Written by ‘Sina ODUNTAN
Editor, thedispatch newspaper
"Safety and security don't just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment…”
The peace enjoys in Ogun State is not a mirage but a return on investment made a policy by the Administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun, CON.
It is no less unaware that human life is precious. Human life is sacred. “Every living thing wants to live”. Nikita Kruschev in 1960 made this courageous and factual statement.
When you personally experience an attempt to your life Kruschev’s statement would ring in your consciousness. If you have an opportunity to prevent the occurrence of violent crimes you don’t needs an encourager to invest in security and safety, and put policy and programmes in place to ensure peace, law and order.
In 1958, the United States of America had been over-flying the Soviet Union using U-2 Flights to gather information. These missions were not detected by Russia until May 1, 1960 when Francis Gary Powers departed a Military Airbase in Peshawar in Pakistan for a deeper intelligence mission into Russia. His U-2 Plane was brought down by an X-75 DVINA SA-2 guided Surface-to-Air missile in Ukraine. Francis Powers however parachuted. He had taken oath to use a poison-laid injection pin if he was brought down.
Unfortunately, he was brought down in Ukraine by a newly invented missile developed by Soviet Union (USSR). He was captured alone and brought before Kruschev, the powerful Secretary-General (President) of Soviet Union who jokingly asked him “why he (Powers) did not use the poison laid injection pin”. Before then, the US had denied that Francis Powers was flying over Russia on intelligence mission.
Powers, who was already convicted of espionage, “a grave crime covered by Article 2 of the Soviet Union’s Law ‘On Criminality Responsibility for State Crimes”, was somehow and unexpectedly after about two weeks pardoned as Krushev changed his mind. He called Francis Powers and said to him: “My young man, I am a grand-father, I have children and grand-children. I understand why you did not use the poisoned laden needle. It is because every living thing wants to live (my emphasis)”. He spared the life of Francis Power.
At the 2019 presidential campaign to Ogun State by former President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, the unexpected happened. As President Buhari was handing over the APC flag to the then Ogun State APC flagbearer, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR (then), the sounds of guns were heard and followed by flying sachets of water toward the raised platform where the sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was performing one of the most important functions of a political party. Pandemonium followed as everybody scampered for his/her dear life.
The bruhaha that followed proved that the incident was allegedly stage managed by another less powerful leader whose interest was crossed by giving stamps to the candidacy of Prince Dapo Abiodun. That was the audacity of a subnational power against higher authority when sentiment injured security and overrides reasonableness and protocol.
At parallel state congresses of the two factions of Ogun State All Progressives Congress held in October 2019 at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Kuto and Ake Palace arcade respectively, involving 1,730 delegates from the 236 wards cutting across the 20 local governments each, violence erupted at the latter, venue of the unofficially recognised congress. People were maimed, and peace, law and order broke down.
Sixty-five (65) days into office, on July 23, 2019, another challenge that welcomed Abiodun to the office took placess. Some kidnappers had struck at the Ajebo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and kidnapped three persons, the son of the Chief Medical Director of the Lafia Hospital, Ibadan and two members of staff of the hospital. While still in that conundrum, another kidnapping involving religious leaders took place ten days later, on August 2, 2019, as Governor Abiodun was at a retreat organised by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in Abuja. Five pastors of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) from the Southeast were abducted at the Ijebu-Ode end of the Sagamu-Benin-Ore Expressway on their way to the annual Holy Ghost Convention.
Governor Abiodun headed to the Presidential Villa to brief President Muhammadu Buhari about the worsening crime situation in Ogun, particularly kidnapping and banditry. The President immediately instructed his National Security Adviser to provide a helicopter specially designed for crime fighting be deployed to the State. Less than 24 hours the victims were rescued and the kidnappers arrested.
Being a Lagos business man, he was familiar with violent crimes and he had been involved in stemming the rate of commission of crimes in Lagos State. His security consultancy was instrumental to the formation of ‘Operation Sweep’, a crime fighting outfit in Lagos State, in mid-90s that centralised the reportage of commission of crimes in all part of the State by the use of the available information technology at that time.
The wave of criminal activities in the state had tested his administration’s resolve in providing security, but the green Abiodun administration strongly warned that “hell will be a child’s play for criminals.”
These critical experiences enriched the governor’s goals and objectives for the State security policy and investments that were later adopted to ensure that Ogun State remains peaceful, even though security is in the Exclusive List of the 1999 Constitution.
