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A university Don, Prof. Chidozie Nwafor has called for strong partnership between security agencies and host communities for protection of schools against criminal incursion.
Nwafor, Head of the Department of Psychology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra state this at a training workshop organised by the Anambra State Police command for operatives of Schools Protection Squad (SPS).
Delivering a lecture on “Security Agencies and Community Partnership in Safeguarding Nigerian Schools” Nwafor warned that quality education could not be impacted in an environment characterized by fear, danger to life, infrastructure and others.
He commended the initiative of the Inspector-general of police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun to set up a special security team for the protection of schools across the country.
“I commend the initiative to involve other sister agencies, including the Immigration, Prisons, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Vigilante and host communities in the schools protection arrangement.
“The mutual understanding and trust between security agencies and communities should be prioritised for the initiative to succeed.
“The security operatives and school’s management should be ready to respect the culture of the host communities in order to gain the confidence of the people so that the people would help the security operatives have easy access to intelligence information that would help them safeguard schools under their charge.
“If you come into a community where they don’t kill snakes, or, monkeys, and, you kill them, there will be a chaos. So, try to study the community and endear yourselves to them.
“One security operative can secure a whole community where there is mutual understanding and trust between the security personnel and the people of the community”, Nwafor stated.
Also speaking at the workshop, special adviser (SA) to the Anambra state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo on security, Air Vice-Marshal Ben Chiobi (rtd) pledged the support of the state government to the IGP’s schools’ protection initiative.
He advised the state police command to strive and earn the confidence of the people to further enjoy more of government support.
Earlier, the SPS National co-ordinator, commissioner of police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo pledged that the Force deliberately designed the schools’ protection initiative to involve other sister agencies.
He further said that the peculiar environment of various communities would be profiled and respected in carrying out the security protection initiative.
Public Relations Officer of the state police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga said the command would rely heavily on the support of the sister agencies in view of its limited manpower to cover the entire state.
“The state has about 179 communities, and, as such it is obvious that the command does not have enough personnel to be posted to the various schools, hence the command will rely heavily on the support of the sister agencies,” he stated.
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