A security consultant and the convener of Southern Youth Development Forum, Pastor Bassey James, speaks with SUBAIR MOHAMMED on the state of the economy and security in the country and how to solve the problems.
What is your assessment of the security situation in the country?
The issue of insecurity in the country is alarming but it is not beyond redemption. The president and the security agencies are rising to the occasion.
I have suggested at several forums, the inclusion of traditional rulers and local government area in the policy framework in the management of security in the country. The federal government cannot do it alone; there must be involvement of all tiers of government. I have said it countless times that the issue of community policing should be the focus. I differ when some people call for state police because it will do more harm than good in a country like ours.
For instance, look at how the State Independent Electoral Commission is being used by some state governors to harass their opponents. I have no doubt that the same thing will happen with the creation of state police. Political parties will hijack it and the opposition will suffer at the hands of the ruling party.
The problem of insecurity in Nigeria will be solved if the government can build up community policing mechanism that would work with the national security agencies. If they involve the traditional rulers in the management of internal security issues in their various communities, with the involvement of the divisional police officers and youths, market women and men, security issues will be reduced to the minimum.
What is unique about community policing, how is it different from state police?
The uniqueness of community policing is that traditional rulers will be involved. Youth organisations, market men and women and villagers will be involved. You take it from the root and the problem will be solved.
In a community, everybody knows who is who. When a stranger comes into the village, people will know. We have used this kind of security system in the past when we had elders watching over towns and villages. If we have this mechanism, the DPO will be part of security mechanism; everyone will be involved, including the police, in the management of security. But if we build a state police now, it will be controlled by the government in power in a state. If you fall out of favour with the state governor, you will be harassed. There will be issues because the state police will be used to persecute you. In community police, nobody will be controlling anybody because we have several traditional rulers and DPOs and the cost of managing security will be reduced. Every part of Nigeria needs community policing. The government only needs to provide them with gadgets and other equipment to operate.
The nation has one of the best teams in leadership today. The president, the vice president and the Senate President are former governors.
Governor Godswill Akpabio’s magic wand in the management of security in Akwa Ibom State was top-notch. He set up the best joint task force and built security villages across the state. He bought patrol vehicles for the police and I was involved in the setting up of the state-of-the-art security and communication systems. The entire state was linked to all the security agencies in the state. An emergency network was created; all the divisional police stations had communication systems. Up to today, the system is still working.
Fixing insecurity is not rocket science. It can be done. Let us create border control security centres, highway security management units, national communication systems inter-linking the states, local governments and all the security agencies. It means that every piece of information will be properly processed. We are ready to assist because we have the experience from what Governor Akpabio did in Akwa Ibom State. I also built and donated a standard police station to the Akwa Ibom State police command. This was acknowledged and appreciated by the then IGP. I, therefore, advise that security consultants and criminologists should be allowed to make contributions to national security projects. Let us utilise the land mass across the regions.
Nigerians are groaning that the cost of living is on the rise contrary to the Renewed Hope agenda President of Tinubu. Where does hope lie for Nigerians?
There is hope for Nigeria and Nigerians under President Tinubu. You will agree with me that the hardship we are facing is not caused by this administration. It was inherited by this administration. President Tinubu has the capacity to solve our economic challenges which are a result of the fuel subsidy removal which jacked up the cost of goods and services.
We cannot continue to live a life that is not feasible. The issue of the economy has always been there. Past administrations only managed it. Now that we have an administration that is bold enough to hit the nail on the head and confront it head-on, Nigerians need to support the administration and I am sure things will get better.
Importantly, I want to appeal to the president to stop every form of dollar transaction in Nigeria. How can we be paying for goods and services in dollars in Nigeria? This is partly responsible for the downward slope of the naira against the dollar. It is also responsible for the high cost of goods and services. There are enough universities and secondary schools in Nigeria. If you want to send your children to school where dollars are paid, take them outside the country. They shouldn’t turn the economy into a dollar economy. This weakens the naira. I can assure you that there will be significant change very soon. Nine months is too short to judge the success or failure of an administration. We should be patient and watch the president solve the economic problems of the country. Tinubu is trying to rejig the economy of the country and this will take some time.
How do you think the problem of food inflation and insecurity can be solved?
Before the discovery of petroleum, Nigeria’s economy was agriculture-dependent. We were an agrarian economy but our reliance on petroleum brought about a shift in our focus on agriculture.
Another problem is the banditry in the northern region where farmers cannot freely access their farms. I would prefer the government to invest in agriculture and empower every Nigerian economically to be able to feed themselves. Every qualified Nigerian should be able to access loan directly from their banks and not through government conditional cash transfer which is often hijacked by interests. The government should also take over lands in some states and convert them into farming. Many of these lands are fertile and don’t require fertilisers. The issue of hunger will disappear if this is done. We need sincere investment in agriculture and collaboration among the federal, state and local governments on agriculture policy implementation.
What is your advice for Tinubu?
I would advise him to convert lands that are left unutilised to agriculture. I would tell him to stop immediately, the transfer of money through the ministries to Nigerians because it breeds corruption. I will advise him to relocate some ministers to some regions. There is no reason for the agriculture minister to be in Abuja. What is he doing in Abuja?
The issue of insecurity can be stopped if all hands are on deck. Everybody needs to work with state and local governments and the traditional institution. I hope Nigeria will become better.
Recently, a team from the National Universities Commission (NUC) visited your proposed Southern Atlantic University. What is that gap your university is coming to fill in the Nigerian university system?
We are bringing in entrepreneurial skills. We are bringing ICT development projects and ingenuity in the issue of technology and education. Every indigene of Akwa Ibom is happy. It is strategically located and we are open to the world. We will use our university to positively affect Nigerians. It is my contribution to humanity in terms of education.
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