From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Worried by the level of insecurity in the South-East and in the country in general, Celestine Okoye, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, has come up with a roadmap to effectively secure the region.
This is as Ohanaeze Ndigbo reiterated its stand that for the policing of Nigeria to be effective, the security architecture must be headed in the states by indigenous commissioners.
The roadmap contained in a book, “Effective Policing and security in South-East Nigeria” written by the retired police chief and a Management Consultant/Researcher, Alphonsus Iheanach, was presented to the public yesterday in Enugu.
Also at the presentation of the book, Enugu State Governor Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi restated his administration’s resolve to ensure that the state continues to remain the safest and most secured in the country.
Ugwuanyi, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Simon Ortuanya, said that security had remained the primary concern of his administration and the enormous investment in that direction had led to peace and tranquillity throughout the state and its communities.
He said that ‘as a government, we take the provision of security very seriously as every responsible government will do. In 2018, a study by the Nigeria Police Force declared Enugu State as the safest and most secure state in the country.’
Welcoming his guests, DIG Okoye (retd) described the book as a child of necessity, explaining that he was motivated to write the book as a result of his experience with people who oftentimes ran to his house for safety.
While promising to come up with the second version of the book within a year, he stated that ‘if we sincerely love ourselves, I believe that there would be no insecurity in the first place.
‘When you go through this book, you will know a lot concerning insecurity, even the ones happening in your kitchen.”
The Commissioner of Police Enugu State, Mr Ahmad Abdurrahman, in his remarks, said that the book was not only about effective policing in the South-East but would go a long way to provide security solutions to the entire country and Africa at large.
‘The author, DIG Okoye, being someone who had got years of experience and tour of duty as a police officer within and outside the country, had put down a germane book to help fight insecurity in its entirety within Africa. The book gave a practical and real-time approach on how security challenges can be collectively fought and positive result ascertained,’ the commissioner said.
Reviewing the book, Prof Charles Ogbologu represented by Dr Alphonsus Ihenacho, said that the 14 chapter book expressed the various concerns of the South-East people as it concerns the current security challenges.
‘The book under review gives an overview of the security situation and how to use community policing and modern technology as well as gadgets to fight insecurity in the zone,’ he said.
‘The book also educated the citizens on their responsibility for effective policing and what they can do to contribute to security, peace and progress of their communities.’
Others who spoke are the representatives of Ohanaeze President General and the Obi of Onitsha, all of who commended Okoye for his work and reiterated the stand of Ndigbo that Nigeria needed restructuring to function well.
