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Police Affairs Minister Endorses State Police, Says It’ll Strengthen Security
The Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, has said that the implemention of state police will enhance local responsiveness, improve crime prevention, and strengthen security at the grassroots level.
The Minister stated this during his goodwill message at the National Dialogue on State Policing with a theme: Pathways to Peace: Re-imaging Policing in Nigeria, held at the Abuja Intercontinental Hotel (formerly Sheraton Hotel & Towers), Abuja, according to a statement signed by the Deputy Director Press, Bolaji Kazeem, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).
The Minister also proposed a model for implementing state policing in Nigeria, suggesting a decentralized structure where each state manages its police force under a framework that ensures cooperation and coordination with federal agencies.
“This model would involve recruiting, training, and equipping state police officers to meet professional standards while ensuring accountability and oversight mechanisms are in place,” the Minister said.
In addition, Gaidam recommended an institutional and legal framework that delineates the roles, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of state police forces within the broader national security architecture. “This framework should include mechanisms for information sharing, collaboration, and coordination between state and federal agencies to address cross-border and transnational security challenges effectively”. The Minister stressed.
He reiterated the need for a comprehensive national dialogue involving stakeholders at all levels to deliberate on implementing state police in Nigeria, taking into account the unique challenges and opportunities present in the country’s diverse socio-political landscape.
“This dialogue should aim to build consensus on the way forward and develop a roadmap for the phased implementation of state policing, ensuring that it contributes to enhancing security, upholding the rule of law, and protecting the rights of all citizens across the nation,” he said.
Gaidam noted that the recent spate of kidnappings, banditry, activities of terrorists, and communal clashes have cast a dark shadow over our country, causing fear, pain, and uncertainty among our people.
He added that the issues not only threaten lives but also have severe repercussions on our economy, social cohesion, and overall development. “We must come together to address this critical issue and work towards finding sustainable solutions that will ensure the safety and security of all Nigerians”. The Minister reiterated.j
Gaidam however acknowledged that the state police force is not without its challenges and one potential disadvantage is the risk of political interference and abuse of power at the state level. Without proper checks and balances, state police forces could be manipulated for political gain or to suppress dissent, leading to a deterioration of the rule of law and human rights abuses.
In his contribution, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, represented by Assistant Inspector-General of Police Ben Okolo, stated the challenges militating against the police performance namely inadequate manpower; inadequate operational equipment -arms and ammunition, communication equipment, drones, armored vehicles, and inadequate training as well as office and accommodation.
The former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in his special remarks stated that “we do not need to debate about the creation of the state police as the issue has been concluded and what we need to discuss is its operation in the country.”
He added that “there is no way we can manage internal security if the state government cannot have state police and the issue is how it operates within the national security architecture. We should concentrate on how it would not be abused by state actors and police must not be used for the advantage of sitting governors and the use of police for elections has to be reviewed.”
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International Day of the Girl-Child: Sulaiman-Ibrahim Hosts Students, Vacates Seat for Momentary ‘Minister’
The Honourable Minister of State for Police Affairs, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has hosted the students of Police Day Secondary School, Area 11, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, in celebration of the 2024 International Day of the Girl-Child, during which time she momemtarily vacated her seat for a JSS 1 student, Ehis Linus.
Her actions were geared towards proving young girls’ limitless potential to lead and shape the future, according to a statement by the Deputy Director, Press and Information, Mr Bolaji Kazeem, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).
The students were led on the visit by their Commandant, DSP Mariam Damilola Yusuf.
The Minister of State highlighted the importance of empowering young women by ensuring their good education counselling, and safety as well as active participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. She reaffirmed her dedication to fostering an inclusive environment where every girl child can realize her fullpotential and contribute meaningfully to national development. Imaan encouraged the students to be serious about their education, increase their imagination, and creativity, and improve on their can-do attitude as well as think big toward the future.
In her words, “The ongoing RenewedHope Police Reforms within the primary and secondary schools in the policeecosystem is a strong commitment of the government to drive excellence in thepolice institutions and make them a choice school in the country.
The Minister added that through dialogue and encouragement, the event served as a powerful reminder of the need to invest in the growth and empowerment of the next generation of female leaders. As a special part of the celebration, one of the students Ehi Linus was allowed to temporarily assume the Honourable Minister role, symbolizing young girls’ limitless potential to lead and shape the future.
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Food for Living: Of Mindset and Attitude
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
One of the fastest ways of making a headway in life is having the right attitude. A right attitude is priceless, and grants easy access to and from people. This is in clear contrast with a nasty attitude, which attracts distaste and repulsion.
Attitude permeates relationships with fellow human beings at work, school or public spaces. People can literally see our personalities, mindsets, behaviors through our attitudes.
As a Human Capacity coach, one of the qualities I look for in any person is attitude. When you show an attitude that portrays allegiance to money as opposed to learning, your potential of going far in life will be limited. You luterally show you don’t have the capacity to be loyal when the chips are down.
