South East security summit timely -Opara

Lukman Olabiyi

President of Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OCCIMA), Mr Everest Opara, has commended the recent South East security summit held in Enugu State, endorsing a periodic hosting of such event because of its far reaching importance for the business community and general wellbeing of society.

He said that the summit came at the most auspicious time considering the security challenges the country is facing. According to him, no business can thrive in the midst of insecurity.

Describing the summit as a proactive measure, Opara said: “The truth is that it is a partnership with the government and security agencies to marshal out a proactive plan with which South East will be secured from avoidable break down of security of life and property. No genuine business can thrive when safety of both the investors, service providers and the consumers are not guaranteed. I really commend the effort of the police and sister security agencies for taking up the project. I commend them.”

The summit touched on various perspectives: Spelling out the issues and security challenges affecting the South East region, identifying the effect of the state of insecurity on business in the region, specifying ways through which the business community can actively participate in securing the region, defining a roadmap for setting up the South East security, and laying the foundation for developing a sustainable framework for unbroken collaboration of all stakeholders in achieving a secure South East region.

While calling on the public to be security conscious since it is everyone’s business, Opara, who is the Chief Executive of Everight Diagnostic Laboratories, suggested that such security meetings should not be a one-off thing. He suggests periodic meetings for a continual update on development and new direction since security issues are as dynamic as business.

Another participant, Hon. Emeka Ajih, a ICT consultant, while extolling the security summit, revealed that the focus areas of intervention discussed during the summit bordered on strengthening accountability for professional standards, support for the mainstreaming of democratic policing in the police and towards safety and security issues, to raise awareness both internally and externally on the importance of effective resource allocation for the police, and support systems and planning process that will foster joint security actors working for the provision of election security.