Valentine Ozigbo, the frontrunner in the November 2021 Anambra governorship election on the Peoples’ Democratic Party platform, PDP, has commended the South East Governors’ Forum on the recent formation of a regional security outfit named “EBUBEAGU “.
The establishment of the security outfit was made public after the first South East Security Summit by the governors’ forum held in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Sunday, April 11, 2021.
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Mr Ozigbo, while appearing on Arise News’ show, ‘The Interview’ on Monday, April 12, 2021, commended the South East Governors’ Forum for taking such proactive measure geared towards curbing the menace of insecurity which is rapidly overwhelming most parts of the country, including the South East.
According to the respected business leader, the establishment of regional security outfits is a welcome development. He also declared that the initiative’s added benefit is that locals would constitute the security outfit personnel would boost community policing efforts.
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“I have advocated for such security measures anywhere and anytime I had the opportunity to discuss security issues,” Ozigbo said.
“The failure of the Nigerian security architecture can be attributed, in part, to the fact that security personnel are often posted to locations they are unfamiliar with.
“It is difficult to police a community whose language you don’t understand, whose customs are alien to you, and whose social structure you know nothing about. Local problems need to be met with localised solutions,” Ozigbo maintained.
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Ozigbo, who is the immediate past President and Group CEO of Transcorp Plc, said that he belonged to the group of Nigerians who have been advocating for state policing – declaring that such a move would strengthen the internal security of Nigeria.
“State and community police is a common practice worldwide, especially the Western countries, and there is clear evidence of its positive results,” Ozigbo said.
“I believe that with proper funding, meaningful synergy with national security agents, and adequately motivated personnel, this nascent regional security outfit will complement the activities of our federal security agencies.
“This is a combination that would be the panacea to the security challenges in the region,” Ozigbo added.
Ozigbo further lauded the South East Governors’ Forum for banning open grazing within the region. He said that the move was long overdue, as no progressive society would encourage such an archaic and crisis-ridden system of animal rearing in this 21st century.
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“We live in an ever-advancing world where methods of farming and animal husbandry have been computerised and industrialised. Open grazing belongs to the past. Its downsides far outweigh its merits, and it must be done away with at this stage of our development,” Ozigbo maintained.
“I am an advocate of continuous improvement, and if we are to progress as a people, we must imbibe new ways of doing things. Global best practices lean towards ranching as a favourable way of cattle rearing. It gives the farmers more control over their livestock and eliminates the conflicts between herders and farmers,” the prominent philanthropist declared.
Ozigbo, on a final note, advised the governors and relevant stakeholders to ensure proper training, orientation, and arming of the personnel to be recruited into the Ebubeagu Security Network for optimal performance.
