The Founder of Alerte Universal Ltd, James Useghan, has called on Nigerians to take a more active role in protecting themselves and their communities, arguing that security should not be left solely to law enforcement agencies.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Saturday, Useghan said security challenges across the country require a collective response from citizens, communities and authorities.
“Security is not an individual thing. It’s a collective responsibility of everyone to be able to curtail the issue,” he said.
Useghan, whose company developed the Alerte emergency response application, said communities must be prepared to respond to threats, particularly in situations where security agencies may not arrive immediately.
“One thing is taking responsibility for yourself to protect yourself if people are not coming in. You have to do something,” he said.
He argued that local communities, estates and neighbourhood groups could play a critical role in responding to emergencies before security agencies arrive.
“You are in a community, probably in an estate where you’re living. I mean, there are some sets of people who protect those estates. There are vigilante groups. There are different groups that can always come together in a community to say, look, we are protecting this entity.”
According to him, residents should not underestimate the role of local security networks and neighbours in helping to prevent crime and respond to emergencies.
“We should not underrate them. You can be my eye. I can be your eye,” he said.
Useghan stressed that while security agencies remain important, communities are often the first line of response during emergencies.
“The community within your enclave are the people that will first be the call to action for you first before the police,” he said.
He acknowledged that government has a major role to play in strengthening security and emergency response systems but maintained that citizens must also take responsibility for their own safety.
“So the government really has a very huge role to play,” he said.
“However, like I said, you know, it’s a lot easier when you have some backers from the community. I’m not taking the police people out of the space. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we should let them be.”
Useghan said stronger community involvement could help prevent attacks and improve emergency responses.
“By the time we have a collective responsibility of safeguarding ourselves to an extent, we’re going to prevent this situation. That is what I’m after.”
He added that discussions around insecurity should not focus exclusively on the shortcomings of security agencies but also on how communities can support efforts to keep residents safe.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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