BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
I applaud the Governor on the recent development of the improved security situation in Anambra State today. If tomorrow the situation changes, the people will call out whoever is the Governor at that moment.
Everyone knows that the primary responsibility of the government is the security and life of the people under them. In all shares of life when you fail in primary duty people would be concerned whether you are capable or not capable.
Therefore, we were right when in the last six months everyone was shouting and complaining about the security situation in Anambra state. The Governor himself assented to that cry by re-jigging the security architecture of the state to tackle the menace of the kidnappers, armed robbers, and the yahoo-yahoo boys. Now we can sleep with one eye open.
Do not argue with me because I have been sleeping with two eyes open for the last six months. If the security continues to improve, I can assure you that we will get to that level of sleep with two eyes closed.
I support the Governor 100% on his approach towards the kidnappers and the like. They should be hunted down and their buildings destroyed. When we were young, we used to say that when the trouble gets inside the 18-yard box it is no longer a small problem.
The kidnappers and criminals had crossed the 18-yard box in Anambra state; they were already into the 6-yard box because there were kidnappers’ dens in almost all the local government in Anambra, with their mushroom shrines behind their dens.
Thanks so much, Mr. Governor that you did not keep a blind eye to the cry of the people, nor did you turn a deaf ear to the plight of Ndi-Anambra. Security should be the primary responsibility of the government. When Governor Mbadinauju failed to provide security to the people of Anambra in 1999-2003, the Anambra people responded properly. Although, the sins of Mbadinauju were many because I have parents who were civil servants, and brothers and sisters who were in school too.
How many shall we count; how many shall we skip (Aga-agu one ghara ibe ya). The bottom line was the response of the people during the election.This is the election year in Anambra. I should not call the shots here because people vote for different reasons. I remember that road networks (infrastructures), schools, salaries, and many more reasons propel people to go to the polls on election day.
Therefore, we would give people the liberty to make their own decisions on who to vote for. The topic of our discussion here is solely on security. Had it been the Governor failed to tackle the danger posed by the kidnappers in the last four months of 2024 (the ember months), I can assure you that by now nobody would be discussing election and campaign because it has gotten to the point that all the major roads in the states were targets, and anyone driving SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) is also a target for the kidnappers.
The clergymen and the religious sisters were in high demand by the kidnappers. The saying goes thus: the death that killed the Alhaji will not show mercy to the Aboki. If the priests cannot move freely in a society what will become of the flock? If gold rusts, I don’t know what would happen to copper. We said that when you praise or thank the warrior, he/she will have more energy to carry on the good work.
The Governor should know that Ndi-Anambra is solidly behind him in this war against kidnappers and criminals. He should take it further to establish a state security system that would eliminate or minimize the presence of criminals in Anambra State.
Electronics should be employed to track the telephone calls of criminals. Drones should be used to govern the unoccupied lands in Anambra. Towns and villages should be whistle-blowers when a teen shows up with cars that are clearly beyond their reach. This celebration of uncounted wealth (ibute ike) should be discouraged. Parents should be bold enough to ask their kids about the source of their wealth.
There should be a good channel open for whistle-blowers and sincere people employed to carry out the investigation, not the Nigerian police (who will watch the watchmen themselves?).My take on the security may not cut it for many people but I would also suggest a few points.
There is a security camera now that is very cheap. The government should try to put one in all the junctions in the state. Every house in the state should have at least one camera. Some families can afford more than they can add more for their security. Towns and villages should have good security personnel, not those old, tired men called vigilantes. They should be well-paid, well-equipped, and literate. With technology, ten people can keep watch over the whole of Isuofia and Igbo-ukwu. There will be a control room where all the cameras can be accessed in one spot. A car spotted at the crime scene could be traced by all the cameras and followed to the last destination.
Intelligence reports should be followed up and kept secret until the investigation is concluded. Proper funding should be allocated to communities, and some communities should be required to contribute to the security of their town. The people in Onitsha may pay more than the people of Obosi while the people in Nnewi should pay more than the people in Oraifite, likewise, the people in Awka should pay more than the people in Ebenebe.
These security funds should not be muddled up with other funds and the contributors should know what the funds were used for. If we can pay for the present electricity tariff (band A, band B, and band C) without seeing the electricity, it will be very easy for the citizens of Anambra to pay security funds if the government uses them judiciously.
Security is very paramount to the survival of every society. The situation has improved in Anambra state tremendously, please keep it up Mr. Governor.
