By Hugo Odiogor
Nigeria may spend a hefty sum of  N6 billion over next five years in restructuring and enhancing its physical and personal security system, with advanced technology and human capacity building in response to the embarrassing security situation facing the country in a crucial election year.

Following the recent bomb blasts in Jos and Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan met with the nations security council on Monday to review the incidents and resolved to introduce CCTV in public places with a view to monitoring and tracking crimes and acts of terrorism.

Saturday Vanguard had exclusively reported on October 30, 2010, that introduction of technology to enhance physical and personal security demands of the country was part of the comprehensive proposal sent to the presidency, after the golden jubilee bombings in Abuja ,by Senior security  chieftains who advised Dr. Jonathan to restructure the nation’s security assets in line with the  fast changing world order.

Senior security advisers have sent a proposal to the president asking for creation of a Home land Security Ministry to take care of the challenges of terrorism, with the Ministry of Interior coordinating immigration and police affairs, Civil Defense corp and other paramilitary agencies. They had also advised on “the creation of  national guard,  to relieve the police and the military burden of  being dragged into quelling social conflicts across the country.” Sources said “the  distractions of politicking in an election year,  had caused a delay in presenting the issue to the federal executive council”.

Sources told Saturday Vanguard that the decision of the Federal Government to install surveillance cameras in strategic places will be expanded to include the state and local governments as well as the private sector. “The surveillance gadgets will be deployed in high demographic centers like stadia, markets, motor parks, tourist locations like hotels and beaches, airports and entertainment venues, churches and mosques, government buildings and schools”.

The new initiative will also entail “a huge investment of a minimum of N6 billion for mapping of locatins and building of control centres, procurement of equipment, training of personnel,, purchase of spare parts and maintenance cost, but the government has been advised to spread the project to a period of five years to avoid huge wastage, but this has not been captured in the 2010 budget”.

Security companies and consultants from South Africa, Israel, United States and China are favoured to provide the equipment, training of personnel, mapping and construction of the control centers.

The proposal to review the nation’s security asset and the operation of its security community centre following the October 1, 2010 bomb blast near the venue of the golden jubilee celebrations in Abuja, the Christmas and new year bomb blasts in Jos and Abuja.

No fewer that 15,000 security personnel drawn from the state security services, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency,  the Anti Terrorist Squad and the Police Force, will benefit from various training programmes that has bee proposed to President  Goodluck Jonathan.

Belated Response and external interference

However, diplomatic sources told Saturday Vanguard that “Nigeria seems to be waking up too late in the day. Such security measures are put in place when no body or group should feel it is being targetted Now your country is  paying the price of neglecting  series of warnings that it has been targetted for terrorist attacks since 2003. Specifically, Nigeria, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Kenya,  Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and India were listed as countries where Al-Queda could attack

“Incidentally there have been series of terrorist attacks on trains in New Delhi and Mumbai  Oberoi Hotel in 2008. Indonesia has suffered terrorist bomb attacks in Bali hotels and beaches while, the U.S embassy in Nairobi has been attacked. The last incident in the Kenyan capital was the attack on  football fans watching the World Cup final match in July, but somehow authorities in Nigeria felt indifferent to the golden jubilee bomb blasts”, one source said.

Past Neglect

A source told  Saturday Vanguard that the nation’s security community has been neglected in the last 12 years by the political leadership which has only been interested in using security operatives to protect them selves and intimidate their opponents. He said “there is nothing like covert operations or planting mole to penetrate the camp of anti social groups whose activities threaten state security.

Instead they use these operatives to write fictions in the name of security reports or scare leaders. This is the reason for our not being proactive.”Nigerians have been expressing concerns that billions of funds set aside as security votes are embezzled without question.