 Good morning and welcome to the run-up. My name is Uche Chuku Onodo. And I am Bayo Lua, okay? It's a pleasure being here. Today we're going to be looking at very important topics. A lot has happened over the weekend, one of which is the UK and the US governments have issued what is it called now? Security advisory. Security advisory to their citizens in Nigeria, saying there's going to be terror attacks, especially in Abuja. They mentioned but not limited to government buildings, gatherings and asking people generally to remain, stay secure and stay safe. I have a lot of questions to ask. I'm sure Mr Bayo, you have a lot to say about it too. Definitely. And I think we'll be having an expert to also help us navigate through the various issues that have arisen because of the issuance of that security advisory. And joining us to have that conversation is our first guest this morning. He is a security expert. I'm talking about Dixon Osaji. Questions has arisen, like you said, Mr Bayo. The number one question on my mind is why is it people from the outside world? I mean, all the way to the West, not even Africans like ourselves, telling us what is happening in our own country, especially security-wise, something as serious as security. How did we degenerate to that point where people, of course it's not news that there's been a lot of insecurity and people are not safe, but when it has come to the point where you have intel, you have knowledge that something like this is going to happen. And then it takes somebody from outside to give us this information. What do you say about that? I agree with you entirely. I think it's embarrassing to have a foreign embassy issuing an advisory, even if the advisory was to their own citizens in our country. We know that given the various platforms of communication that are available now, it will go viral. And this is why it's important for our own security agencies to also interact with Nigerians and to issue advisories or warnings, as the case may be, and not now be reacting. Because from what we heard, the Department of State Services, DSS issued a statement yesterday evening. And in the press statement that was issued, they were saying, following inquiries they had been receiving from Nigerians. So I think they shouldn't put themselves in a situation like this. They should proactively engage, which I think sometimes they do that, but it needs to be more consistent. And like you said, for something much more serious as this, they should be very proactive and we don't have to wait for a foreign entity to be a Latinus. I think our guest is here with us now. Mr. Dixon, can you hear me? Good morning. All right. You're welcome to the run-up. And we're looking at the security situation. The U.K. and the U.S. government has warned of possible terror attacks, especially in Abuja. What has gone wrong and how did we get to the point where countries from outside now inform us of security situations in our own country, even though the DSS has reacted. But of course, they are reacted off of people's reaction to, you know, whatever it is that the U.S. and the U.K. government has said. How did we get to the point, degenerate to the point where we are not secure and our security apparatus is now in our own country and not being proactive? Well, if you ask me that question, I will tell you that we don't have value for human lives. You rightly talked about intelligence information coming from outside of the offshore of this country. America is an intelligence-driven country. The United Kingdom is an intelligence-driven country. Australia is an intelligence-driven country. Any country that is not intelligence-driven is preparing for failure because the reason why we are not getting much of this information is because we just believe in physical security. When we talk about security, there are three components to security. It has to do with people that is physical, procedures, administrative documentations, then technology. Technology plays a very big role in security. Now, one of the major problems we have is this, is that we don't have an effective counter-intelligence component. You need to go to the enemy camp and all know what they are planning against the state. Here, we just wait for a time to take place, then we respond. When we respond to security, security is defeated because the old essence of security is the protection of life's property information. When we go after all this has been lost, then security has been defeated. So what I'm trying to say here in the North Shore is the Nigerian government must understand that Nigeria has been in a negative limelight globally. From being the third most affected terrorized nation in the world to the second most terrorized nation in the world, we are not between so well at all. This is not good for our image. This is not good for international engagement. This is not good for international businessmen to come and invest in this country because you need security to carry out your investments. Without security, your investments and your businesses will not flourish. So if you ask me how did we arrive at this stage, I will tell you because our leaders, our political class from 1999 to 2022 have failed us woefully. They must understand that the reason of governance is to take care of the people and not themselves, their families and their friends. They are in disappointment to this great nation. Sorry, Dixon. You were saying that the political elite, but what about the intelligence services? So are you suggesting that the intelligence services do their job but it's the political elite who are failing? Because we are talking about proactively informing Nigerians and Latin Nigerians to be conscious of an evolving security situation and that we didn't do that, okay? And rather it was an embassy probably who issued an advice to its own citizens and then of course this went viral. That is warning people. So why is our intelligence service not able to do that? Alright, that's an intelligent question. When you look at the strategic point of view in policing the states, we have the strategic