that the lack of political will by the government of the day to make the security agencies perform optimally has led to terrorism, kidnappings, killings and violence.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that workers and the security agents are not happy as a result of alck of motivation from government. Excerpts :

What do you think is the way out of the security challenges confronting Nigeria presently ?

The Nigerian Army recently submitted that the security issue most especially in the areas of where Boko Haram holds sway and others have been discovered to be sponsored by some influential people, whose identities are yet to be declared.

If the security challenges are not traced to the root, we will continue to grope in the world of darkness to achieve nothing.

Recently, also the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service submitted that the Nigerian borders, most especially the Northern zones are very porous, making it impossible to control the movement of the areas in and outside Nigeria.

The President equally observed and admitted that the Acting Inspector General of Police is not growing fat because the security challenges are overwhelming.

In Zamfara state, government and Emirs are looking for alternatives to vigilantes for the security measures to be more effective.

The whole scenario boils down to the fact that government needs to be decisive in taking action against any form of injustice and violation of the rule of law, through the following mitigation for eradication measures :

One, There is shortage of personnel in each of the units or departments constituting our agencies, the Nigeria Army, Air Force, Navy and their likes gives us the statistics of what a dependable unit should constitute against international standards expected with regards to the ratio of the personnel/population.

Where there is deficiency , government needs to do the needful in the areas of recruitment, equipment and adequate capacity building through the modern day techniques in line with global best practices.

The issue of state police may equally be revisited to be able to stop the continued killings in almost all states of the federation, with particular emphasis on the troubled regions.

This will equally mean the need for adequate funding.

A recent revelation by Dr. Sidi Mohammed that while soldiers who are at the battle field with the Boko Haram terrorists receive N1,000 daily , the terrorists mere participation guarantees each of them $3,000 on a daily basis, although the Army did not feel good about this observation.

Generally in Nigeria, workers are not happy including the security agents because of lack motivation from government.

For Nigeria to break even in the areas of restoration of peace, there must be a downward review of the remuneration of the political class, as well as cutting down the size of the entourage and cabinet crew for the money to be diverted for the procurement of necessary equipment, prompt payment of salaries of workers, job creation and opportunities, most especially for the youth who have already become puns in the hands of politicians and as useful tools for violence and other diabolic e acts in the hands of the enemies of the state.

Once the cost of governance is reduced and merit becomes sacrosanct in the labor market, restoration of our core values based on peace, honesty and integrity will naturally return to address the issue of insecurity. This will make the concept of keeping good neighborliness become a realizable message of hope.

Once we are able to achieve attitudinal adjustment, security agents would have less to do because good citizenry would have created a conscious awareness that everybody is a stakeholder in the quest to maintain the peace.

Keeping of the justice system and equality of access for an inclusive society will accelerate the pace of development , that would be sustainable to create a conducive atmosphere for good interpersonal relationship.

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari Insecurity