Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams; Prof. Ken Duru; retired police commissioners, including Mr. Aniefiok Essiet and Chief Kayode Samuel; top security expert from Netherlands, Mr. Jaap Van Wissen, among others have harped on the need for collaboration among security agencies and support from the citizenry to address issue of insecurity in the country.
Besides, Iba Adams and others charged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure deployment of intelligence and modern security network to tackle insecurity in the land as being done in other countries, saying this was the only way Nigeria’s economic growth can be realised.
The Yoruba generalissimo and others, who spoke as panelists, made this submission in Lagos at A One- Day Security Summit, themed: “Driving Economic Growth in Nigeria with Modern Security Training and Technology,” organized by Donyx Global Concept Limited in collaboration with Ducaat Security Services, Netherlands.
The various speakers, while making the call, strongly posited that guaranteeing security of any society remained a collective task for which everybody must be involved and not leaving it alone in the hands of government.
This was just as Iba Adams also noted that the issue of security was also about sincerity and patriotism on the citizens as well as about putting in place what he termed proper structure in the country “as was handed over to us by our founding fathers and not the Unitary System but the True Federal System of Government.”
“What we are operating now is negative to our ethnicity as Nigeria is multi- ethnic. The return to true Federalism based on the initial constitution of 1960 will allow us to State Police and Local Police and within 2 to 3 years, the issue of insecurity would be a thing of the past in the country,” the Yoruba generalissimo said.
Iba Adams, in his earlier remark, said it was obvious there was insecurity in Nigeria because modern security and intelligence gathering mechanism had not been fully engaged by the government, whose primary duty anywhere in the world was the protection of lives and property.
According to him, in the modern world, this can only be done effectively through intelligence gathering mechanism, saying for this to happen, and development to take place, coordination among security agencies must be sustained.
“Security agents must be driven by purpose, there must be commitment and there must be a sense of urgency to promptly tackle insecurity, anywhere it rears its ugly head.
“So, the ‘clear and present danger’ of banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other vices in the polity can be attributed to lack of intelligence gathering by the government.
‘And if this persists, it will be a mirage to think of economic growth in the country,” he said.
Adams lamented that the high security threats in the country, recalling few sad episodes during the administration of immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, including the kidnapping of a traditional ruler, Oba Benjamin Osho, the Eleda of Eda Ile, in Ekiti East Local Government Area Ekiti state, whose abductors demanded N20 million ransom, the killing of a first class traditional ruler in Ondo State, the Onifon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adeusi, by bandits between Akure and Owo, among others, wondering how was it possible “to now encourage young Nigerians abroad to relocate to this country to help the economy when the government has not shown the courage to deploy intelligence gathering and modern security training and technology to secure them?”
Speaking further, Iba Adams further recalled that during the Buhari presidency, a presidential advance team was attacked in Katsina, while in Abuja soldiers guarding the president were attacked with some of them killed.
Besides, he also recalled that the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja was attacked, occasioning escape of some hardened criminals who till today were still at large.
“In 2022, a Kaduna-bound train from Abuja filled with passengers was attacked by terrorists and some Nigerians, including a young female doctor, were killed. Other passengers were abducted.
“The terrorists even had the effrontery to release a video where they were flogging and torturing fathers, mothers and children.
“I ask: what is the job of Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) and intelligence units of security agencies?
“Is it a crime for Nigerians to move from one place to the other?” he queried.
“During the last Yuletide, hundreds of people were attacked and killed in Plateau State.
“We have a situation in which hundreds of terrorists will gather, approach particular locations, kill people and disappear into thin air.
“This is clearly a failure of intelligence gathering by security agents and this is what the Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidency must tackle headlong,” he said.
Iba Adams, while noting that more than 90 per cent of land in Yorubaland was capable of growing crops based on its God-given arable land and the space not a landlocked territory, but “filled with milk and honey,” however queried: “But, how do we grow the economy and secure our people who are being kidnapped almost on a daily basis, if not through intelligence?”
He said this was contrary to situation in the Netherlands as, according to him, there is nothing like banditry in the country because of a very strong and tight intelligence system.
He said that this small country is adjudged as a leader in efficient and sustainable agriculture – and the second-largest exporter of agricultural goods in the world, adding that the country was one of the largest countries when it comes to the export of agricultural goods such as meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables and fruit, with her exporting €94.5 billion worth of agricultural goods in 2019 being 4.6% increase on the €90.4 billion export figure for 2018.
“Kidnapping for ransom is already creating fear all over the country and if our people can no longer go to farms or travel through the highways, our economy will be affected.
“We must wage intelligent war against kidnapping and the time for that fight is now.
“For any development to take place in any polity, evil must not be appeased. It must be decisively dealt with and fought from all angles like the monster that it is,” the Aare Onakakanfo said.
Dr. Sunny Ofehe, Executive Assistant to the Delta State Governor on External Relations and Disapora Affairs, in his own submission, equally noted that the issue of security was the duty of government, but said sadly that there was insecurity in Nigeria because intelligence gathering had not been addressed.
According to him, the menace of terrorism, kidnapping, among others have not been addressed properly due to lack of intelligence gathering, urging for collaboration among the security outfits in the country.
“We must wage intelligence war, time is now. President Tinubu’s administration must deploy intelligence gathering, that’s the only way to address the insecurity ravaging the land and grow the country’s economy,” he said.
Speaking further, Ofehe, who spoke as a one of 6- member panelists, recalled his experiences in the Netherlands, saying that Nigeria needed a conducive environment to be able to secure Direct Foreign Investments (DFI), to enable the country to grow her youths and secure the country’s future industrially and economically.
“So we need to talk about the issue of security. Nigeria has the potentials to be the largest economy in Africa and even supercede China.
“No Foreign Direct Investments would come if we don’t these challenges,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr. Wissen, who is the Executive Director, Ducaat Security Services, Netherlands, spoke on the need for the country to uphold training and experience, honesty, physical and fitness, alertness, judgment and decision making, communication skills and team players for her security personnel.
Also speaking, former Commissioner of Police, Chief Kayode Samuel, pointed out that security was something no one should joke with, saying that it should be a collective efforts as, according to him, “what you cannot see, others can see it.”
“All this we are talking about the Netherlands, they started from somewhere. Let’s forget about religious, ethnic sentiments. Let us ourselves as Nigerians.
“We should always take security as our priority. It’s only then we can sleep with our two eyes closed,” he said.
Prof. Duru, in his own contribution, asserted that security was a wholistic enterprise, saying that everybody must be involved to ensure sure.
He commended the Yoruba generalissimo for his commitment to protecting lives and properties in Yoruba land, describing him as a focused person.