As the challenges posed by insecurity, terrorism and ethno-religious conflicts in the country assume a more dangerous dimension, collaboration between government agencies and the private sector cannot be wished away.
Even the security and defence sector, hitherto believed in some circles, to be an exclusive preserve of the government, has been identified as areas that expertise must be harnessed to get the country out of the woods.
This formed a substantial part of discussions at a recent workshop and exhibition on state-of-the art security and defence equipment mounted by an Abuja-based security and defence services firm, Mekahog Limited.
At the four-day exhibition, a wide range of latest state-of-the art security equipment and defence vehicles were show-cased.
Among them were Springbuck VI and FOX Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), riot control water cannons, city surveillance products, drug and dangerous chemicals detection products.
Others were fire fighting and cyber crime prevention products and dog training equipment and accessories.
The exhibition, which lasted from February 25 to 28, this year, attracted top military and police officers, government officials at both the federal and state levels, as well as members of the diplomatic corp.
Among them were Brig-General O. Adeosun, Group Captain B. A. Sani, Commodore F. O. Oyedele and Lt. Col. E. J. Cleopas, all from the Defense Headquarters, Abuja. The Nigeria Police was represented by Mr Godwin Okezie, a Superintendent of Police.
From the Federal Government, came the Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, who commended the organisers of the exhibition, for proactively moving a step ahead to familiarise the country with new technologies that could put her in a better stead to tackle the lingering security problems.
To fight terrorism, the Minister said the Federal Government was ready to partner private organisations.
According to him, he came to the exhibition to demonstrate that the Federal Government was not unmindful of the fact that there is a lot the private sector could do to support it in the fight against criminality.
He said the equipment displaced at the exhibition were proof that the facilitating firms were conversant with the global trend on security and defense equipment and services, assuring that some of the parastatals under his ministry will look for ways of collaborating with Mekahog Limited and its partners to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness
“I am impressed by what I have seen. I have had to travel out of the country on matters concerning security equipment and I must say that what I have seen is similar to what I have been seeing in outside countries”, he said.
Moro said some of the parastatals under his ministry, notably the Nigerian Civil Defence and Security Corps (NCDSC), the Immigration Services and Federal Fire Services, would explore ways of acquiring the Defence products to maintain internal peace and order.
Mr Okezie, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, pointed out that the introduction of the new range of security vehicles, especially Springbuck VI and FOX APCs into the Nigerian Market will help minimise the level of casualties on both sides of the offensive during combats.
Okezie, who is the head of APC Maintenance and Deployment in the Nigeria Police, using Springbuck VI and FOX APCs would both shield security operatives from criminals or aggressors, as well as make it unnecessary for security operatives to use live ammunitions on criminals.
He said the introduction of such carriers in good numbers will be a remarkable improvement over the current practice of using ordinary, unprotected Hilux vans to ferry security personnel, a practice which, he says, exposes its occupants to lot of danger.
Already, Mekahog Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DCD (Pty) Limited in South Africa to set up heavy fabrication engineering company that will assemble APCs, crowd control vehicles and troop carriers in Nigeria. The facility will also provide an ultra modern training centre for fabrication and welding activities.
The proposed company will provide technical training for police personnel and skill acquisition for youths in the West African sub region. When fully established, the manufacturing plant, which will cost about $220,000 in the first phase, will handle complicated fabrication, welding and rolling for oil companies. The venture is expected to create over 2,000 jobs, as well as lead to foreign exchange saving.
Mekahog Limited has also entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Police Affairs for equipment and maintenance capacity survey, in line with the current maintenance strategy of the Nigeria Police targeted at saving the Police huge sums of money. This will involve re-fabricating abandoned APCs and troop carrier.
The military is not left out. Mekahog has also concluded plans to take over the Defense Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), in order to reposition the company for the 21st century challenges. It was learnt that the major thrust of the strategy will be to retool the organisation, especially in the area of research and training. Although it will remain a partnership between the private sector and government, DICON, according to an official of Mekahog, will be strategically positioned to be profitable and offer more employment opportunities to Nigerians.
The Executive Director of the company, Mr Obinna Ohakim, said Mekahog is ready to partner with the relevant authorities in the West African sub region, to “calibrate appropriate response to the array of defense challenges.”
Beyond the imperative of collaboration, observes believe that the involvement of the private sector in the fight against violent crime and insecurity should be deliberately pursued. It was agreed that given the cumbersome nature of the operatives of the Nigeria Police, private security arrangements should be handy to make up where the police fall short, while not compromising the overall security strategy of the nation.
Many private security services outfits are constrained by the required resources and logistics for good training for their personnel. But although there appears what seems to be a proliferation of private security companies, going by the multiplicity of uniformed personnel in every nook and cranny, observers say the challenge persists
Former Imo State Governor and Chairman of the group, Ikedi Ohakim, said the war against Boko Haram and other terrorists groups in the country can be won with less casualties, adding that the government must deploy psychological warfare by using modern and safe equipment to fight terrorism.
He lamented that the country will continue to waste the lives of her citizens by using obsolete equipment, saying that the company has the capability of producing modern military hardware that would surpass those in possession of terrorist groups.
“Now, we have capability that is better than theirs, two times. We have equipment that will go under water, we have equipment that can capture their movement and you as a General, you will be in your office and be seeing those criminals carrying out their nefarious activities.
“Those equipment are available. Smaller countries are purchasing them. The critical thing is that it affects our economy, people don’t want to come and invest because of terrorists.
The company also explained that it has the capacity to turn the outdated defense equipment into money-making ventures for the government.
To overcome the threats of terrorists, the former governor said: “The government must buy the right equipment at the right time because terrorists are always updating their warfare.”
