A security consultant in Nigeria has suggested a compulsory information gathering training for graduates as a way of ensuring adequate information is gathered for the government to work with.

Aside from the training, Mr Chigozie Ubani also stressed the need for adequate information dissemination to equip Nigerians with knowledge of how to protect themselves and their investments within Nigeria.

Mr Ubani told Channels Television on Tuesday that corps members at the Nigerian Youth Service Corps scheme, during their one year compulsory exercise, should be giving training on information gathering for Nigeria and not just for the security agencies.

“We need to do enough in gathering information that will help the government tackle cases of insurgency before it escalates,” he said.

According to him, lack of adequate knowledge on how information could be gathered had resulted in the dismissal of cases in court for lack of evidence.

Many cases have been dismissed by Nigerian judges for lack of enough evidence, resulting in few prosecution of law offenders recorded over time.

Commenting on the causes of the insecurity crises in Nigeria, he pointed out that local government heads had been deprived of the power of control over the area they control, having their powers usurped by the state government.

“No one has summoned the local government chairman to brief them on what is happening in the local government where we have these crises and that is because the local government has been castrated. It has been toiled with and the insecurity issues are reflections of the treatment of these local governments by the executive governors,” he said, emphasising the need for the local government areas to be empowered to effectively relate with the people in the grassroots.

On the abducted school girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Mr Ubani questioned what would follow after the girls had been rescued.

“Can the police, military intelligence say they have a team of criminal psychologist that are beginning to look at the trend of crime and tell us what to expect between 15 to 20 years from now?

“What do we equip our children with to ensure that they can deal with the challenges to come?”

Brother’s Keeper Initiative

He stressed that with such information the government could tackle rising cases of crime before it gets out of hand.

“Why did the government wait for groups to become restive before they will tackle them? Why did the government wait until the Niger Delta militants crippled the economy of the nation before they come in with amnesty?” He questioned.

Such situations, he said had kept the government in a position that it would have to negotiate with people that should have been thrown into the prison.

The security consultant also stressed that the issue of terrorism was new in Nigeria, taking security agencies unawares.

“It took some time before they got themselves working together.

“If you look at what has happened recently through the National Orientation Agency where information about the efforts of the governemnt in the fight against insurgents is being disseminated from the centre.

He praised the government for harmonising information and ensuring that it passed through one channel, insisting that the onus is now on Nigerians to be their brother’s keeper and be more proactive about security issues.

“The Nigerian people have not done enough. And that is where I think we should begin to look at. We should begin to look at what will happen next when these girls are brought back.

“We have not bought into this and for several reasons. Nigerians have to take up this security awareness initiative. It is our fight,” Mr Ubani said.

The security consultant also expressed optimism that the girls would be rescued, citing international efforts as a push capable of securing the girls release.