By Orndiir Terzungwe
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
Above, is a popular saying, its meaning is explicit, free of ambiguity. In effect, success is most likely attainable when effort is made, and vice versa. In other words, when no effort is made towards attaining any goal in life, failure certainly becomes an obvious result. The foregoing is applicable in every sphere of life, including leadership which is the desire of many people.
Thus, looking at planning with regard to the appointment and performance of the present Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Abubakar Audi PhD, mni, it may be right to posit that his appointment and transformational efforts are geared towards success.
His plan of becoming who he is, the position he occupies and performance today are traceable to his academic attainment and professional capacity development.
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From a humble beginning, the third Substantive Commandant General, who is a member of the Senior Executive Course 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru-Jos, holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Public Policy Analysis. To his credit also, he possesses two Master Degrees, one in Public Administration and the second one in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.
The amiable and well read Commandant General (CG) also has two Bachelors’ Degrees; first in Physical and Health Education and the second is in Public Administration.
Upon his employment in the NSCDC where he has meritoriously spent over two decades, the number one Civil Defender in Nigeria rose in ranks from ASCII to his presented appointment as CG. His sojourn in the corps has enriched his experience from a general duty officer to a Divisional Officer, Head of Units, Area Commander, Head of Departments, State Commandant, Commandant of Disaster Training College and Zonal Commander to the present.
In view of his antecedents and due regards to experience as the best teacher, one may conclude without fear of contradiction that the incumbent Commandant General of NSCDC is a square peg in a square hole. It is thoughtful that his accomplishments today as the Chief Accounting Officer of NSCDC are connected with commensurate labour he had performed in the past.
Little wonder, on assumption of duty and in the course of his maiden address of officers and men of NSCDC at Headquarters in Abuja, the Commandant General confidently revealed his vision for the NSCDC by saying he has come to rejig, revamp, reactivate, restructure and reposition the corps.
Ever since, he has embarked on transformational programmes to turn the fortunes of the agency. His administration has introduced Commandant General’s Quarterly Conference to bring all hands on deck. The conference brings together all Deputy Commandants General (DCGs), ACGs and Commandants of Corps (CC) who are members of very senior management from all formations to inculcate in them policies and programmes of the administration.
So far, three of such meetings have been convened at the instance of the Commandant General to examine the level of policy implementation (activities), challenges and proffer way forward.
In order to ensure that every personnel in the corps become acquainted with his policy direction and implementation, the CG has given a clear directive to Zonal Commanders and State Commandants to also cascade similar meetings at the Zonal and State commands to brief their subordinates.
It is also heartwarming that the establishment of the Special Female Squad (SFS) in the NSCDC is not only applauded in the corps as a timely intervention, but equally by the public. Analysts have expressed satisfaction with its establishment, training of members and deployment as a timely response to the new wave of crime.
According to the visionary CG, every legitimate step must be taken to reverse the trend of attacks on our schools in the country, hence the introduction of SFS. Without waste of time, from the National Headquarters where selection of the pioneer batch of SFS began, it has extended to states. Hopefully, very soon the launch of the Special Female Squad as directed by the CG will be implanted in all states of the federation. Worthy of note is the deployment of members of SFS to schools.
Consequently, when the National Commander of SFS, CSC Oluwakemi Imohnike led others to pay a courtesy visit on the Assistant Inspect General of Police in charge of Veterinary, Mrs Aisha’atu Abubakar, the AIG commended the CG for establishing SFS and the relentless efforts been made in the fight against insecurity occasioned by banditry, kidnapping, abduction of school children amongst others in the country.
The SFS is actively involved in School/Community Security Vanguard, SCSV, which is an innovation to re-orient members of schools/communities on ways to protect them against different crimes. Following the renewed commitment and determination in the protection of schools, the corps was further tasked to carryout vulnerability survey which has also been done creditably.
As part of measures to reposition the corps for better performance in relation with its mandates, training and retraining are encouraged and accorded unprecedented support. In less than 10 months of the CG’s assumption of duty, over 700 personnel have been trained on use of arms. The training exposed participants to the use of different fire arms.
Such trainings and retraining are to sharpen the readiness of officers of the corps in confronting armed vandals and other criminals. Arrangements are also currently put in place for more personnel to commence similar trainings in view of the dearth of armed personnel.
Similarly, to enhance the prosecutorial competence of the corps, Legal Officers, have had improved skills in the prosecution of cases to scare-up convictions. In achieving this, the corps with support of the Director of Legal Services, Barr Umar Aliyu Mohammed and other resource persons exposed participants to current trends and how to succeed. Participants to the training were drawn from the National Headquarters, Zonal Headquarters, state commands and other formations in the country.
In the same vein, to strengthen and reinvigorate the Anti-Vandal Unit of state commands, all Head of the unit from commands were invited to a crucial meeting with Commandant General. In attendance also were Acting DCGs and ACGs who are members of the top management. Apart from ways to reposition the Anti-vandal for better and improved service delivery, participants were given clear directives on how best to discharge their duties in protecting critical national assets and infrastructure (CNAI).
The management assured them of readiness to ensure conducive environment to guarantee optimum performance, noting that the unit executes a critical mandate of the corps, anti-vandal as enshrined in its Act.
In furtherance of the determination to training, Accounts/Finance officers have gained from capacity building. They had a fair share of one of the most recent trainings approved by the Commandant General to expand their knowledge in line with current realities. The CG who graced the opening ceremony in an address reminded them to ensure track records of performance, saying the training was in line with the Federal Government’s mandate on all ministries and agencies to reposition Accounts and Finance section to function better and transparently.