These also reflected in his ISEYA mantra and security and safety became the underline factor to develop the state economically, politically and socially. The ISEYA pillars of action put the critical areas of development into the front burner, including Infrastructure (for I), Social Welfare and Well-being (for S), Education (for E), Youths Empowerment and Job Creation (for Y), and Agriculture (for A). To enjoy a peaceful environment, the government must have human face which the ISEYA has provided. When there is peace prosperity must follow. The State would attract investments both locally and internationally.
The experiences also enriched his decision of the choice of a Special Adviser on Security, and also a manifestation of his bird view on security of life and property – “every living thing wants to live”. He appointed a retired Commissioner of Police who had managed the security of a State, and also helped him to reconstruct the security architecture of the State.
The peace enjoys in Ogun State today is a manifestation of rich security investment, properly coordinated security architecture, and the socio-economic policies that take care of the welfare of the majority of Ogun State residents, including the civil servants, pensioners, women, students etc.
Governor Dapo Abiodun realises that one thing that can spell doom for the security of the state is the lack of unity among the different security agencies. He ensures that the different security formations work together harmoniously and remain on same page.
His economic objectives and projections that make Ogun State an investment hub too require security measures that would choke life out of kidnapping, banditry, cultism, terrorism, and other urban violence in the State, which is straddled between Lagos State, the nation’s commercial capital and 6th economy in Africa, and Oyo State, the third largest city in Africa, with an international border (Republic of Benin) posing the challenges of cross border crimes.
In response to these security challenges, Governor Dapo Abiodun summoned a security briefing, which had in attendance the then state’s Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama and Director of Department of State Service (DSS), Mr. David Tuksa, and other heads of security agencies including the State security apparatus, Dr Soji Ganzalo, Commandant of So Safe. At the meeting, Abiodun declared that his administration would present a draft amendment of the State’s Security Trust Fund to the Ogun State House of Assembly to strengthen the security and safety of lives and property.
“We are going to be re-launching our Security Trust Fund. …We look at the existing bill, we compared it to other bills in other states where the security trust fund had worked very effectively and efficiently, we’ve identified the gaps in our bill and we have sent an amended version of the bill to the house of assembly.”
By August 27, the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun signed the State Security Trust Fund Bill into law, passed by the State House of Assembly.
On his first 100 days in office, Prince Dapo Abiodun inaugurated the committee to oversee the now-amended Ogun State Security Trust Fund. He said: “It is a demonstration of our government’s unreserved commitment towards ensuring that the people have a good life and pursue their legitimate business in a secured environment”.
At the re-launch of the Fund, a whopping sum of N1.2 billion and logistics items were realised from private donors, a development which in no small measure has helped the government in achieving its security objectives and goals and the procurement of crime-fighting equipment, such as communication gadgets, patrol vehicles, motorcycles, bulletproof vests, helmets, and other accoutrements for the operatives to tackle the shortage in tactical and communication technology, including providing funds and operative motivation for the personnel of the security agencies in the State.
It followed by an invitation to the then Inspector General of Police, Mr. Muhammed Adamu, to launch 100 patrol vehicles, 200 security motorcycles, bulletproof vests, helmets, and other security logistic equipment acquired by Abiodun’s administration as part of efforts for robust security engagements for the state.
The Abiodun administration establishes a joint patrol team consisting the military, the police, Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), So Safe Corps and the Vigilante Groups, among others as a quick response mechanism, particularly in the communities affected by the farmers-herders clash in Yewa (Ogun West) axis of the State, and reduce the high rate of violent crimes in the State.
This body later metamorphosed to OP-MESA, and was inaugurated on Friday, January 21, 2022.
This further demonstrated the comprehensive security policy of Governor Abiodun to the protection of lives and property, culminating in the handing over to the security operatives in the state another set of 15 patrol vehicles, two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), communication gadgets, forensic and other crime-fighting equipment.
At the handing over ceremony, Abiodun reiterated his commitment to effective policing that makes Ogun State no go state for criminals. “It is only in an environment guided by law and order that peaceful co-existence, political stability and socio-economic development, or even leisurely activities can thrive,” Governor Abiodun posited.
With a State assuming the status of investors’ destination of choice, it is by no less fast attaining a mega status. It means attaining a certain level of socio-economic development with noticeable growth in trade and commerce with over 6,000 industries and the attendant security challenges - combating crimes and violence to guarantee peace in the state becomes a real challenge.
“For this reason, let me reassure all the security agencies in Ogun State that our Administration will continue to support them with logistics and other wherewithal within available means,” Governor Abiodun assured the security agencies and the people of Ogun State.
Demonstrating his resolve to making every living thing lives in Ogun State, the governor, joining other Southwest governors, inaugurated Ogun State’s wing of the South West Joint Security Outfit, also known as “Amotekun” with 500 men and headed by a retired senior police officer to complement the efforts of other security agencies and to further strengthen the security architecture of the state. Operatives of the State’s Amotekun were carefully selected, trained and equipped for effective crime detective and buRsting operations.
