The plan by the Lagos State Government to recruit 5,000 citizens as neighbourhood watchers is a good employment and security initiative. It will create 5000 jobs and help to improve security in the state. The scheme will also help the government to fulfill its social contract with the people of the state.
Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) states clearly that the security of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. This, indeed, is a basic duty of government, universally.
We commend the state government for this timely intervention. The planned recruitment of neighbourhood watchers is part of the efforts to strengthen the security architecture of the state. Lagos, as Nigeria’s most populous state and former national capital, has serious security challenges.
Hence, every effort to improve its security is welcome. It is good that the authorities have, over the years, prioritised security and invested in its improvement. The government pioneered the public/private sector partnerships, which have seen huge funds raised and committed to improving security in the state through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.  The model has been very successful and is being replicated in some other states.
In recruiting people into the outfit therefore, special care should be taken to ensure that the right persons are employed. This is very important when we realise that the new outfit is coming to complement the existing security structures in the state.
Those who seek membership of the new security outfit should be fit and proper persons who have the appropriate qualifications. It will also be helpful that the intended recruits are people who have lived in the communities they want to secure for a reasonable period. A demonstrable understanding of the complexities and inner workings of the communities the recruits will be asked to secure is crucial for their successful execution of the assignment.
The government should properly train those recruited. Apart from meeting all the academic and physical parameters, it is also important that they pass the psychological and medical tests. It will be necessary to conduct proper background checks on the applicants.
This outfit should not be used for political patronage, or as “private armies” of state government officials. Nigerians are all too familiar with the ease with which some political actors mess up otherwise well-intentioned programmes. The scheme should not be used for self-perpetuation schemes, or to confer advantages on the state officials over their real or perceived enemies to the detriment of the society.
We hope that the Lagos State Government will not fall for this temptation, but will   strive to put the interest of the people first. We believe that this is why the new security outfit was conceived in the first place. Every effort should be made to keep it within this noble objective.
The Ambode administration should ensure that the local governments and the people at the grassroots are carried along in the planning and recruitment of personnel for the new outfit. The outfit will impact this level of government more, and it will benefit heavily from its buy-in. The duties of the outfit should be discussed and agreed upon by all the stakeholders. All other security outfits of government at all levels already working in the state should be carried along too at the critical planning stage to avoid overlaps and conflicts of interests.
It is still important for the state to have adequate electronic security coverage. Efforts should, therefore, be made to improve the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) coverage of the state to ensure adequate security.

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