TheCable

Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, says security institutions in the country need a complete overhaul which will result in conformity with global best practices.

Ganduje said this on Friday in Ibadan, the Oyo capital, at the 2022 alumni lecture of the University of Ibadan.

According to NAN, Ganduje, who had earlier attended the coronation of the Olubadan of Ibadanland on Friday, will unveil a N250 million ultra-modern hall in the university on Saturday.

In his lecture titled: ‘Challenges of Insecurity and Nation Building’, the Kano governor said urgent steps need to be taken to address the country’s security challenges.

“Nigeria faces a range of security challenges including, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, drug trafficking, cybercrime, robbery, weapon proliferation, human trafficking, communal clashes, ethnic nationalism, militancy, manipulation of social media, hate speeches, economic and financial crimes, subversive activities, herdsmen-farmer clashes, piracy, among others,” he said.

“Therefore, efforts to tackle insecurity can only be effective if there is a robust combination of legislative and judicial interventions with government reforms that address some of the acute human security challenges confronting a vast majority of the population.

“The formulation and effective implementation of policies and programmes capable of addressing the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria is crucial, especially with regard to poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation, injustice, corruption, porous borders, and small arms proliferation.

“There is also the need to modernise security agencies with training, intelligence sharing, advanced technology, logistics, motivation and change of orientation.

“There should be a complete overhaul of the security institutions in the country to reflect international standards of best practices, so as to pre-empt these security breaches, in particular, the failure of the intelligence services to contain the recurring security breaches.

“There should be an institutionalised approach, rather than the episodic and reactive response adopted by the government in the aftermath of attacks.”

Ganduje also advocated the adoption of a specific timeframe for cases bordering on insecurity in order to ensure timely justice.

“In Nigeria, cases that border on insecurity have most often been compromised. Thus, the law is no longer acting as a deterrent,” he added.

“Our law enforcement agencies must, therefore, be incorruptible and fair. To ensure all these, there must be incentives, good conditions of service and social security.”