The first priority of any responsible government is to keep the people safe.  The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) unequivocally says so in the Principle of State Policy. Few governments keep to that Oath of office which they have sworn to uphold. But the current governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has shown he is different. For him, protection of lives is a contract with the people.

Before he came to office in 2011, the residents of the state especially businessmen and hoteliers were living on knife-edge. Armed robbers and kidnappers were having a free reign. Child trafficking and abductions for ransom were almost a daily occurrence. The ‘heartland’ of the South-East as Imo State is fondly called, was a dreaded place for visitors.

The neighbouring Abia State, the ‘God’s Own State’ was even worse. Banks sometimes refused to open their gates for customers. It was that bad.What was initially seen as a petty crime, meant to draw attention to perceived ‘marginalization’ by the Federal authorities, soon became a lucrative, but dreaded crime.

South-East paid the price. Investors were afraid to invest in these states. According to ‘Doing Business Report’, a World Bank sub-regional publication in 2010, Abia and Imo States were listed as two “most unfriendly” states to do business in the whole of South-East. It was because kidnapping for ransom had become everybody’s worst nightmare. Parents often tell sad, heart-rending stories of how their children were abducted at gunpoint. Businessmen were not left out. Nobody was safe.

But things have started to look up for good. It is because of the renewed strategies adopted by Governor Okorocha to flush out criminals from the state. It’s no longer business as usual.  crimes such as kidnappings, child-trafficking, armed robbery and cultism are no longer having a field day in the state. Crime is no longer risk-free in the Eastern heartland. The results are showing. The latest World Bank report on the Ease of Doing Business, ranks Imo State as one of the safest states in Nigeria to do business, only second to Enugu state in the South-East.

What could be responsible for the governor’s accomplishment on security? It’s not too far fetch to see the answer. Less than two weeks ago, the Governor donated 27 high tech security equipment worth billions of naira to the police command in the state. The equipment which was presented to the state Police Commissioner by the Chief of Staff to the Government House, Chief Uche Nwosu, are part of the death knell on criminals in the state.

In 2012, when criminals were rampaging the state, the governor donated 100 high tech security vehicles to the Police, the Army, the State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Last year also, the state government donated 30 security vans to the SSS, the Police, Army and the Civil Defence Corps. In four month alone, the state police commissioner, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu says 88 kidnappers were arrested under the state anti-crime operation known as Nkpochapu (operation wipe out).

These are pragmatic steps of a government that values the lives and property of its citizens. When I visited the state recently, the residents and businessmen are in high spirits. People can freely transact their business without fear. Mrs Peace Agbaso, whose nine-month old son, Chiemerie, was abducted in her salon shop located at Odueze street Owerri, in early 2012 agrees that the state is now safe. She says if the security put in place by the governor was there before 2012, her son perhaps would not have been abducted. She still believes that four years on, her son could still be found. It’s possible.

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The donation of the security equipment to the Police is not the only measure that has helped to reduce crime rate in Imo State. In furtherance of its battle against criminals, last month, Governor Okorocha and his Abia state counterpart, Okezie Ikpeazu, signed a joint security partnership to police the borders of the two states. At the end of the Security Council meeting, the security chiefs of both states were mandated to hunt down criminals wherever they are. This was sequel to the abduction and murder of five Fulanis and two Igbos at a notorious forest located on the border of the two states.

The Security Council Meeting which took place at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Umuahia, also agreed that such Joint Security Meeting should be sustained to ensure that the two states remain safe. Governor Okorocha specifically assured that the state would always join forces with all security agencies to flush out what he called the “witchcrafts of the men of the underworld”.

There is no doubt that policing the borders for effective security will curb criminality and influx of other crimes. Reports from the two states say the joint-border surveillance  patrol is already yielding results, with criminals taking their exit from the two states.

Before now, Governor Okorocha had dealt a heavy blow to criminality in the state when he tasked traditional rulers in the state to rise to their responsibility by fishing out criminals in their domains. He had threatened to dethrone any royal father if any suspected criminal is found to have come from their community. That decision, many say, was a masterstroke that has reduced the spate of kidnapping incident in the state. To further tighten the screw on the felons, the governor few years ago sent an anti-kidnapping bill to the state House of Assembly. The Bill which has since become law, prescribed stiff penalty against kidnappers, as well as confiscation of property owned by them.

Governor Okorocha knows that the commitment of his administration to keep the state free from criminals is one sure way of making a success of his people-oriented policies. In recent months, the governor has made true his promise to industrialise the state through the establishment of industries. Recently, the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a group of Chinese investors for that purpose.

But, without a conducive environment and a risk-free atmosphere, investors cannot commit their resources and expertise. Having successfully made Imo the best in poverty alleviation among the South-East states, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), such accomplishment will be meaningless if the state is not rid of the activities of hoodlums.

Altogether, the governor and his team deserve commendation for their prompt response to security in the state. Governor Okorocha’s good example should be reciprocated by the Police and other security agencies for whom the security equipment have been given to turn the heat on the criminals.