Rejig Oyo security architecture, Albert, others charge Makinde, FG

Killings, insecurity worrisome, say analysts
A former Director, Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies (IPSS), University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Olawale Albert and the National Association of Public Affairs Analysts (NAPAA), yesterday, urged Governor Seyi Makinde and the Federal Government to re-jig the security structure of Oyo State to prevent further security threats that have pervaded the state recently.

Secretary-General of NAPAA, Mr. Jare Ajayi and Prof. Albert stated this while speaking with The Guardian on the gale of insecurity in Oyo State.

Ajayi urged the governor and Federal Government agencies to take the issue of security seriously, lamenting that the spate of criminal activities leading to killings in the state is worrisome.

The NAPAA Secretary-General said: “The Federal Government, through its agencies and Oyo State Government need to buckle up much more seriously because the issue of insecurity is getting out of hands. It wasn’t like this before. We know the government can be on top of it. All it requires is sheer determination, provision of adequate resources for security agents, as well as motivating security agents very well.

The former Director of IPSS, who emphasised the need to re-jig the system and focus on flash-points to forestall a repeat of those unfortunate incidents, urged the state government to invest more in early warning monitoring mechanism to nip the challenge in the bud.

The peace and conflict scholar said: “Oyo State Government must invest more on early warning monitoring and management. That is putting in place higher number of people to move round Oyo State nosing for information on possible problem areas. There is no security threat that is not preceded by some early warning indicators. You must have heard some people complaining, talking about the condition under which they live, of the relationship and so on. Once such information is presented before security problem, what is expected is to put in place preventive measures for ensuring that there is no any public disorder. I think that is the little the government can do.

“When this recent one happened, everybody said the governor seemed not to be in charge of the security of the state. But the problem is that those who will cause problems will definitely cause them. But when you have an early warning system, those who may cause problems, you will know them and then you put your surveillance mechanism around them.”

“There are some sensitive motor parks in Ibadan that should be on a 24-hour surveillance. So, what is expected is that the security of the state should be re-jigged in a way that they focus on those flash points and those individuals who we know could cause problems.”