An Abuja-based security consultant, Ms. Ginika Umeaku, on Sunday advised Nigerians on the need to know their neighbors as a means of tackling insecurity in communities.
Umeaku told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that knowing your neighbor would make communities safer, especially in the current insecure situation where no one seemed safe.
Umeaku, executive director of Boardwalk Protection Services, said safety is everyone’s business, hence the need for community and individual safety awareness.
According to her, the security agencies are doing their best within the limits of available resources.
“It is a fact that for various reasons, our security forces cannot be everywhere all the time. While acknowledging the very possibility of sudden security threats.
“I will advise that communities must be prepared at all times to work with police and other security forces, providing them with timely intelligence to prevent crime and criminality before it happens.
“In the accumulation of any suspicious activity, people who see something should say something in a timely manner,” she said.
She advised the government on community inclusion in tackling insecurity in the country, adding that everyone is part of a community.
“The security situation in the country has taken on different dimensions with varying complexities. Therefore, there must be a multidimensional approach to realigning and reordering these dynamics.
“Governments at all levels of the country remain essential to address security challenges as enshrined in the constitution. These responsibilities are expected to be carried out rigorously.
“First, the nation’s primary policing institution – the police – must be structured, well-funded and adequately supervised to function optimally for the effective management of homeland security.
“This should be followed by the accountability of other safety and security agencies for supportive and goal-oriented performance,” she said.
Umeaku said the government must also be relentless in tackling social factors and indices such as illiteracy, unemployment and implementing policies to genuinely contain hunger and the rising cost of living. .
She advised Nigerians to “see something, say something and also do something.” (NOPE)
