By Chukwuma Umeorah
Policy analyst and development economist, Emeka Okegwu, has said policies remained mere declarations if not backed by proper actions and programmes by government to ensure effective implementation.
Okegwu stated this while speaking in a television interview, yesterday.
He said it is in the goodwill of any government to develop policies to improve the welfare of its citizens, but however noted, that there must be deliberate effort at all levels to ensure these policies are implemented.
Speaking on the security infrastructure in the country, he said despite the good intentions of President Muhammed Buhari, there have been little or no remarkable improvement in security due to inadequate government actions to achieve the required result.
“What we have done all these years is to roll out policies. However, policies do not function in isolation of programmes and actions. As Nigerians, we should have been interrogating these programmes and actions of government to ascertain their efficiency. The president believes he has done his best, but moving forward, the best is not enough when you do not juxtapose with actions that gives impetus to your policies.”
While proffering solutions to the security challenges bedevilling the country, he advised that along with policies, the Federal Government needed to do more in the areas of developing the capacity of security personnel across the country, providing them with adequate and sophisticated equipment as well as introducing modern technology to assist in information gathering for the security agencies.
“Meaning well and doing well are two different things. For you to mean well is to have a vision, for you to do well is to take actions that support your vision. When we hear of government announcements of training our security personnel and improving their operations, we begin to ask questions like how many officers are being trained and if it is enough to address our challenge given the size of population, are there facilities readily available for the training.
“Before setting up police training programmes, you first need to equip the police colleges, and improve the capacity of those who would transfer these skills to these officers. Also, to deploy new technology to aid the process like setting up a reliable criminal database in the country.”
He also suggested the establishment of community policing that would address security challenges at grassroots.
“Community policing is essential to resolving our security issues. We all live in communities where everyone knows themselves. Community policing, just like vigilante group, should be properly established to curb security problems in our communities.”
While emphasising the importance of security, he urged the Federal Government to up its game in ensuring a safe environment for the February presidential election even as he called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to do more to ensure a smooth electoral process.