level which has to deal with our center of gravity, the government. We have the operational level and we have the tactical level. The tactical level is the application of the operational mechanism and operational strategies. So here we have our security agents that are solely responsible in protecting the lives and property of Nigerians. But the relationship between our security agents and politicians is disturbing. Here in Nigeria you see security forces, military officers, soldiers running to politicians for promotions, running to politicians for posting, running to politicians to be appointed in their various states. We need to take a departure from that norm. It's very, very wrong. The security agent must understand that the sole priority of security governance is in their hands. Go to the United States for example. The FBI has power for autonomy. Go to other countries. Most of the security agents have power for autonomy. How come did they attack Trump? President Trump, a city president of America is simply because the security agents are solely responsible in upholding the constitution of that given nation. So if we have an effective security agent that are solely responsible for maintaining and taking custody of our constitution, protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria, politicians will not mess up with them. So I am really going to blame our security agent, but what do you think of a nation where the security agents don't have the powers to carry out instructions themselves? So we need a total revamp in our processes. We need a total revamp on how our security agents are being managed. Now we've gotten information from the Americans, United Kingdom and Australia governments on an impending attack on a flooding natural disaster. Nigeria is a very black nation. We have not suffered from any natural disaster at all. Oh, these years we have been suffering from man-made disaster, a country at war against itself. Now a little flood came around and has taken a lot of human lives, Nigerian lives, which is highly regrettable, noise this year and day. What about the man-made disaster? What about those conflict entrepreneurs? What about conflict distributors that are making the Nigerian place ungovernable? We need to go back to the joint board and ensure we start holding people accountable because one of the problems we have in Nigeria is accountability from the horizontal plane and vertical plane. So for me, I will also hold our security agents accountable if anything happens to this great nation in Nigeria. When you go into the world map, Nigeria is the sixth most largest nation in the world. How come a country the sixth most grandest country in the world, a country of over 200 million are being messed up around with some criminal elements, a pocket of criminal elements, taking over our territory, staying in your government's place and making the government's place ungovernable? We must go to your government's place and make that place ungovernable for them. We must take them out of our territory, except we are not ready. If we are ready, it is achievable. Thanks for your perspective, Dixin. I would like to be done. From your vantage point as a security expert, what would be your advice to Nigerians as to how to stay safe, especially in view of this threat? Because even the DSS in its press release has asked Nigerians to stay alert, to provide information, to contact it. But from your point of view, what would be the tips you want to share with Nigerians as to how to be even safe, especially as well as we begin to go towards the end of the year and the festive season? Well, there are many processes you need to take to stay safe. First of all, if we have government selling Nigerians to be very careful and take care of their safe and movement, then they should put a halt in taxation. We can't have Nigerians paying taxis and you are telling them to take care of themselves. Then let them put a halt in taxation until they fix the problem that has been dealt with in Nigeria. Now we are suffering from multi-dimensional security threats, suffering from terrorism, insurgency, extremism, kidnapping, banditry and a loss just few days ago the life of a high-profile cleric was tested by some group of assassins and seven Nigerians and police officers paid the supreme price on necessary elements. So for me, I would advise, first of all hope owners to carry out an assessment of just surrounding. Know your neighbor. Know your movement. What is your neighborhood doing? A lot of people that are staying in the Earth City, don't even know their neighbors. Don't even know what their neighbors are into. You need to carry out an assessment of your environment and ensure that you are not going to fall prey to criminal activity. You also need to carry out an assessment on your domestic staffs because we've seen a lot of domestic staff selling out information to criminal elements. So carry out an assessment about domestic staffs and ensure you carry out an effective background check on your domestic staffs. Then going or moving around, you must also look at the crime rates of their environments. Carry out what we call crime mapping. For example, if Oshoody is a crime prone area, carry out a crime mapping in Oshoody. And know the time to move around Oshoody and the time not to go to Oshoody. You must carry out assessment of where you're going and the time you're going and the time you're going to come back. When you're driving, you have to make use of your two side mirrors. These two side mirrors are there for you to watch your back. Watch your back about a car coming or telling you, watch your back about an impending attack. Don't just face front driving. And show you you look at anyone moving in your back. If you observe that someone is following you and you don't understand that movement, you take right, you take left, you take right and if they follow you, drive to the nearest police station. Then for church and worship centers, all the chief secretaries of church must ensure they carry out an effective risk and vulnerability analysis of the worship