Nigeria Police Force Official Website

A KEYNOTE ADDRESS PRESENTED BY

SIR (DR.) MIKE M. OKIRO, CFR, NPM, mni, INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE,

AT A TWO-DAY SEMINAR “ON SECURITY

AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT” BEING ORGANISED BY HFC CONSULTING, LAGOS

AT ZARANDA HOTEL BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE 

ON  WEDNESDAY 15^TH  OCTOBER, 2008.

          Permit me to quickly express my profound gratitude to the organisers of this Seminar, HFC Consulting, Lagos for this engaging discussion on Security and Safety Management and for considering me worthy to deliver this keynote address. This is quite apt and could not have been more timely than now that Mr. President is working assiduously to launch Nigeria into the league of twenty most developed economies of the world by the year 2020.

2.       Abinitio, man’s primary and engaging concern has been that of protection and survival from the vagaries of nature, natural disasters and from the ill-intentions and misdeeds of his fellow men. The cliche “survival is the first rule of nature” follows from this deep seated passion for self survival. However, it is not only the individual that is concerned about his personal safety. Interest in security is a basic pre-occupation of every nation and indeed, every community. Security occupies such a pivotal place in the affairs of men and nations as it is only in a safe and peaceful environment that individuals can successfully engage in productive activities and realize their potentials. Therefore, a secure nation is one that is able to protect and develop itself so that it can promote its core values, meet the needs of its people and provide them with the right atmosphere for self improvement.

3.       Renowned authorities in Crime and Economic Development Studies are agreed on the fact that "economic development in the society will affect crime rate in different ways. Criminal behaviour is caused more by social factors than biological ones. Crimes such as armed robbery, assault, assassination and kidnaping will drop when a society becomes industrialized, while at the same time, other crimes such as property crimes like house breaking and burglary will rise. Non-Industrialized countries have a big problem with Human Rights offences than economically developed societies. Industrialized and non-industrialized societies have their own unique problems that lead to criminal activities".

4.       It is in the realization of the above fact that Mr. President rolled out his economic vision for Nigeria, which is making Nigeria one of the top twenty (20) economies of the world by the year 2020. The President's strategies for achieving his economic agenda conspicuously identify security as a major pre-requisite, necessary for the actualization of the above dream. In furtherance of the Presidential vision, the Nigeria Police under my command decided as our mission statement "the creation of safer and more secured environment conducive for meaningful socio-economic development through crime prevention and control". Our choice for this goal as priority was based on our conviction that for the economic agenda of Mr. President to become a reality, there has to be domestic peace, law and order.

5.       The Nigeria Police is very conversant with the fact that there can never be any meaningful socio-economic development without internal security, domestic peace, law and order. My expectation is that this seminar will create an awareness in all, that;

a.       Security is everybody’s business that should not         be left in the hands of Police alone;

b.       Crime prevention requires the involvement of all and sundry, and;

c.       Policing by the body politic through involvement in crime prevention campaign programmes is the recipe for improvement of security nationwide.

6.       We need to partner with the Nigeria Police in reducing the incidences of crime in the country. The highest challenges being faced now are the issues of militancy in the Niger Delta and bank robberies. We are tackling the problems head-on. Few weeks back, I had interactive session with bank executives on finding lasting solution to this problem. Time has come as matter of policy for banks to put in place, effective and efficient security measures to protect the deposits of their clients and the nation’s economy in general. I have informed them that they need to install CCTV Camera in their premises to checkmate the nefarious activities of these bank robberies.

7.       The Nigeria Police is more than ever ready to confront the menace and create a safer and more conducive environment necessary for the realization of Mr. President economic vision of taking Nigeria to the league of top twenty (20) economies of the world by the year 2020. I am glad to inform you all that the security situation in the country has improved tremendously. We witnessed the lowest crime rate during the last Sallah and Christmas period in the last five (5) years. This is to tell you that our crime prevention and control campaign is working. We shall not relent until we reduce the incidence of crime to the barest minimum.

8.       Once again, we have today confronted the  ever-engaging issue of Security and Safety Management in the country. Our continuous interest in the topic simply illustrates the fact that, security is a constantly relevant issue, perhaps more than any other issue that affects our national life. We are duly bound therefore, both in our private circles and Public Forum as this, to continue to ponder on how to partner with the Police in our collective efforts of Crime Prevention and Control campaign in the country. By this, we will be keeping the issue ever current and engaging while helping to enrich its potential value for accelerated development of our country.

9.       I will like to express my profound gratitude to the management team of HFC Consulting, Lagos for organizing this seminar and I do hope that everyone here present would learn something new about our individual role in Security and Safety Management. It is our responsibilities to be law-abiding citizens of this nation.

10.     I thank you all for your attention and wish you successful deliberations.