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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
A former Inspector General of Police (IGP) and advocate of community policing, Solomon Arase, yesterday, through Solomon Arase Foundation, by donated items to improve security in the seven local government areas of Edo South senatorial district.
Announcing the donation at the maiden annual lecture series/scholarship awards of the foundation with the theme: “Citizens inclusion in security management: Edo State model,” Arase said studies have shown that criminals thrive and state security remains perpetually threatened in a state where there is a deep gulf between policing agencies and the citizens.
He said there must come a time in the life of a state when all citizens must, of necessity, resolve to frankly engage with their law enforcement agencies and build a strong synergy to defeat a common enemy.
“For us, as a people of Edo State, there is no other auspicious time for this than now.”
Arase said the nation’s revered traditional institutions were known to be strong social control actors who have been deploying their grassroots reach and time-tested cultural frameworks for information collection and dissemination, crime detection and dispute resolution at community level, adding that their strong knowledge of history, culture, norms and customary practices as well as their reverence by their subjects are vital assets that could be tapped into to engender community-driven policing and address local and national crime and security challenges.
“This citizens-driven internal security model, where youths with different components of the local community, volunteer to complement the state by forming themselves into vigilante/hunters association and community defence bodies to protect their communities from attacks have proved effective.
“The strength of these groups lies not in the sophistication of their firearms, training or pecuniary benefits, but in their exemplary courage, passion for their communities and advantage of full understanding of the topography of their community,” he said.
Arase stressed that the security model has proven to be potent and effective as exemplified by the Amalgamated Afemai Forum (Oduma Squad) and the Esan variant of Atanakpa and “appealed to our brothers and sisters to be gracious enough to support our community defence bodies in the protection of our homeland.”
Items donated by the foundation included a Sienna, 500 motorcycles, 1,400 customised T-shirts, 1,400 customised fez caps, 1,400 whistles, raincoats and torches.
The Foundation, at the event which coincided with former IGP’s 66th birthday, also awarded nine scholarships to university undergraduates from Edo South. Eight of the scholarships were for medicine while one was for law. The scholarships worth N100,000 each is to enable the students pay school fees.
Governor Godwin Obaseki thanked Arase for his leadership and the support he has given him, though he was not one of the wealthy retired officers, he is rich in spirit.
He said the greatest lesson to learn from the scholarship awards is that everyone should go back and start doing something to assist the less-privileged.