centers. Ensure they have a plan, a security plan. In the case of an incident, what do you do? Because I've seen a situation where an attack took place in a church and everybody was ready to go to church. Nobody knew what to do and that is why all church must mandate their security officers to develop an emergency response plan. Emergency response plan is used to contain and events in emergency or an incident. So when you have such plan, make sure you put that plan in place and test on that plan. They must also look at the parameter fences. They must also carry out a technological approach in the given environment. Because the only sense of CCTV is made for two reasons. It's not for decoration. I've seen a lot of people putting CCTV in their office without being manned. When you have CCTV in your office or you have CCTV in your places of worship, somebody must man that CCTV live and direct. The reason why it's manned CCTV is to contain crime in progress. If there's a crime in progress or maybe there's an attack which is known as crime in progress, you will be able to call the nearest security post or the nearest security agent for a responsive approach. So that's why CCTV is there. The essence is for crime in progress and also for sports, motor, analysis. What went wrong? Just like when the CEO of one TV station was murdered by three demands a while ago, the hotel could not provide CCTV footage how people, these killers got into the room of these people. No hotel is expected to operate in legal state without CCTV cameras. Any facility that has both Nigerians or people or the public must be subjected to have a CCTV camera so that they could be able to tell the security agent how this crime was perpetrated in crime in progress or after the occasion of crime which has to do with post-mortem analysis. Therefore individuals you need to know how you talk how you post your profiles on your Facebook and other social media. A lot of people have been attacked. You are going to United Kingdom, you just post the picture, you are in Birmingham, you are eating Shawarma and pizza and a criminal element that has not even taken food will target at you. So talk less and do not share your information in the public, in the social media because the social media is a threat to anybody. It is no longer a safer place it is a place where criminals go to fetch information. Without information your enemy cannot attack you. So criminals use the information they have against you to attack you at your home at your place of work or while on transit. That is what I can say for now. Mr. Dixon, so a lot of conversations have come up people saying that with the rates that insecurity and crime is rising in the country that there might not be elections come next year 2023 or maybe in some quarters. What is the political implication of this rise in insecurity and crime? What the political implication is that it is going to give us the negative limelight in the international world. I was speaking to a senior officer in the United States a few months ago and he told me something that Nigerians are not ready to protect themselves. The Nigerian leaders are not ready to protect Nigeria. Let me tell you the truth, security is achievable. Now the government-based policing started about pills. In 1829 highlighted some reformative processes. One of his highlights in his policy reform is that the absence of crime best proves the effectiveness of policing. Policing could be the police, could be the military, could be the DSS. Now the crime rate in Nigeria is on the high rise. The risk implication is on the high rise. Nigerians are highly vulnerable. Nobody can move around without being intimidated or being co-hosted in its own country. Now the problem is we need to start looking at the theory of victory. Our security agents need to start looking at the theory of victory. You want to ask me Dixon, what do you mean by general victory? General victory simply implies that when you do this, this is what you get. When you put on the most commercialized state in Nigeria, it's so sad and shameful that all the leaders in legal states in 1999 have not seen me fit to put a surveillance camera in all the streets of legal states. We have the money to do that, but we are unable to do so. Why are we unable to do so? It simply implies to my own perspective that we don't care what happens to the poor men. Hence, I am moving around with my FSCOT, I am moving around without being intimidated or being co-hosted. So, what we need to start looking at as a great nation is this. We need to go back to the joint board and ask our self-questions. We need to start asking our self-questions. Each time when we talk about vulnerability analysis, vulnerability analysis begins with asking questions. Vulnerability analysis simply implies what is the problem? Okay, the problem is terrorism. Then what is the solution? Oh, we projected military mites. Another question is to resolve these situations. The answer is no. Then what should we start looking at? We should start looking at multi-dimensional approach because when it comes to security, you don't just apply a single approach. You apply the three processes of physical security measures which has to do with people, technology and processes. So, when we have an effective administrative processes in place that we govern the operational and tactical processes then we will begin to do these processes. Just in mind, for instance, when opposed to just to fill a man's escape assassination, one of the assassins was arrested and a savvy police officer in the wrath of CSP pulled out his gun and shot this assassin. What that means is that he has eliminated the evidence. This tells you that if there is a problem with the standard operational procedures, why would you do that? So, we need to start looking at strategic procedures. We will look at operational procedures then we start looking at strategic procedures as well. Put it on the strategic approach in place because I must tell you the truth. There is any country in the world that does not prioritize its security will decline from