By Patrick Obia
Following the security challenges stirring at Cross River State and Nigeria on the face, Obol Lopon of Mkpani, Obol Sunday Obono; former lawmaker, Alex Irek and the Chairman, Preventive and Early Warning Committee of the Partner for Peace, Alhaji Shabaan Abdullahi, have said that all hands must be on deck to curb insecurity.
This advocacy was made on Hit 95.9 FM regular program “The Dialogue With Agba Jalingo”, where the guests unanimously affirmed that, security is a collective responsibility, both the Government and the security agencies should live up to expectations.
On his part, Obol Lopon of Mkpani, Obol Sunday, who claimed that most of the communal clashes being experienced in some communities in the State is as a result of personal greed from certain individuals who wants to gain from it.
“Most of the crisis we experience in our various community sometimes are caused by personal greed, sometimes it is caused by someone trying to put himself before the interest of the entire community. We have to ensure that while this issue is put on ground for us to ensure we limit the causes of these crisis, we want the Cross River State Government to ensure they make certain provisions in the sense that we have community administration, just to ensure we limit the causes of these crisis.
“It is for the Government to make funds available to those local communities for them to checkmate those criminals in our various community; it is to ensure we have local vigilantes that will monitor these criminals in our community.” The King said.
Towing the same path, Alhaji Shabaan, described what he termed “pouring water on a hen’s back” adding that Government poor response and personnel recruitment is a huge challenge in the State as the perpetrators of these crimes go scot-free.
“Most of our communities are having communal clashes why because, most of the stakeholders have failed to shoulder their responsibilities and what is that responsibility that lies ahead of the community; prompt reporting to security agents but then when you report, the security agents have their own challenges, most at times there is no mobility; most at times they lack equipment to do the job
So all these things leads to insecurity. Cross River State has the highest number of communal crisis in the whole of Niger Delta, which we all agreed. There is no community that don’t have communal clashes with his neighbor.
“Building a Police station is another thing but you need to equip it with man power and equipment for them to work. Today if you see the security operatives, they have shortage of manpower and one of the greatest challenge we are being faced with today, some people in the security agencies are recruited not out of credibility but out of who is behind them and for that reason they give information to this hoodlums and that is why we cannot stampede these criminal activities in our society; so we need to checkmate their activities too, whom do we recruit to be a security agent? That is why we are having a lot of security challenges, look at Cross River State, look the vehicle and equipment they use for patrol; ordinarily, those cars are not for security. You and I know that there are special vehicles for security purposes not these cars.
“Our security operatives need to be checked because of the attitude they exhibit within the populace. Most of times to compromise with those perpetrators instead of contending with them, not only that, send useful information to them and that is why it is giving us huge challenge.” Alhaji said.
Affirming what his colleagues asserted, Mr. Alex Irek averred that it is a collective responsibility adding that a Governor is not supposed to be the Chief Security Officer in the State.
“The Governor suppose not to be the Chief Security Officer of course, in that vein, if we look at it critically if we take security as a collective responsibility and sincerely and believe in the importance of security, I don’t think there will be any problem.” Irek opined.