Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, the Commandant – General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the nation’s number one civil defender has stood the test of time as an innovative and ingenious leader.
Traces of his ingenuity can be seen in almost all segments of the organization he heads. Since assuming the leadership of the Corps, he has taken deliberate steps to make the organization a success. I have it on good authority that he is adored by many. In other words, a lot of people admire his mastery of the job, commitment to duty and zeal to work-all enviable traits that are difficult to equal.
Following the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s quest for the diversification of the economy from being oil dependent, the Commandant-General set-up Agro – Rangers, an arm of the Corps meant to curb the nefarious activities of cattle rustlers, armed robbers and kidnappers in order to remove security challenges faced by large scale, commercial and industrial farmers as well as pastoralists. Because the service is free, it will create an enabling environment for every farmer to produce optimally and encourage agriculture to be a major spring board towards economic diversification.
According to the Commandant-General, “we set up this unit to deal with all problems faced by our agro-businessmen and women as well as small scale farmers and herders free of charge”. “As I speak”, he went on, “local and foreign agriculturists have invested billions of naira in agricultural activities and need to be protected alongside small scale individual farmers”. This will guarantee confidence and assure citizens of government’s presence. He stressed further that the Corps has some 5000 Agro-Rangers for this purpose and many more awaiting training.
Prominent farmers such as Golden Hectares and Gurara outlets along Abuja-Kaduna road as well as those along Abeokuta-Sango Otta road and the palm oil farms in Benin City among others are provided security by the Agro-Rangers for effective protection of investments in the agricultural sector. Water dams across the nation are also being guarded by these men. The inter-agency cooperation the Commandant-General of the Corps has with the Ministers of Agriculture and that of Water Resources is fast yielding fruit.
Needless to state, however, that the commencement of the operations of the Agro-Rangers in Kaduna, which was launched by the Commandant-General, is an attestation of his belief that this outfit is a panacea to the rampant banditry that has become worrisome in our nation.
There is a consensus among stakeholders that government should, as a matter of necessity, appropriate sufficient funds to the Corps in order for it to deal decisively with this menace in order for the nation to enhance her agricultural activities. Adequate funding is necessary because of the broad based nature of the Corps’ mandate. Among other things, the Corps secures and protects lives and properties of Nigerians. It also protects all national assets and infrastructure in energy, telecom, oil and gas, rail and water transportation as well as mines and steel sectors. In addition, it manages disasters and monitors private guard companies in order to remove quackery and enhance professionalism. Just a few days ago, it trained about 137 such companies which were recently licensed. The Corps has striven hard to stop pipeline vandalism, oil theft ad adulteration of petroleum products. Civil Defence Corps’ anti-vandals squad was deployed to man all major pipelines and oil installations across the country, especially the Niger Delta region where a lot of arrests were made with illegal refineries pulled down. Offenders have also been prosecuted. With this workload, the Corps is hopeful that government will allow it access to certain percentage of revenue generated just like other sister agencies. This is pertinent, given the enormity of the resources needed to sustain its operations.
As an embodiment of integrity and property, the Commandant-General has excelled in almost all the departments within the Corps. Closely related to the foregoing is the deployment of over 7000 personnel of the Civil Defence Corps to the North –East geo-political zone of this country to provide security for internally displaced persons in most of the towns and villages already liberated by the Military. Not too long ago, the Borno State Governor launched the state chapter of the Agro-Rangers to protect rural farmers. The sum total of this is the promotion of lasting peace in the region. Further still, in a rare show of patriotism, the Commandant-General recently toured the entire region as a call to duty and to boost the morale of his personnel. As a result of the Corps capacity to deliver on security, many agencies of government, departments, parastatals oil companies as well as state governments continue to seek its services to protect their infrastructure. The Corps’ effort has received national acclaim.
To perform these functions efficiently and effectively, the Corps Commandant-General, realised that the country is in a knowledge based era; and so, introduced a policy of training and retraining of personnel in order to strengthen capacity and improve productivity. Over 14,700 officers and men of the Corps have recently been sent for seminars and various forms of workshops. International donor agencies such as UNDP have also been supportive in this regard. Staff training is ongoing for all cadres of personnel as peace ambassadors and mediators to perform the role of alternative dispute resolution officers. Muhammadu ensures that surveillance and intelligence gathering receive the desired attention. The Corps is already a member of the Joint Intelligence Board due to its performance profile and the office of the National Security Adviser has also been supportive in the areas of manpower development and capacity building through workshops and seminars aimed at skill enhancement.
Personnel are of great importance and are thus granted the desired attention. Staff welfare and insurance policy are on the front burner for the Corps’. All officers of the Corps are insured in the event of accident, death or disability in the course of duty. Payment of staff salaries and other allowances, including shift duty allowances are prompt. What is more, the Commandant-General has also supported and promoted sporting activities. Over the last three years, the Corps has come first in almost all games and sporting tournaments they have attended. This helps personnel keep fit physically, mentally and emotionally to be able to fight crime and secure society. Muhammadu always urge staff to be disciplined, abhor abuse of office and intimidating the public by working in strict compliance with the rules of engagement. “Human right”, he believes, “must be respected and should be taken seriously”. He has also asked his staff to act on the side of caution so as not to bring the Corps to disrepute.
Illegal miners’ activities have also been adequately checked by men of the Corps. They have ensured that only licensed miners’ operate in most minefields. This has raised the revenue profile of government. In addition, emergency response outfit has been created by the Corps and deployed to all major airports nation-wide along with ambulances to protect lives.
Against this background, one cannot but assert that, Muhammadu, the Commandant-General of the Corps, has become an inspiration to many of our people as an acclaimed administrator and manager of men. A man of sober and unruffled countenance, the Commandant-General has been a tremendous driving force to officers and men of the Corps. Properly nuanced and principled, he is open and truthful and has shown great resilience and capacity since he took office. He has been an irrepressible advocate of public propriety. The establishment of Agro-Rangers is aimed at curtailing the horrendous activities of armed robbers, kidnappers and bandits on small and large scale farmlands. It will also check the incessant clashes between herders and farmers. Agro-Rangers as an outfit has become so phenomenal that it will secure the environment for agriculture to flourish as a means of shifting the economy away from oil dependency.
–Habu Mohammed wrote from Abuja.
