Gombe State uses proactive measures to tackle insecurity – Commissioner

The Ministry of Internal Security and Ethical Orientation says the Gombe State Government has used proactive measures to forestall challenges bordering on security and peace in the state

Speaking with Voice of Nigeria in Gombe, the Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Ethical Orientation, Mr Adamu Kupto, said that despite the security challenges being faced by the remaining five states of the North East and Nigeria as a whole, Gombe State has continuously enjoyed peace.

He attributed this development to the adoption of proactive measures in tackling security challenges, rather than a reactive approach.

The Commissioner said the Gombe State Government was doing its best to prevent a breach of peace, rather than offering remedial measures to conflicts that have already occurred.

“When you are reactive, it means the damage has already been done, you are trying to contain the damage. But when you are proactive, the damage, in-Sha-Allahu, will not be done,” Mr Kupto said.

He said these were made possible through the creation of the Ministry of Internal Security and Ethical Orientation, a measure that had developed strategies to consolidate on the gains already made in sustaining peace and security in the state.

Mr Kupto said so far within the three years of establishing the ministry, a lot of gains had been recorded to curtail and ensure peace and security in Gombe State.

He said the impact of the ministry to ensure security in the state had led Gombe State to be rated the best in the Ease of Doing Business ranking in Nigeria in 2021.

“That wouldn’t have happened without the state being secured. One would see that this ministry has worked assiduously to ensure that we live in peace in Gombe State and Alhamdulillah, thank God we are enjoying the relative peace and the peace that we are enjoying in Gombe State is sustained to that level,” said Mr Kupto.

He explained that the government had achieved peace in communities that had initial records of communal clashes through the use of dialogue with the critical stakeholders in those communities.

Mr Kupto said the Gombe State Government had been engaging the communities with such a record of inter-community clashes in dialogues, as a means of attaining peace.

He said the Government of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya believed that peace could not be attained through the use of force, but rather through dialogues in communities with persistent communal clashes.

According to him, such clashes have now been drastically reduced in the state.

“Those clashes have been reduced also to the barest minimum, because of constant dialogue that we are having with the critical stakeholders of any particular community that we know are clashing with one another. So, we are also engaging them in dialogue, emphasizing the need to live in peace because if there is no peace, you cannot go to your farms, you cannot go to the markets, even the schools you cannot attend,” said the Gombe State Commissioner for Internal Security and Ethical Orientation.

He said the aspect of ethical orientation as a mandate of the ministry had been achieved by involving the youths, who are fond of being used in unruly behaviours in the society, such as the Kalare political thugs, through orientation and reorientation on the norms and values of the society Gombe State was known for as a cosmopolitan state.

According to him, ethical orientation is needed to sustain the spirit of tolerance among the diverse groups in the state.

Mr Kupto said for peace and security to be fully achieved and sustained, every aspect of the society must be carried along, ranging from both community and religious leaders to the ordinary man on the streets of Gombe State, who are expected to contribute their quarters in attaining the needed peace.

He said the peace summit that was held some few weeks ago, was part of the government’s efforts at carrying everyone along to sustain the relative peace being enjoyed in the state.

The Gombe State Commissioner for Internal Security said one of the measures of the government to stem the trend of youth engagement in crime and engage them in productive ventures is the recruitment of 2, 00 youths into State Gombe State Security, Traffic and Environmental Corps, GOSTEC.

The Commissioner equally cited the establishment of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre in Boltongo, Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area, as a strategy to train the youths in leadership skills in preparing them for future leadership.

He said the collaboration with security agencies had been beneficial in tackling crime by the youths, thereby drastically reducing the activities of the Kalare thugs in the state.

PIAK