By Augustine Ehikioya
To successfully overcome security challenges in the country, the Commandant-General, Nigeria Security and CIvil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, has called for synergy among security agencies.
According to him, everything should be done to end the current rivalry among the agencies.
In a statement by the Director Public Relations, NSCDC, DCC Olusola Odumosu, made available to Security Watch Africa (SWA) on Friday, the Commandant-General pointed out that role conflict is a major bane of cohesion among security operatives.
The statement said “To overcome the recent quagmire confronting the Nation’s security architecture, there is need for all security agencies to come together and work assiduously to achieve a common goal”.
“This was the charge of Dr Ahmed Audi, mni, the Commandant-General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to all Security Chiefs in the country.
“He made this cry for the umpteenth time while featuring as a Panelist during a panel discussion on “Nigeria’s security and law enforcement agencies and the challenges of policy and program implementation” organized for the participants of Senior Executive Course 43, 2021, at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) kuru, Jos.
“The CG reiterated that role conflict is a major bane of cohesion among security operatives and also one of the causes of failure to nip in the bud various crisis rocking the country.
“We must not sit down and watch some doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country to put clogs in the wheels of peace and progress of our dear country, Nigeria” he said.
He said that security agencies need each other to perform creditably in this onerous task of ensuring internal security, “therefore, there is need for renewed synergy, cooperation and collaboration to tackle the inherent insecurity challenges because no service has a monopoly of any strategy and we must go back to the basics and meet at the drawing board to speak with one voice if we must win this asymmetric war.”
According to Audi, “even though there is interdependency, every agency has a clear-cut mandate and we all know our limitations, there is no need for the rift or unhealthy rivalry we are experiencing today which is causing us lots of drawback.
“We should all look at the bigger picture which is National Security, in order to put Nigeria back on track and share information and intelligence to solve our security problems,” he was quoted as saying.
The Corps helmsman maintained that NSCDC can boast of well over twenty thousand (20,000) graduates and about forty-seven (47) PhD holders in the service as at today.
He also said that the Corps personnel have undergone different composition of trainings by virtually all security agencies in the country and “this gives it a comparative advantage of versatility and competence to intellectually and strategically collaborate with any agency of government genuinely interested in the growth and development of Nigeria.”
He appealed to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to come up with a robust policy that will create an enabling environment for security operatives to function effectively, lessen their burdens and improve their welfare “as this will serve as a catalyst for the operatives to put in their best and perform effectively.”