Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has said that his administration has invested over N20 billion on security in the past three years.

The funds, which he said came mostly from the private sector, he added was responsible for the state being the safest cities in Africa.

The governor made the disclosure to journalists at the 2018 Executive Intelligence Management Course Participants of the Institute for Security Studies, in Abuja, Tuesday, where he was the Guest Speaker.

According to him, since the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corp was set up, crime rate had drastically reduced in the state.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Cultural Values, National Security and Challenges of Contemporary Governance: Perspectives from Lagos State Experience’, Governor Ambode said that the problem with the country was problem of discipline and the challenge of attitude.

According to him, “Indeed, I strongly believe that the fight against crime and all forms of criminality would be better enhanced if efforts are geared towards embracing community policing to complement the police and other law enforcement agencies.

“This is what informed the setting up of the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corp Agency of which I shall later speak. However, what we have found in our experience in Lagos State is that intelligence gathering through community policing will be ineffective in the absence of certain germane cultural values in the society.

“Indeed, the security of lives and property of citizens remains the topmost pursuit of my administration.

“Indeed, one of the biggest achievement of my administration in the last three years is the security of lives and the property of Lagos state residents. And of course, it is gratifying to note that Lagos State is now one of the safest cities in Africa.”

Related News

Governor Ambode also noted that an adequate, efficient and effective security architecture would ensure the implementation of all other policies and the preservation of investment made, adding, “after all that is what really grows our GDP and that is what makes other people to want to come to Lagos State to live and work and invest.”

The governor listed the four cultural values which he said were critical to intelligence gathering and community policing to include truth, justice, hard-work and character.

He said his position remained that leaders at all levels of government should revive the cultural values and norms in the society.

Governor Ambode also said one of the first steps taken in Lagos State is the advocacy for the placement of importance on the continuous learning of indigenous languages in schools.

He pointed out that security was the exclusive responsibility of the Federal Government, though the Lagos State government had gone ahead to support the security agencies to ensure security of its citizens.

READ ALSO: Ortom formally dumps APC, joins PDP

Ambode also advocated a collective vigilance mentality whereby all stakeholders in security management have properly defined roles and relationships to stay ahead of all forms of violent crimes such as terrorism, cyber and transnational organised crimes.

He continued, “The concept of community policing anchored on collective vigilance which, in turn, is sustained by our core cultural values, has become imperative in view of the vulnerability of Lagos State to various security threats due to continuous influx of foreigners and people from other parts of the country into Lagos on a daily basis.

“This influx increases our vulnerabilities to threats of terrorism, transnational organised crimes, and cyber and violent crimes of wider security dimensions and ramifications.”