ON September 7th, 2024, at a campaign turf in
Ovia-North East, Governor Monday Okpebholo was caught on video saying, “We’re
going to provide you with insecurity…”. That was the moment concerns were
raised about his ability to provide effective leadership and his capability to
govern intrinsically and committedly, should he become the governor of the
state.
Since Okpebholo took office, I’m not sure of any
practical or practicable security measures taken to curtain the murderous
herders across the swathe of the state, apart from the procurement of numerous
vehicles for security agencies and the amendments of the anti-cultism laws in
Edo State.
The governor may have had a poor or bleak appraisal of the security challenges
that’s not grounded in reality in the state’s misery index as terrorists keep
murdering farmers on an episodic scale, never experienced in the past in Edo
State.
Only last week, Mr. Adams Aliu Oshiomhole on the floor
of the Senate told Nigerians that one of the 18 local government areas in the
state has been overran by kidnappers: Fulani herders, bandits and Boko Haram
terrorists.
“It is more correct to say that the entire Edo State
is under siege by bandits; by terrorists and by herders. ” We have terrible
pictures of people who have been murdered in cold blood, including men and
women.
He added, “Just last week, Governor Monday Okpebholo told me that one of the
local government areas is now inaccessible as a result of the level of
banditry.”.
Every sober observer in the state who is familiar with
the remorseless bloodstained mass murderers’ tactics and who have been swimming
in the oceans of blood without protection, compensation or mollification for
the victims knows that the government’s present approach remained a
wooden-headed policy of romanticizing with homicidal herders.
Regrettably, Okpebholo or Edo State is not the only
one grappling with the question of what to do with the radicalized terrorists
who have been stewing over their paranoia, having tagged everyone else as
infidel. Since the Nigerian government has refused to come up with a design to
jolt terrorists back from the precipice of fatal extremism, Governor Okpebholo
has a choice to either adopt the radical and multifaceted approach to stamping
out terrorism or he will continue to govern over the graves of his own people.
To address the issue of insecurity in Edo State,
Governor Monday Okpebholo can consider the following strategies, namely
reinstating and strengthening security agencies beyond the purchase of
vehicles. Interestingly, he has taken a step in this direction by lifting the
ban on the Edo State Security Network (Vigilante Group) and setting up the Edo
Security Corps. He has declared war on cultism and violent crimes as a major
positive step towards addressing insecurity, too.
Strictly speaking, the long-term solution is the
improvement of infrastructure and this will help reduce crime rates by
increasing visibility and accessibility to farmlands by opening up community
access roads. The report that the governor has earmarked N70 billion for
agriculture in the 2025 budget to address food insecurity and reduce the
likelihood of crime is enliven, but the funds will be wasted without a
well-thought-out strategy that incorporates the input of critical stakeholders
across the state.
First, the government should explore modern predictive
analytics strategies to combat terrorism in the state by utilizing machine
learning algorithms to analyze patterns and trends in terrorist activities,
allowing for proactive measures to prevent attacks and killings in Edo Forest.
It also involves intelligence gathering and this has to do with the employment
of powerful tools to gather and analyze intelligence from various sources, such
as social media, surveillance cameras, as well as human informants.
Second, is to monitor and recognize faces of
terrorists via facial recognition devices to identify and track suspected
herders and terrorists. This can be much easier to resolve when you engage
chatbots and virtual assistant systems. The sophisticated system helps you to
engage with citizens, gather information, and provide critical alerts and
updates within and outside local communities.
With the aid of cybernetic-enhanced surveillance
systems, one can monitor and track terrorist activities in real-time and much
of the state’s security challenges would be resolved, using drones and robots
to conduct surveillance to detect terrorist camps and respond to terrorist
threats immediately.
Lastly is the integrated approach. The government must
make deliberate efforts to foster collaboration between law enforcement
agencies, intelligence services, and other stakeholders to share information
and coordinate the fight against terrorism. Also, Edo citizens and farmers can
be engaged through awareness campaigns, education, and outreach programs to
encourage reporting of suspicious activities and promote community-led
initiatives.
With this integrated approach, Governor Okpebholo can
enhance the security landscape in Edo State and effectively combat Fulani
herders without self-fulfilling his earlier promise of “unleashing insecurity”
on the state.
Erasmus Ikhide contributed this piece via:
ikhideluckyerasmus@gmail.com
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