Adewale Sanyaolu
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) has called on the Federal Government to consider a review of the welfare package for police and other security agencies to address the rising wave of insecurity in the country.
The call was made by the Capon of the Ikeja Chapter of NAS, Panama Deck, Mr.Iheanyi Konkwo, at its Citizens Summit with the theme: ‘State of insecurity in the nation’ in Lagos.
He regretted that the lack of political-will has gone a long way in contributing to the state of insecurity in the country.
The Capon noted that not until something happened to people or relatives of those in power, the wheel of the law does not change, saying this should not be case because the life of every citizen should be precious
Konkwo decried the paltry N300,000 paid to a policeman who dies in active service, saying no policeman risk his or her life for such an amount, knowing that such an amount could not cater for the family he must have left behind.
He equally called on government to look into the state of barracks across the country, saying most of them were not habitable, a development he said contributes to the low morale of security agencies.
The Panama Deck Capon said the Citizens Summit was organised to raise the level of security awareness of its host community, Ikeja, saying citizens should be conscious of their environment and the signs to watch out for, especially when in danger.
‘‘As Nigerians, you cannot see your house or that of your neighbour burning without doing something about it. Security starts with everyone. All these reasons and many more informed the decision of the deck to discuss the theme which we believe will go a long way in nipping some of these security breaches in the bud.’’
Some of the participants at the summit expressed concerns on the state of insecurity, submitting that government was not doing enough to address the high level of insecurity in the country.
They said tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism and the lack of political will on the part of citizens and government has gone a long way to dealing a debilitating blow on the security situation in the country.
They submitted that all hands must be on deck to mitigate the effect of insecurity, warning that any security breach must be promptly reported to relevant security agencies.
They contended that the failure of the national identity card project to harmonise all information, including BVN, drivers license details while serving also as an ATM has further compromised the security shortcomings
The national identity card project has become a failed scheme because the lack of the political will to harness all these features is further compromising security, he said.