Enugu’s sudden security challenge and Ugwuanyi’s resilient fight-back

It is seldom the case for governors to be seen plodding through forests in sweltering heat alongside armed security operatives on the trail of criminal gangs. But that has more or less been a regular itinerary for Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in the wake of a sudden spike in criminality in Enugu State.

The sudden spike has resulted in the fatal shooting of some policemen and soldiers, putting residents of the state long acknowledged as one of the most secure on edge. Although this disturbing trend is occurring against a backdrop of generally worsening insecurity across the country, the governor has never appraised the situation through the lens of inevitability.

This mindset underlines his prompt visits to scenes of these ugly incidents, and several other forest-straddling communities identified as locations prone to attacks. He has used such visits to rally proactive actions against potential reoccurrence, lift the officers’ morale, inspire confidence in the communities, and encourage them to offer information to security agencies especially with regard to criminal gangs hiding in surrounding forests.

A long spell of peace and security often tends to create a false sense of assurance that ultimately results in complacency. But not so for Governor Ugwuanyi. Indeed, long before the recent spate of attacks, the governor had embraced the maxim that it is always expedient to take actions to curb possible future security breach even when the risk of one occurring seems minimal. His administration’s procurement and donation, in 2019, of 360 patrol vehicles (100 SUV trucks produced by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing company and 260 sundry vehicles comprising wagon style saloon cars and buses) to the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps was premised on this belief.

The recruitment that same year of 1700 forest guards and strengthening of the Neighborhood Watch with additional vigilantes was further testament to that. The employment spread across the various wards of the 17 local government areas of the state is consistent with the community-based approach to crime-fighting the governor has adopted.

The benefits of such proactive curbs might never be known entirely due to security agencies’ predilection for secrecy. But the fairly tolerable security situation in Enugu compared to other states is a positive indicator, especially given the huge social burden that comes with its status as the political heartland of the South-east, and the attraction it holds for the Igbo political elite, who either resides in or at least has a home in the city.

It has to be stated though that there is an ironic sub-text to the relationship between governors in the federation and security agencies. The many flak that governors get from the public when the security situation go awry is often predicated on the notional precept that regards them as “chief security officers” of their states. But that is not the case in reality. It doesn’t matter that a substantial financial burden of the logistical needs of the country’s various security agencies are borne by governors.

For instance, the degree of support offered by governors across the country could be gleaned from Enugu State, where the governor’s support is not limited to the donations of utility vehicles fitted with necessary security gadgets to the various armed forces. Such support often goes beyond equipment donations. It occasionally includes the paving of internal roads in barracks, renovation of facilities and financial assistance to families of security operatives killed in the line of duty. The kind of psychological boost that such gestures offer can never be over emphasized.

Each condolence visit undertaken by Governor Ugwuanyi in the last few weeks has, more often than not, revealed in increasingly stark details the appalling conditions in which our security personnel live. Although restrained, the shock of confronting firsthand the grim reality experienced by police officers was still apparent on not a few faces on the governor’s delegation. To make the pain of losing an officer less severe for their families, the governor has introduced a compensation plan which has become somewhat statutory: guaranteed employment to the widows, who also receive bulk three months equivalent salaries of slain officers and discretional cash donation.

The cost implication of bearing a burden that is unambiguously federal is mind-blowing. But rather than be outraged by this anomaly, the Enugu State governor has always found vindication in the outcome, which is the fact that Enugu is often acknowledged as one of the most secure and peaceful states in the country.

Even when the outcome is at variance with the support given to security agencies to enhance their logistical efficiency as it is at present, the governor still views it as some painful but necessary contribution towards boosting security operatives’ capacity and improving the state’s general security. That is the image he is keen on maintaining; not merely for the many adulation it draws, but driven rather by the knowledge that a well-secured state is a necessary precondition for the actualization of any developmental aspiration.

Ani, former editor of ThisDay’s Saturday edition and Saturday Telegraph, is a senior communications aide to the governor of Enugu state