24th September, 2013
Last weekend’s terror attack on Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, which resulted in the death of scores of people, including renowned Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor, should serve as a wakeup call for security agencies in Nigeria to beef up security in busy places where a large number of people always gather for social event.
Places such as shopping malls, churches, mosques, stadia, viewing centres are often soft targets for terrorists to strike. Whether the harbingers of death are suicide bombers or not, the moment they are able to strike, the outcome is always devastating, as was the recent incident in Kenya where the death toll had risen to 69 on Monday.
The tragedy in Kenya could be avoided in Nigeria’s shopping malls if we are all proactive and alive to our responsibilities. Safety and security should be everyone’s concern at all times.
Since terrorists put element of surprise to maximum effect whenever they want to strike any target, our security agencies should not wait till that happens before they are jolted to take action. The authorities should begin to take pre-emptive measures to secure shopping malls in Lagos and Abuja where thousands of people visit daily to safeguard them. We must not wait for tragedy to happen before we begin to run from pillar to post.
The enumeration of residents of Lagos, we believe, will also go a long way in keeping a tab on the teeming residents of the state in terms of knowing where they live, what they do for a living, and other important information about the residents. Besides, such data would enable the government know the exact number of people in the state and plan for all accordingly.
The shooting incident involving squatters at some uncompleted buildings near Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja last Friday should serve as an eye opener to all that it is dangerous not to have an accurate record and identity of people who reside in a particular locality as they could turn out to be criminals or even terrorists. There have been several cases of kidnappers turning uncompleted buildings into hideouts where they keep their victims until ransom is paid before they are freed.
The precarious security situation in the country demands that no effort should be spared in thwarting the threat posed by terrorists and other criminals such as kidnappers. The Lagos State Government should not relent in deploying the resources at its disposal, as it has been doing over the years through its Security Trust Fund, to safeguard the people of the state and strategic places such as malls where thousands shop daily.