Anti-Banditry: Adopting Technology in Tackling Insecurity
BY Jauhar S. Salihu
EMERGENCY DIGEST- The root causes of insecurity in the country can be attributed to the socio-economic gap between societies and those having the feeling of being exploited. Addressing root causes is important, but this will require a major reorientation in national thinking.
In the immediate term, there is an urgent need to work for a concerted and cooperative approach to prevent bandits from spreading further. This will require a focus not only on fighting bandits but also on the effective elimination of the support infrastructures of all non-state players, as well as their state sponsors, for a period long enough for bandit movements to lose momentum.
Therefore, technology tools can be employed to curb criminalities including insurgency in Nigeria. This is possible through providing a broad view of the Public Security Communications System (PSCS), Public Safety Networks (PSNs) and National Security Information Centre (NSIC) and some ways that ICT-based technologies can assist security agencies in being more efficient and effective in their operations for national development.
The examination of technological interconnections between security and insurgency clearly bring out the important role that technology has played and the inevitability of its increasing impact in the intelligence gathering.
However, technology, or the military hardware produced by it, is in itself only a means, not an end.
Security planning and military strategies as well as the organizational infrastructures to implement the strategies are the key to success.
However, it is technology that provides military planners with a variety of options in line with the range of techno-military capabilities available. The sudden end to analogue calculations provided an opportunity for most nations to review their individual security doctrines and military strategies.
Technological maturity and the compatibility of various systems have made it possible to plan for enhanced military capabilities based on a combination of individual technologies. For instance, one major trend indicates a preference for the integration of long-range, high-precision weapons which rely heavily on satellite-based reconnaissance and advanced sensors with the use of fast digital communication links, while another indicates the use of sophisticated airborne or shipboard platforms with customized targeting techniques and a variety of warhead options for intended application objectives.
Another important strategic shift that has occurred is the increased focus on Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence C3I technologies for conducting integrated military operations with quick reaction times and maximum flexibility. The ongoing revolution in IT has enabled arrays of advanced sensors to be used simultaneously for intelligence-gathering systems and for decision-support systems. Compact and fast computers have transformed the battlefield and it is now possible for an individual soldier to possess high situational awareness in real time. With such advanced technological capabilities, older war-fighting doctrines will clearly be replaced by new, tailor-made, flexible strategies that can allow optimal use of military assets under any given circumstances.
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According to a research findings conducted by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE) titled ‘The Use of ICT Tools in Tackling Insecurity and Terrorism Problem in Nigeria’ , it was shown that “ICT experts believe that application of ICT tools can lead to a successful tackling of crime in Nigeria due to the efficiency and effectiveness of ICT tools. Statistical and empirical findings of the study also shows that Nigeria crime region or insurgency attack situation faces complexities and difficulties in combating, and the use of gun systems alone seem to not be able to overcome these challenges and therefore more advance systems such as ICT tools, and information database managerial approaches are required.
“Also it was seen that for Government, outsourcing can be a reliable option to take advantages of ICT tools in presence of financial and technological restrictions. The statistical analysis and empirical findings of this study show that, the overall attitudes and opinions of ICT experts towards the use of ICT tools as a sub-function of an integrated ICT can speed up the critical activities of security and human resource management as the main trigger for utilizing and adopting an ICT tools for crime tackling to reduce crime.
“However, findings shown that the ability to communicate and manage a multilingual organizational and environment is the most important operational benefit of a computerized information centre and adoption of ICT tools. This leads to improving external and internal interactions and communications between security personnel, people and government as well as the ability to use information data bases to store and retrieve data. These are the main strategic advantages of a crime free society for security organization in Nigeria.
“The findings of this study also show that the use of ICT tools in Nigeria is still new and progressive and even some security organizations are not using such systems for their crime monitoring procedures. More attention needs to be committed by organization, academicians, and practitioners to application of ICT tools as an effective crime monitoring system for all sectors.
“In addition, there are some useful managerial implications drawn from the study. These will enhance their security decision making and improve the performance and operation of their respective administration from a human resource management perspective and its recruitment sub function.
At this time, the society is leaning towards complexity and peoples are encountering many challenges to find peace in the midst of wide range security organization like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Police, Department of State Security and Army. In this case, ICT system can enable human resource managers to analyze crime information database and thereby gain more effective access to criminals.”
In conclusion, here are suggested approaches in the handling of insecurity in Nigeria so as to secure the nation from destroyers of bandit insurgency. The new approaches includes; public security communications system (PSCS), public safety networks (PSNs), national security information centre (NSIC) system and techniques for tackling bandit insurgency. With the aformememtioned measures the affected north east, west and central states communities crisis can be effectively and efficiently manage and completely eliminated.
Jauhar S. Salihu writes from Abuja