While exhibiting the right attitude, theee is the possibility of everyone not agreeing with you, however, it is advisable not to burn bridges because you never know when you will need them. You can only do this when you have the right attitude to life.
The right attitude is a currency just like relationships, network, social media and value though a lot of people fail ro realiae the fact. In my relationship with the high and mighty in society and men of influence and affluence, I have seen how they perceive and interpret certain acts. What ordinarily might not amount to anything from an uninformed mind might be the icing on the cake for the great man. For instance, if a resourceful person asks you to do a job, it will be wise to do it for free. Resist the temptation to ask for money.
That’s a great way of marketing yourself to the person involved. If they appreciate your work, you might be surprised to get a good opportunity that catapults you to unimaginable heights.
Also, if the great man asks you to do some work, instead of saying, this is an opportunity to make some cool cash, consider doing the work with the least cost just to make him a potential client. I recently met a young man online who is good with YouTube videos, I asked him if he could cut a video for me, the amount he called was on the high side.
Be advised, I know value has to be appreciated. What this young man didn’t know was that I was testing his attitude with the hope of working with him, but quite unfortunately he failed the test. I had to devise an alternative means to get it done for free.
This is why mentorship is very important. When you have good mentors, they will advise you to think and serve in the right manner. Most young people always operate from a lack mindset. They want to eat their cakes and have it. They fail to understand that there’s seed time and harvest time.
In my relationship with some of my mentors, I have bought nice perfumes, shoes, and luxury gifts to them in appreciation of their kind counsel. What’s important here is not necessarily the amount per se, but the mindset and attitude. Be advised, I didn’t ask for money. I had to show them via my mindset, I’m not a burden so they can feel comfortable relating with me.
As a matter of fact, one of my mentors once said to me, I give him more money than he gives him. When you juxtapose this with contemporary youths, most of them are merely concerned about what they can get as opposed to what they can learn.
It’s instructive to note that it is your attitude and not your aptitude that will determine your altitude. With the right attitude, people will see through your thought process and mindset. My late mother will always say, when someone is talking, look beyond their words and focus on what’s inside their heart/mind. It’s just like communication, your focus is not on what’s being said, but on what is not being said.
One a personal note, I have learnt to study the attitude and mindset of many of my mentors, elders, friends, mentees, and strangers and this helped me a lot to relate with them differently. When you know how people behave, it will be easy to work with them. Sometimes, some people wonder how I relate smoothly with people and get things done, it’s simply a matter of attitude. One of my mentors once said, a general doesn’t fight many wars at the same time, a wise general selects his battles. That’s having the right attitude and perspective to life.
To understand how attitude works. There was a young boy who behaved badly, and his grandfather, an elderly, wise pastor, attempted to counsel him. The Pastor said, it’s as if we have two lions inside of us. One is good and the other is bad, and they both demand our obedience to them. The boy responded, which one wins? The Pastor said, the one fed. What’s the moral here? In the journey of life, it is what we feed that grows. If you feed a lion, a lion will grow into a deadly beast. If you take care of a woman, she’s likely to act soft towards you all things being equal. In the same vein, when an evil desire demands to be fed, we must say no. This is true because what we feed ultimately controls us.
The interesting facts about this Pastor and young man are centered on perspectives. It is how you see life that life will unfold to you. When some people fail in life, while positive minds will see it as an experience in which they hope to learn something from it, negative people see it as failure which has limited them from moving to the next stage in life. Again, while some people experience pain differently, some others react negatively to pain and this in turn hurts them more.
In conclusion, I don’t know what your experience is, nor do I know what you are going through, but one thing I can guarantee you is that, when you have a great attitude, your disposition will surely change. You’ll go far in life when you have a nice attitude.
Today, I charge you to learn how to relate with people with the right mindset and see how your life will unfold for good. I will conclude with the words of Maya Angelou; “People may forget what you say, people may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel” The only way to make people feel good is by having the right attitude.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
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PDP Suspends Acting Chairman, Damagum, Sec, Anyanwu for Anti-Party Activities
By Eric Elezuo
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended its Acting National Chairman, Amb Illiya Umar Damagum and the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, for anti-party activities.
The party revealed its decision to suspend the duo in a press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, and made available to The Boss Newspaper.
The statement noted that the Acting National Chairman, who has been facing legitimacy crisis, and his Secretary, were found culpable with regard to the “letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/PH/307/2024 against the Party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
While condemning the act, the party invoked Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, and suspended the officers, referring them to the National Disciplinary Committee.
The two officers are therefore, barred from attending the NWC’s meetings, activities and programmes, according to the statement.
Read the statement in full:
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has extensively considered the series of complaints raised against the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Illiya Damagum and National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu particularly with regard to the letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No:CA/PH/307/2024 against the Party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The NWC condemned this anti-party activity of the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary which is in gross violation of the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and their Oath of Office.
Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party respectively and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action.
In the meantime, the two officials are suspended from all meetings, activities and programs of the NWC pending the conclusion of investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee.