From Maurice Okafor, Enugu
The Chairman of ‘Global Thank’, a Security Research Organization, based in Texas,United States of America but with keen interest in Nigeria’s security system, Mr Dandison Okeke, has called on both the Federal,State and Local government authorities in Nigeria,to think out of the box on how to curtail social unrest in the country, by providing enabling environment for economic activities to thrive, stating that will go a long way in reducing crime rate in Nigeria.
He also pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to authorize the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) as a strategy of restoring productivity rate in Nigeria. He asserted that the cankerworm of loosing business and working hours every Monday in the South East zone, indirectly retards the scope and chain of business transactions in the country, generally.
Mr Dandison Okeke, who spoke to newsnen in Enugu on Monday, October 21st,ll lamented that the economic and security consequences of the protest for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu were very enormous, even though peaceful.
His words,”Though the South Easterners are those who close shops on Monday,With movement of goods to and from other zones locked down, the rate of doing businesses among traders in various parts of Nigeria are adversely affected. Their turnover is on decline.That to a large extent hampers the economy of the nation.
“When vehicles conveying goods sent from either Lagos,Port Harcourt, Abuja or Kano are delayed from entering the South East zone on Monday, business hours are lost, the rate of turn over decreases. Directly and indirectly, the negative consequences of the ‘Sit at Home’ in the South East zone on Mondays derails National economy.
“Therefore, It will be in the best interest of the nation if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu releases Nnamdi Kanu,as requested by Mr Sowore and others involved in the protest.
Mr Okeke stated further ,” The situation we have found ourselves in this country is very unfortunate. The man hours that would have been deployed into production are wasted to stage social unrest against perceived wrong government policies. The implication is that rate of production in Nigeria has continued to dwindle.
His stated,”Whenever and wherever the rate of productivity goes down, Crime rate goes, all over the world. It is also important to note that ‘Anger and Hunger fuels crime”.
The Security expert who has written four books on measures to curtail heigthening insecurity in Nigeria, is still advocating for Community and State policing as the most vital steps to halt the ugly trend in Nigeria.
His words,”State policing is extremely important for us to reduce escalating crime rate in Nigeria. It is a process where both the Governor of a state, the local government chaiman,the Councillors, the Traditional rulers, among others have a say on how the police in their state are formed and managed.The state police officers knows their terrain very well and their people very well since all live in the same environment. By so doing, Crime rate in every given society will be controlled and managed”.
He described Community Policing as a strategy through which the Police gathers information from the people, because they engage and interact with the people closely in the markets,churches, schools, Village square and other settings.
Mr Okeke stated,” The success of both Community and State Policing is strategic on information. Information gathering is the key act in police operations.
“About 40 percent of Police hours are spent on information gathering. The other 60 percent is when you see them in actiion”
Mr Okeke said that Policing in Nigeria has improved a bit but it’s not yet Uhuru.
“The system of policing in Nigeria has improved a bit, just about 30 percent. Many of them are now equipped with communication gadgets, the creation of police special numbers for contacts and distress calls or reports are all good development. But we still have a long way to go. Police response time to distress calls has continued to be a problem in Nigeria.
“In advanced countries, it takes less than five minutes for police to respond to distress calls.In Nigeria, It takes hours. In my book, I recommended a maximum of 15 minutes for the police to attend to distress calls. If the armed robbers knows that the police will arrive soon,they will avoid crime. I also recommended for operational vehicles for the police in Nigeria. If we cannot afford vehicles, they should be provided with motorcycles,” Mr Okeke added.
He stressed that the four books he published based on his research findings on the security situation in Nigeria, proffers solution to the contemporary problems at different periods.
He said his first publication titled,”Comprehensive Set of Strategies to improve Security in Nigeria was published in 2001.
His second publication with title,Community Policing; Nigeria in Focus” was published in 2003,the third captioned ‘A mildly powered State Police for Nigeria;A Workable Compromise’. While the fourth with titled, “Information strategies for Nigerian Police’ are meant to curtail the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria.
