Experts seek overhaul of security apparatus

Coordinator of Plateau State’s Operation Rainbow, Maj. Gen. Stephen Go’ar (rtd.), has advocated a complete overhaul of the country’s security architecture, adding that misuse of security apparatuses and deployments to private individuals should be stopped.

He stated this in Mangu at the weekend, while inducting no fewer than 250 Youth Peace Ambassadors from Bokkos, Mangu and Pankshin local councils, who were trained by the Institute of Governance and Social Research (IGSR) at the Teachers House.

Go’ar, who was also Chairman of the occasion, disclosed that plans were being perfected to arm security officers with drones so that they could be deployed to perform functions in difficult terrains. He said this would be made possible as soon as the economy improves, adding that with the drones, violent crises will no longer escalate in Plateau State, while information would be accessed faster.

While lamenting the structural collapse in the system, especially the military, police and other security outfits, he said the military that was supposed to be the light bearer was also guilty of the rot, adding that that Operation Rainbow was about 80 per cent closer to buying the drones.

Speaking, Chairman of IGSR, Prof. Jonah Isawa-Elaigwu who was represented by the institute’s Project Manager, Celestine Ukatu, said there were series of violent conflicts in Plateau State, which he said, informed the Institute’s choice of the topic: Early Warning Signals.

According to him, some of the conflicts were avoidable but because of poor handling, they escalated beyond the mundane, resulting to loss of lives and destruction of property.He pointed out that the country was challenged by Boko Haram insurgency, in the Northeast, as well as kidnapping and armed robbery cases in the South, stressing that a lot of crimes were ravaging the country.

Noting that the North Central was the gateway to the violent regions, he said the Middle Belt seemed to stand on a keg of gunpowder, making the region very jittery about how violent upsurge could be nipped in the bud.

“To preventing violent conflicts, we must have to learn the skills of identifying early warning signals. Conflict management is not just only the business of security agencies but also the business of the communities. “That is why the role of youths in preventing violent conflicts is very important,” Isawa-Elaigwu added.