School Protection: Don Emphasises Security, Community Partnership

The head of the Department of Psychology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, Prof. Chidozie Nwafor, has emphasised the need for strong partnerships between security agencies and host communities to protect schools against criminal incisions.

Delivering a lecture on “Security Agencies and Community Partnership in Safeguarding Nigerian Schools” at a training workshop organised by the Anambra state police command for operatives of Schools Protection Squad (SPS) Prof Nwafor warned that quality education could not be impacted in any environment where there is fear, danger to life, infrastructure, etc.

The UNIZIK don, who was a guest lecturer on day two of the state police command training workshop yesterday, commended the initiative of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, to set up a special security team to protect schools across the country.

He also commended the initiative to involve other sister agencies, including the Immigration, Prisons, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Vigilante, and host communities, in the school protection arrangement.

He emphasised that mutual understanding and trust between security agencies and communities should be prioritised for the initiative to succeed, adding also that security operatives and the school’s management should be ready to respect the culture of the host communities to gain the confidence of the people so that the people would help the security operatives have easy access to intelligence information that would help them safeguard schools under their charge.

“If you come into a community where they don’t kill snakes, or monkeys, and you kill them, there will be chaos. So, try to study the community and endear yourselves to them. One security operative can secure a whole community where there is mutual understanding and trust between the security personnel and the people of the community”, Prof Nwafor stated.

Also speaking at the workshop, special adviser (SA) to the Anambra state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo on security, Air Vice-Marshal Ben Chiobi (rtd)  pledged the support of the state government to the IGP’s schools’ protection initiative, and , also advised the state police command to strive and earn the confidence of the people so that they would support the initiative even financially.

Earlier, the SPS national co-ordinator, commissioner of police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo pledged that the force deliberately designed the schools’ protection initiative to involve other sister agencies.

He further said that the peculiar environment of various communities would be profiled and respected when carrying out the security protection initiative.

Public relations officer of the State Police Command (PPRO), superintendent of police, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that the state has about 179 communities, and, as such it is obvious that the command does not have enough personnel to be posted to the various schools, and, said that the command would rely heavily on the support of the sister agencies.