By Okhide Em’ya David
Edo State Government has been asked to engage all stakeholders, including Youths and Heads of Communities whose forests the Kidnappers host their victims, as well as Security Agencies including Local Vigilante Groups, Hunters, Civil Societies and the Media to tackle worsening insecurity across the length and breadth of the State.
Stakeholders made the Executive Policy recommendations at a one day town hall meeting on security in Edo State, organized by the, Edo State Policy Advocacy Committee (EDOPAC) of the Niger Delta Dialogue in collaboration with the European Union and world of Peace, AA Peace Work held at the Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre, in Benin City.
Other crucial recommendations as panacea to worsening security in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria at the one day town hall meeting in Benin were proper funding, training and retraining of Security Personnel both at the formal and informal sectors.
Other areas include, strong advocacy amongst the people on the need for them to key in and support Government’s war against crime as well as structural, functional and positive engagement of the Media as a strategic Partner in the campaign to halt onslaught by criminals on the People by bandits.
The Government of Edo State was also asked to give priority attention to Youth empowerment, as many youths who indulge in cultism and other dangerous vices are known to be idle, while many lack gainful employment.
The need for moral rectitude and reorientation for reward system in the society where due respect is accorded to hard work instead of undue worship of questionable affluence even amongst religious leaders were examined and recommended at the town hall meeting.
Head of Service to Edo State Government, Barrister Anthony Okungbowa, while addressing Participants at the one day town hall meeting recounted his ordeal at the hands of dare-devil kidnappers, when he was kidnapped few weeks ago.
Barrister Anthony Okungbowa said his experience purely shows that if the local communities through where he was taken to their den are empowered they can confront and detract the hoodlums until superior fire power of the Police or Army arrives.
He said his conviction emanates from the fact that the kidnappers avoided the community people so that they will not raise alarm or confront them, a situation he said could be built on, to tackle insecurity across the State.
Barrister Anthony Okungbowa, however announced that Governor Godwin Obaseki has instituted necessary machinery to address insecurity in the State through establishment of local Vigilante Groups to argument services of the Formal Security Agencies through Community Policing.
In his opening remarks, Chairman Edo State Policy Advocacy Committee of the Niger Delta Dialogue, Barrister Austine Osakwe said the one day Town Hall Meeting was to evolve researched and advocacy tools to engender a process of assisting the polity to tackle security challenges across the State.
Osakwe said participatory approach is a key to tackling insecurity in Edo State and that it has become endemic, and advocated a collective effort by the Government, Security Agencies and the People.
He said the people must have roles in the security architecture which is being designed by the State Government to cater for the people.
A guest lecturer at the Town Hall Meeting, Professor Benson Isadolor of the University of Benin said insecurity in Edo State has led to anxiety, uncertainty and fears.
He Stated that insecurity remains the greatest threat to peace and development, adding that the consequences include the exodus of investors and collapse in wealth creation, gainful employment as well as overall empowerments of the Constituents .
Professor Osadolor recommended a reformed security system that involves all the various groups of people in Nigeria
Others who spoke were the co-facilitator for the Programme, Dr. Nosa Aladeselu, who asked the participants to take recommendations at the one day town meeting back home to their People; former Chairman, Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, Comrade Kaduna Eboigbodin.
Others included GM Nigerian Observer, Mr. Solomon Imonhiose, and an ex-Militant, a senior Member of PANDEF Security Network, General Ben Doyegha who called on the Federal Government to shelve all attempts to protect peculiar ethnic nationality against others in its quest to solve national security challenge.
