…Calls For Increase In Emoluments Of Operatives
Former Anambra State Governor and immediate past Minister for Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige on Sunday threw his weight behind the decision of Governor Charles Soludo in the use of kinetic and non-kinetic approach towards the fight against insecurity in the area.
Recall that Soludo while commissioning the Operation Udo Ga Di security operations had announced the use of kinetic and non-kinetic approaches towards insecurity in the state.
Ngige who disclosed this shortly after being conferred with a Chieftaincy title by the Traditional Ruler of Nnewi Community in Nnewi North local government area Igwe Kenneth Orizu also called for more funding for the security operatives at all levels and also providing more equipment and other logistics for the operations.
He said: “When I was the Governor of Anambra State, I adopted kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to enhance security. I mobilised the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) with equipment, including communication gadgets, because at that time you could hardly contact Onitsha or Ihiala from Awka. There was no communication then.
“Regarding the non-kinetic approach, we reached out to all the bad boys and offered jobs to those who wanted to work. We paid them N30,000 monthly at that time. That N30,000 is worth about N2 million now. Those who refused to turn a new leaf were taken out kinetically.
“So, what I am saying is that we have to provide employment to the young men. We equip them with skills. A lot of them do not have hope for the future and that is why the bad people find them easy to recruit. The government should go into competition with the non-state actors in recruiting these boys. If you recruit them and pay them well, you have tamed kidnapping.”
Earlier, Igwe Orizu described Ngige as an illustrious son of Anambra State, saying that Nnewi people were proud of him, having benefitted immensely from his achievements in public office, especially his giant strides in road construction when he was the Governor of the State.
Ngige who was conferred with the title of Otiwalu- Uzo meaning trailblazer due to his massive road constructions during his thirty-four months in office as governor of Anambra called that
“I waited until I finished active public service as a Minister before taking this title. But the good thing is that my name has been on the nominal roll since 2007. So, I am an old Ichie (High Chief).
“Ichie Otiwaluzo N’Nnewi’ connotes that this man is a Trailblazer in Road Construction. I built so many roads in Nnewi. In fact, starting from Adazi, coming down here to Nnewi was motorable when I was Governor.
“We constructed from Nnewi to Ihembosi, Ozubulu, and then, to Okija. Before my administration, that road was impassable. There was even a gulley on the road, which we reclaimed and built a bridge to connect the federal highway from Onitsha to Ihiala.
“At that point in time, we encountered the Mmili Ele in Nnewi, which was a perennial sore point for road builders. If you build it, after six months, erosion wipes everything away. We now did erosion control at Mmili Ele, with a big hanging bridge that passed there, before we built a road on top of it. It is something remarkable.”
According to Ngige, his administration reconstructed other dilapidated and impassable roads in Nnewi, such as Bank Road and 100 Foot Road, and awarded and flagged off the contract for the Onitsha-Oba-Nnewi road before leaving office.
The former Minister maintained that he really merited the title given to him by the people of Nnewi, judging by his exploits in road construction when he served as the Governor of Anambra State.
Commenting on the perennial insecurity in the country, which recently assumed a very dangerous dimension in Anambra State, Ngige recommended the adoption of both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches by the government in tackling the menace.
He called for more funding for security at all levels, stressing that spending more money on equipment and logistics for security agencies, would get security under control, whether at the national or state level.
He said: “When I was the Governor of Anambra State, I adopted kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to enhance security. I mobilised the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) with equipment, including communication gadgets, because at that time you could hardly contact Onitsha or Ihiala from Awka. There was no communication then.
“Regarding the non-kinetic approach, we reached out to all the bad boys and offered jobs to those who wanted to work. We paid them N30,000 monthly at that time. That N30,000 is worth about N2 million now. Those who refused to turn a new leaf were taken out kinetically.
“So, what I am saying is that we have to employ the young men. We equip them with skills. A lot of them do not have hope for the future and that is why the bad people find them easy to recruit.
“The government should go into competition with the non-state actors in recruiting these boys. If you recruit them and pay them well, you have tamed kidnapping.”
Earlier, Igwe Orizu described Ngige as an illustrious son of Anambra State, saying that Nnewi people were proud of him, having benefitted immensely from his achievements in public office, especially his giant strides in road construction when he was the Governor of the State.
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