Sodiya: Why Nigeria Must Invest in Tech to Tackle Insecurity in Schools

Against the backdrop of the spate of abduction of students from schools in the northern part of Nigeria, a security expert and President, Nigeria Computer Society, Prof. Adesina Sodiya explained to some journalists, including Funmi Ogundare why it is imperative for the country to invest in technology so as to tackle insecurity

The issue of insecurity particularly the kidnap of students from their schools in some parts of the country has become a cankerworm which needs serious attention. In the last 10 years, many students and even teachers have been abducted en masse from schools in the northern part of Nigeria highlighting a worrying development in the country’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis.

According to reports, attacks on schools in the north were carried out by bandits, a loose term for kidnappers, armed robbers, cattle rustlers, Fulani herdsmen and other armed militia operating in the area who are largely motivated by money. Many believe that the country is confronted by a weak security infrastructure and governors who have little control over security in their states. Rather than nip the situation in the bud, they have resorted to paying ransoms and have made mass abduction a lucrative source of income for perpetrators.

Rather than continue in this trend and allow kidnappers have free reign of terror in schools, a security expert and President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Adesina Sodiya explained why the country needs to invest in technology. He said this has become imperative considering the fact that the security agencies and even state governors are loosing the battle against mass abduction of students.

According to him, “the problem of insecurity actually started a few years ago and we have not given it the kind of attention it deserves, that is why we have found ourselves in this situation. It has grown so wide and has become a monster that it is becoming impossible for government to handle. In handling security situation, we need to invest in technology.”
He said the NCS has written a proposal to the federal government on the use of satellite technology to curb insecurity situation in the country, and wondered why bandits will go to schools to abduct hundreds of students without being caught or tracked down.

“The proposal we sent to government has to do with the use of satellite technology and that is not difficult for any government to use. How will some people come to a school and kidnap hundreds of students? In some cases, they come in trucks and motorcycles and you cannot track them.

“It has gotten to a point where developed countries want to start referring to Nigeria as a terrorist nation. In developed countries, you will see satellite technologies and immediate deployment of drones and helicopter. They will follow the kidnappers to wherever they are going. We can’t handle this on the surface, we can also use the air technology which is very simple to deploy,” the president stressed.

Sodiya explained how developed countries have been able to deploy navigational satellite to monitor people especially for cases of kidnap, adding that as a member of Broadband Implementation Committee in Nigeria, he is aware that some countries have submitted proposals on how they could assist Nigeria to develop its satellite technology.

“When people are kidnapped, you can monitor them using satellite if we think our satellite is not strong enough to be able to do that.”

Asked how efficient Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) is to curb insecurity in the country, Sodiya said, “It is an agency of government and it is still running, but the agency is also challenged with funding. We are in talks with the Managing Director, Dr. Abimbola Alale about the need to develop our satellite.

“Apart from that, there are so many technologies that we can adopt. Government will tell you that they are doing a lot in gathering intelligence, but we are not seeing the results. It has to do with the capacity and capability of the security agencies.”

The president expressed concern that the country’s security agencies lack the capability and capacity to tackle the issue of security considering the attack in April, of students of Greenfield University, Kaduna, adding that the NCS will be having a workshop this week on crime detection and forensic investigation.

“We have come up with solutions on how we can tackle security challenges using ICT. We have put the document together and we are going to make the presentation to government. We are hoping that so many security agencies will show interest. Unfortunately, only the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is showing interest so that they can have what is adequate for them to do their job.

“Look at what happened during the Greenfield University kidnap in Kaduna! They killed five of the students and dumped their corpses very close to the school. Yet the security agencies will tell you they are gathering intelligence.”

Sodiya described the incessant kidnap of students for ransome in the country as having become a good business for criminals and an easy thing for them to do. Unfortunately, he said the people who are behind this kidnap are well to do, adding that the Fulani people who engage in banditry are working for some people.

“Until we sit down to strategise, the problem will continue as it has gotten to a stage where if I don’t like your face, I could kidnap your child for ransome. Nobody wants anybody related to him or her to die, so they look for the money to pay. The perpetrators can start with any amount. I was told that once they deliver the money to the kidnappers, they don’t bother counting it again. But we need to strategise as a nation and come up with a law that prescribe death sentence for kidnappers, unfortunately, we still don’t have that kind of law.”

He opined that microchips could be put in any equipment or vehicles the kidnappers may likely go away with so that it can be easier to track them, adding, “there are microchips that you can put around any equipment that they might go away with, so that you can track them to know where they are. How is that difficult for us to do?

“qYou could also put some sensor on their vehicle and allow them to go. By the time they get to their base, you would be able to track them. They come with several vehicles and motorcycles, at times, you hear that our soldiers repel the attacks, that is not the kind of thing I want to hear. So they need to move close to them with bombshell because they move in a large group. Incidentally, the kidnappers are not afraid of death.”

He said the country should have sought foreign support a long ago as it is being done by other developed nations to address the issue, adding that with the way the government is handling it, there is no solution in sight.

“We should have sought for that a long time ago. It is not because we are backward or that we don’t have the strength. Most nations, if there is any need for them to seek for foreign support, they do it. We should be able to seek for foreign support because it is very important for us. Boko Haram fighters also have foreign support. They have people who fund them and even provide technical expertise for them. It is actually important that we get support from developed nations, it might be technical or in terms of providing personnel and equipment.

Kidnapping is continuing and we are not seeing solutions to it,” Sodiya stressed.

Asked how schools in the country can help themselves internally to curb insecurity and kidnap of their students, he said, “what some schools are doing is to create a sensor network. With the sensor network, what they need to do is to put a smart card in the identification card of all the students. If it is within the school, they can actually monitor everything going on.
“I was discussing the issue with a vice-chancellor and I told him that putting CCTV at the entrance into the school, ensuring face recognition and building a system that will recognise everybody coming into the university will be of great benefit. It will only require a !ot of storage. You must have information about anybody coming into the university at any point in time. If that is what we can do at this point, we need to do it.

“Having only their names and addresses will not work for security issue. Once they are able to get the biometric information of students and visitors, it will go a long way in tackling insecurity in our schools.”

He cited an instance of a bank in Lagos, which ensured that the biometric information of visitors are taken before they are allowed entry.

“You enter through finger print or do face recognition. With that, when you go there again and show your face, the system will recognise you. With that they have gotten your identity and if you do anything with them, you cannot run to anywhere. We should start implementing that and even transform the school system into a smart environment. I have seen an institution where they have sensors around the wall of the school and they are a!so monitoring it apart from the gate. Insecurity has become so sensitive such that we need to do whatever we have to in order to prevent kidnap of students.”