investment more unemployment because we are kind of unemployment in Nigeria. Why? A lot of investors are relocating to Ghana. Do you think you want to come and invest your hard-earned money on the highway and is demanding for $200 million? What type of business will you do that will give you $200 million within a month or anything? So that is one of the problems we are having there. Our police leaders must also understand that the reason why they swore the oath of allegiance is to protect the Nigerian people not to protect the allies because as it seems now, the Nigerian policing system is allies protection. They only care about the allies even though they don't care about policing duties. They need to come back. One of the presidential aspirants has promised that when it comes to power it is going to withdraw all the police officers attached to dignitaries. Our police officers needs to come back and start doing policing duties. We need to start looking at community policing. We need to start looking at state policing and we need to start looking at federal policing. America today are purchasing this three states. What is the population of America? Nigeria is the population of 250 million yet we are practicing a centralized policing system. This is an intentional operational error by our state and federal government. We need to go back to the drain but eliminate this centralized policing system, decentralize the policing system, let's start policing system from the grassroots then you and I will be able to talk to the police officers face to face, communicate to them face to face at federal level. Then as a country we will begin to experience peace and move around freely without being intimidated by all this human beings that are taking the life of human beings like that of chickens. Thank you Dixon. Actually I was going to end with a question to you but you already touched about that and that was something to do with the structure of the security apparatus we have. Federal also state and as well maybe also to some extent the local governments. But then I think you already touched on that but perhaps a passing question would be what is your model because you spoke a lot about the police. What is your suggested model of a domestic intelligence service? What model in a very short if you don't mind maybe in 30, 40 seconds what would be your suggestion of the best domestic intelligence service to enhance what the DSS is charged with doing? I think the network wouldn't let us conclude with Mr. Dixon but he made a lot of points especially the last points that he made touching on federal and state police and I think it was two or three years ago the former deputy senate president of Nigeria, senator Ike Konrimad was talking a lot about state policing and after he left office I never heard any more conversations about that and I think that is something that should be looked at. Mr. Dixon is back, you might want to repeat your question. Okay sorry we lost you there temporarily but just a final question and if you can react in 30, 40 seconds what would be your ideal suggested domestic intelligence service? We have the DSS how can we make the DSS more efficient? Take them away from the political space let them take charge of the Nigerian security agencies of the Nigerian security situations we go to Israel there is a systematic approach in Israel that keeps the Israelite safe that is what we have in Nigeria and the DSS and I must confess the DSS are doing a fantastic job in Nigeria they are excellent people they must take a departure from politics and ensure that the survival injurians are their priorities so they must have an in-depth analysis of intelligence establish a counter intelligence department establish an effective high-powered intelligence department human intelligence communication intelligence and other intelligence network that will give them information swiftly before these criminal elements come to carry out their activities. Alright, thank you so much Mr. Dixon for joining this conversation it was really amazing and enlightening having this conversation with you we hope to have you again on the run up but this is where we end this conversation today thank you so much for joining us I appreciate you for having me You're very welcome our guest is sorry for our viewers please be safe especially not just today but as we go towards the end of the year be very aware our guest mentioned a couple of things many people hire house helps they do not have any information on the house helps in their houses many people hire so called security guards they have absolutely no information the security guards have no guarantors your house helps have no guarantors you don't know the addresses of your house helps so if they steal anything from you or if they endanger your life in any way you're expecting the police to do a miracle you're expecting the Nigerian police to arrest somebody that you yourself you have no information for the police you don't even know the name of the person maybe the person has only one name this person is charity and then they say charity what you say we don't know how did you get charity somebody brought her for us from where did they bring her we don't know so we need to really take this seriously and I think that's part of what Dixon was alluding to I think we should all come to the point where we understand the security is actually everybody's responsibility just like you were saying you don't know the first or the second name of your house help or your security guard these are basic things that you should know you should put in place before you even hire somebody and then when somebody asks you questions about imagine that your house help gave out information about whatever business you had doing and then you were attacked how do you even begin to ask questions when you don't know the answer to the basic questions security is everybody's responsibility when you see something say something we're going to take a quick break the news will come up at 12 and then when we return we will continue having these conversations stay with us