In June 2021, Governor Abiodun, again, invited the then Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, in Abeokuta and presented additional 55 patrol vehicles, 200 bullet-proof vests, 20 helmets, communication gadgets to the Ogun State Police Command and other security agencies. At this presentation, the governor reiterated that “Our administration will remain unwavering in our commitment to ensure that the lives and property of the people are secured”. Flashing back, Abiodun concluded that “Some people have tested our will at different points, but we have also shown them that Ogun State will never be a haven for criminals or criminal tendencies.”
Ogun State remains steadfast in fulfilling its constitutional mandate to prioritise the security and welfare of the citizens, where investors would be willing to put their funds, and to this laudability investors have flooded the State in the last four years. No investor would be encouraged to invest where insecurity is rife and lawlessness and chaos is permeated.
Abiodun’s public-private partnership policy greatly impacted the Ogun State Security Trust Fund (OSTF) as Dangote Cement Plc did not only promised to donate patrol vans in the October 6, 2019 launch of OSTF, but finally delivered 25 operational cars fully equipped with security features as part of its strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards maintaining security of lives and property in Ogun State. These were subsequently received by the then Commissioner of Police, Mr. Awolowo Ajogun.
The latest addition to increase the pool of patrol vans for the Nigeria Police Force, Ogun State Police Command was the donation of another 25 patrol vans fully equipped with communication gadgets to link the control-room with fields. It was not only to improve the police logistics but also in honour of the new Inspector General of Police, Mr. Olukayode Egbetokun, an Ogun State indigene, during his 3-day official working visit to Ogun State Police Command formations.
Of course, no nation, state or community is crime-free unless such an entity is not inhabited by human beings. The recent donation of 25 patrol vans came shortly after two major criminal events took place in Abeokuta and Sagamu, the robbery on the flyover near the NNPC filling station that led to the killing of a Director of Finance in the Office of the Governor and the incessant cultists supremacy violent attacks at Sagamu, Ogun East of the State.
The three autonomous drones purchased by Prince Dapo Abiodun administration was to effectively nib such violent moments before their escalation. The three drones are equipped with night vision cameras and infrared capabilities with their 52” monitors. This investment in procuring the drones marked a significant upgrade of security and policing functions for Ogun State. They were procured to engage in surveillance of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Sagamu-Benin Expressway in order to protect the lives of residents and travellers along the vulnerable two gateways, as well as other flash points in the State.
The State is also collaborating efforts with Lagos and Oyo states in order to reduce crime levels in the three contiguous States by the deployment of surveillance technology – the drones - that ensures quicker response time and deterrence.
The governor said, while receiving IGP Olukayode Egbetokun, “…ensuring security and safety for people and businesses (in Ogun State) is very crucial to attracting investment and promoting economic growth. This is even more critical as we work towards achieving our mission of promoting and sustaining Ogun State as the fastest growing economy in Nigeria and maximizing the potential of every citizens and residents of the state in everywhere they want to be.
“Consequently, the issue of security is one that we take extremely seriously as a sub-national. Towards ensuring peace in the state, we continue to strengthen our support through our already established trust fund by continuous procurement of relevant gadgets, including drones. We will continue to augment the allowances and living conditions of our security personnel to motivate them and enhance security and peace in the state…”
This is the more reason the State’s So Safe Corps personnel should be put on the state government pay roll to continue to perform effectively and efficiently.
The two recent violent crimes that took place in Abeokuta and Sagamu do not remove the fact that Abiodun’s efforts at securing the state have been without results. His huge investments in security and infrastructural development have not gone unnoticed, as IGP Olukayode Egbetokun said, during his recent visit to Governor Abiodun, the Police recognises the burden on security that follows “All these developments coming to Ogun State”.
To that extent, the Police would be creating more police stations, more area commands, and would be bringing additional mobile police squadron into Ogun State “to match the development that is going on in the state. We (the Police) must do everything to secure this state because Ogun State is very important to Nigeria. Ogun State, no doubt, is the industrial capital of this country, and we can’t do less than paying the necessary attention to the state. So, in terms of security, we are going to do the best that is needed for the state,” promised IGP Egbetokun.
There is no science or technology to totally detect crimes before their commission, but the returns on security investments in Ogun State by the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun, CON, is the peace enjoys in the 20 local government areas of the State, quick detection of crimes, prompt arrest of criminals, and robust investigation engender by injection of policing technology. Prince Dapo Abiodun deserves our praises on security and safety in Ogun State.
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