More importantly, the CG with the approval of the Ministry of Interior has inaugurated a 16-member committee to develop standard curriculum for NSCDC Training Colleges. The feat is significant because it is a process of entrenching career progression in the corps. Members of the Curriculum development committee who are led by Prof Suleiman Bala Mohammed, Vice Chancellor, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, are seasoned professionals who are drawn from different fields of endeavour, mostly academics and security.
The committee, when receiving its terms of reference, was given four weeks to complete its assignment and submit report to the office of the CG. The CG expressed delight with the Ministry of Interior for all the support given to NSCDC, saying with such assistance, his administration is ready to transform the corps to a world class standard that can compete with its peers in any part of the globe.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, affirmed that training is the life wire in any organization aimed at improving service delivery.
Represented by the Director Joint Services in the Ministry, Mr. Peter Egbodo, the minister commended CG for his efforts in training and retraining, reiterating his willingness to continue to support the corps.
He tasked the corps to improve on physical structures which the standard curriculum would be used in training personnel of the Service.
Responding on behalf of other members of the committee, Prof SB Mohammed, who is the Chairman appreciated the CG for finding them worthy and choosing them to develop curriculum for the corps, and pledged to deliver the work on time.
The Chairman assured that most of them had carried out similar assignments in the past, and promised to deliver a curriculum of International standard for the NSCDC that will meet 21st Century. The plan of the current administration is to uplift NSCDC to a world class standard beginning with induction at the point of entry where newly enlisted personnel will be acquainted with standard operating procedures.
In a paradigm shift, when CG Audi assumed the reign of leaders of the corps, staff motivation was at its lowest ebb. But due to considerable attention accorded to staff motivation brought about by his reforms, it is remarkably being accelerated.
For the first time since the establishment of NSCDC, promotion of officers and men has been carried out strictly on merit; seniority and quota system were upheld in the last promotional exercise. This feat among others by the CG has been applauded by the beneficiaries and has become an impetus for higher performance.
According to the NSCDC helmsman, promotion of personnel henceforth will be based on merit rather than other considerations, knowing that promotion on merit enhances motivation of those affected. The same policy applies to appointment of State Commandants which is evenly spread in such a way that every state is considered.
On the payment of personnel emolument, he has made categorical pronouncements of timely payments of all allowances based on availability of funds. To further buttress his determination he has explained in many fora that ‘the era of monkey de work bambo de chop don pass.’ Personnel are paid their entitlements, a practice which boosts staff morale.
As a front-liner in disaster management, personnel who suffered different forms of injuries in the course of service were in December 2021 given succour. The act which is first of its kind since the establishment of the corps has been widely appreciated. Presenting cheques in different sums, the CG remarked that even though the amount paid was not commensurate with how much many of them spent, it is just the beginning and assured that better consideration will be made.
Similarly, heirs of deceased personnel were also paid some financial benefits as succor to ameliorate the pains occasioned by their bread winners at a ceremony in December 2021 which presented a solemn moment.
On the regulation of Private Guard companies, the first ever summit of Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors of all the private security companies in the country has been convened in the reign of the incumbent Commandant General.
Prior to the two-day event that brought together participants from all states, members of Association of License Private Security Practitioners of Nigeria (ALPSPN), had interaction with the CG and members of top echelon of the corps. The meeting affirmed the vital roles of private security establishments, and called on them to support the corps and other agencies in the fight against insecurity.
The CG explained that he has come with renewed vigour to end quackery, seeking the cooperation of legitimate operators to expose unregistered ones who compromise standards and endanger the country.
For effective monitoring mechanism as it relates to operational duties, Commandant General’s Intelligence Squad (CGIS), has been established. This latest measure among others, are put in place to checkmate sharp practices if any by officers and men of the corps.
Already, impacts of the squad are being felt in Rivers State where allegation of corruption was leveled against operatives in the anti-vandal unit leading to its disbandment by the CG who maintains zero tolerance on corruption to pave the way for thorough investigation into the issue.
In the interim, CGIS is on ground in Rivers to bridge the gap in realisation of the critical role of NSCDC in anti-vandalism and illegal refining of petroleum products in the state.
On food insecurity, the corps is making tremendous and concerted efforts to reverse the ugly trend. Operatives of the corps under the Agro Rangers have been deployed in different locations to provide security for farmers, farms and Agro allied investments.
Recently, when the CG received the Governor of Niger State, His Excellency Abubakar Sani Bello on a courtesy visit, he assured of plans by the corps to deploy more personnel under the Agro Rangers as an intervention towards boosting food sufficiency.
The measure is also in support of the Federal Government’s drive in boosting agriculture in order to provide more employment opportunities for the youths.
In all of the above, it is known that the corps cannot succeed alone; hence, synergy and collaboration are upheld for the collective good of the country and mutual benefits.
In spite of security threats like abduction, kidnapping, banditry and insurgency joint security operations are making frantic efforts to create a safer environment. The concerted efforts require support from all and sundry. Everyone should feel oblige and contribute in one way or the other in assisting the corps and other security agencies to overcome Nigeria’s security threats. The right time to act is now before the nation is overwhelmed.
DSC Orndiir Terzungwe, ANIPR
O/C Press, Public Relations Unit,
NSCDC National Headquarters,
Abuja.
