By Sumaila Ogbaje
The coalition of Civil Society Networks across the country has called on the government to employ community policing and the use of technology in the fight against banditry, insurgency and kidnapping.
The Chairman, North-East CSO Network, Amb. Ahmed Shehu, made the call in a Communique issued at the CSOs media engagement on the State of the Nation on Friday in Abuja.
Shehu said the CSO Networks across the country had expressed serious concerns about the state of the nation and scale of insecurity in some part the region ranging from economic hardship insurgency, kidnapping and youth restiveness that had become too common.
He said the CSO had identified the need to promote a common understanding of the genesis and current state of the unfortunate developments, which had overwhelming implications on the lives and safety of citizens and overheated the nation’s polity, dividing Nigerians along those lines.
According to him, the recommendations were made after a robust discussion on the role of citizens on complimenting the effort of the government and other stakeholders, peace, security, economy, good governance and service delivery.
“On security, we call on the government to employ community policing and the use of technology in the fight against banditry, insurgency and kidnapping.
“Multi security coordinated attack should be introduced in wiping away red spots using land and air forces, particularly across all the volatile areas in the Northwest, North Central and North Eastern parts of the country.
“Declare a state of emergency on youth unemployment and economic resuscitation with a view to enhance skills and create jobs so as to make them self-reliant. We believe this will reduce their vulnerability for recruitment into criminal activities.
“It has been observed that, of recent there is a weak collaboration and inter agency rivalry between and amongst security agencies operating in the country.
“As the new service chiefs assume office Federal Government should facilitate a process of ensuring effective and efficient synergy and coordination between the various security agencies.
“We, therefore, call on the FGN to expeditiously implement the National security Policy and engage with the National Assembly to facilitate the review of existing legal instruments to enhance effective inter-agency collaboration amongst various security agencies,” he said.
On subsidy removal, Shehu said the group had urged the government to reverse recent increase in fuel price and expedite actions in introducing palliative measures and consider the some measures.
He urged the government to rehabilitate refineries, introduce affordable transportation, explore other alternative means of energy, review workers salary and include CSOs into the presidential steering committee on palliative so as to represent the interest of the non-working class
“We call on government at all level to improve on its engagement and sensitization of citizens before taken major decisions, especially on issues of national importance.
“Government should leverage on the presence of National Orientation agency and CSOs networks and its partners in enlightening the citizens to understand its policies and programme, their roles, rights, and responsibilities.
“This will help in ensuring good governance, inclusiveness and effective service delivery.
The networks also called on government to adopt the National Policy on protection of civilians, as a mark of deliberate action to reducing the likelihood of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructures during all phases of military operations.
This, he said, will not only demonstrate government commitment to protection of civilians and civilian harm mitigation but more importantly, will promote civil military corporation which is crucial towards winning the fight against insurgency, kidnapping and terrorism in the Region.
Shehu also called on sub national government that are yet to join the Open Government Partnership to do so in order to ensure effective service delivery to the citizenry and create channels of engagement with citizens.
He said that such engagement could be through town hall meetings, media parley and community consultations, adding that it would go a long way towards early warning ,early response to crisis and curbing the trust deficit that was gradually widening by the day.
According to the communique, the current economic situation has adverse effect on productive men and women from active socio political and economic activities like farming and other means of livelihood.
He said there should be deliberate attempt at empowering the citizens towards meeting their basic needs of life, through effective and full implementation of Social Investment Programs Law.
“As a result of the cost-of-living crisis our sector has witnessed a growing demand for nonprofit services, a reduction in donations because of the crisis and an increase in energy costs (fuel subsidy removal) is making it difficult for nonprofits to stay afloat.
“For a sector that brings hope to the common man across communities, provides employment, and pays taxes, many organisations are at a state of panic unless they manage to get additional funding they would really struggle.
“We call on the Federal Government to consider support for the nonprofit sector as it did during the pandemic.
“Any support to public sector employees should be extended to the nonprofit sector especially those delivering essential services to the vulnerable such as orphanages, women and children’s shelters, homes for the elderly, gender-based violence referral centers, nonprofit clinics, nonprofit schools and those delivering humanitarian aid in the North-Eastern part of the country.
“We call on the government to invest public funding in a rapid and massive increase in vaccine manufacturing through transparent budgetary allocation and prompt release of funding to the Nigerian hub and spoke facility In Nigeria as approved by the World Health Organisation and in ways that serves public interest.
“Nigeria must manufacture its own vaccine in order to guarantee its sovereignty and guarantee the long-term public investment needed to develop and maintain the human capital and physical manufacturing infrastructure required to meet needs now and for future pandemics,” he said.
The CSOs urged government to protect and promote fundamental freedoms such as freedom of association, register and operate nonprofit organisations freely in line with their charitable purposes.
This according to him also include freedom of expression (free press and citizens participation including proving feedback on government policies) and freedom of assembly (ability of citizens to protect peacefully).
“It is only when these freedoms are safeguarded that the media and citizens can serve as a watchdog of the people in checking the excesses of government and promoting the greatest good of the greatest number of our people,” he said.
On his part, the CSO Representative for Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) Nigeria, Peter Egwudah, said that NGOs operating in the North-East were susceptible to being used as conduit for money laundering.
Egwudah called for close collaboration between the government and the CSOs to achieve effective result in their humanitarian efforts, saying the work of NGO was to support and compliment the efforts of the government.
He said that there was need to look at the causes of the crisis before talking of deradicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of the persons involved in violent crimes.
Egwudah added that efforts and should be made to ensure inclusion otherwise known as community engagement and localisation, which he said was well entrenched in the North East. (NAN)
