From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has made a case for the training of schoolchildren in security matters to reduce cases of kidnapping in schools.
The state commandant of the corps, Dr. Hameed Abodunrin, gave the charge while presenting the Female Special Squad of the command to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Oladunni Odu.
Abodunrin advised parents to be vigilant and build security-consciousness in the minds of their children.
He said the operatives would be attending to security issues in schools daily, and charged management of schools and students to cooperate with them for efficient service delivery.
He said: “We should see it beyond policing them because there is the need to teach children to be conscious of their environment. On our part, we are going to give the children tips so that they will know how to handle their own security.
“We are not saying that they should start pursuing armed robbers or bandits, but to know something about personal security.
“As we are teaching our students moral lessons in classes, we should also teach them about security and vigilance, because schools and children have become critical national assets, while human resources are great assets,” he added.
The NSCDC commandant stressed that children are the future of any family as well as the nation, hence the need for them to be security-conscious.
“If anything happens on the street of London or New York, within one or two minutes, operatives will get to the roots, not because of technology alone but because they have conscious population. That is what we are trying to build upon our population,” he said.
Abodunrin said that the NSCDC Commander-General, Dr. Ahmed Audi, established the special squad in line with the UN 2001 Security Sector Reforms.
He further said that the female special squad would be deployed to various schools in the state to confront any security challenge.
Responding, Odu appreciated the NSCDC Commandant General for setting up the squad, saying that it was a welcome development for women to contribute their quota to nation building.
She called for more women participation in the development of the society, adding that if given the opportunity, women would excel in their various assignments, just as their male counterpart.