• JAMB seeks protection of its critical facilities
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has emphasised the critical role youths play in promoting peace and stability in the country.
While also calling on insurgents and bandits to renounce violence at a joint peace initiative with the University of Abuja’s Faculty of Social Sciences to commemorate this year’s International Day of Peace, themed ‘Advancing Peace Through the SDGs’ yesterday in Abuja, Commandant of the NSCDC, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Dr. Olusola Odumosu, highlighted the significance of peace for Nigeria’s growth and stability.
He stated: “There is no way we can separate development from peace as no nation will thrive without it.”Odumosu noted that economic growth is contingent upon peace, asserting that “no investor will invest in a country that is always in strife.”
The commandant implored political leaders to prioritise peace in their campaigns, especially with elections approaching, emphasising a shift “from discussing personalities in politics to discussing issues.”
Further highlighting the importance of youth in peacebuilding, he stressed: “We are partnering with the university community because it is an academic environment, and there is a need for us to carry the youth along in our peacebuilding and peace enforcement.”
Odumosu reinforced the NSCDC’s commitment to tackling criminality and promoting peace as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), remarking, “Government can only achieve all the SDGs if there is peace in the country.”
Also speaking, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Abuja, Prof. Mutiullah Oladipo, stressed the need for individuals to imbibe peace as foundational to broader societal harmony. He noted: “As advocates of peace, we must first achieve peace within ourselves, with our neighbors, and colleagues.”
BESIDES, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has called on the NCSDC to step up surveillance around its critical infrastructures across the federation.
The board met with the corps’ zonal directors, state coordinators, and heads of professional test centres. A Director at the Registrar’s office, Mufutau Bello, said the board had witnessed thefts and invasions of some of its facilities in recent times.
He stated that before Prof. Ishaq Oloyede took over the helm of affairs, the board had engaged private security outfits under the supervision of the NNSCDC, but later disengaged the organisations to enable the NSCDC to take full charge of providing security to its facilities. He lamented that despite the engagement with the NSCDC, critical assets of the board are still being vandalised, with many items stolen.
The director called for a more robust synergy with all stakeholders. This, he said, would improve the surveillance and policing system of the NSCDC, ensuring round-the-clock protection.
Director of the Special Duties Department of JAMB, ChidebeAchunine, noted that the vandalisms recorded at the Benin zonal office, Kebbi state office, and at the PTC along Ilobu Road in Osogbo served as a sober reminder of the urgent need to be security-conscious.
