OSCAR DAVID KALU REPORTING
The National Commandant of the famous Peace Corps of Nigeria, Prof. Dickson A.O. Akoh, has again, spoken out loud on the Security situation in the Nation. This time around he addresses the spate of Violence, Indisciple, Cultism and Immoralities in Schools across the Country, outlining measures to put an end to these negative trends and developments. This was made known during the 4th Quarterly Press Briefing for Year 2021, held at the Corps Headquarters Abuja on Wednesday, December 8.
In his address the National Commandant stated as follows; “This briefing was informed by the prevailing terrible situation as it relates to Insecurity. most especially Cultism and Gangsterism that is gradually having a devastating effect in our instition of learning. Asides Bandits invading and kidnapping Students and Staff in our Schools and Colleges, there as disturbing cases of Violence, cult-like Killings, Rape and Bullying of Students in our institutions of learning by both disgruntled Staff and Students across the States 9f the Federation”.
Prof. warned that the World was watching Nigeria, and that this development, if not quickly nipped at the bud, would put the Country in terrible limelight and impede Nigeria’s credibility among the Comity of Nations, as no decent nation pursuing qualitative education would allow such developments to persist within its Academic environments.
Further in his address the National Commandant stated thus, “Peace Corps of Nigeria understands the prevailing tension and apprehension among the Students as well as the complaints and anger among their Parents and Guardians, and the Corps is desirous, in its patriotic commitment to intervene with a view to securing a peaceful and conducive atmosphere for learning in our educational institutions”
He stressed that Education was far from teaching Student to pass Examinations, but more about Character Development and Moral Upbringing towards holistic personalities with right Value Systems. Anything less than this, according to him, would be tantamount to preparing army of Gangsters that would invariably infiltrate the larger Society in the nearest future.
Prof. Akoh restated that the cardinal objective of the Peace Corps since inception had been to secure the Nation Schools, of which they had made remarkable achievements. These include the successful checkmating of loitering during school hours, and even arrest of armed students, with many more verifiable success stories of activities of the Corps in places that have been engaged. He lamented that instead of receiving a encouragements, some quarters had shockingly fought the existence, and hindered the operations of the Peace Corps of Nigeria.
Again quoting the National Commandant, “In 2004, based on our findings from Schools and Colleges across the States of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, that points to a devastating Security Report on the porosity and vulnerability of our Schools and colleges, as well as the need to put proactive measures in place to secure the educational institutions, Peace Corps of Nigeria then proposed a Security Workshop to the Federal Ministry of Education titled Taming the Tides of Insecurity in our Educational Institutions. The import of the proposed Workshop was based on happening in Schools and Colleges as at then and the fact that the leadership of Peace Corps of Nigeria anticipated that it would come to a point that cases of security breach will become the order of the day in our institution of learning. While the Ministry was ready to collaborate with the Peace Corps of Nigeria on this, the planned intervention was then aborted because of security clampdown on our Organization. Now the Country is painfully AT the receiving end”.
Prof. Akoh took cognizance and heartily expressed appreciation over the diligent efforts of the conventional Security Agencies in tackling the hydra-headed Security monster confronting the Nation, however, he admonished that if the Agencies would be specified to their core mandates and freed from the lesser task of securing School, while assigning the Security of Schools to the Peace Corps of Nigeria, the War Against Insecurity would be more easily won.
The National Commandant ended his address by reassuring the Nation that the Peace Corps of Nigeria has the required capacity and training needed to secure the Country’s Schools, while possesing additional advantage of being a totally youth-based Organization, hence, having full understanding of the average mindsets and tendencies of juvenals, being well able to positively engage them to checkmate crime, violence and other social vices by the Youth and Students across the Federation.