Comrade Kashim Isyaku Chicha, the initiator of AMAC Marshal that takes collective responsibility in serving communities, tells journalists in this interaction that the initiative can effectively tackle rural unemployment. Baba Yusuf was there.
What is AMAC Marshal?
AMAC Marshal is a well-trained and organised civil personnel that provides accurate, reliable and timely rural development and intelligent information for the successful running of Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Candido’s APC-led in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
How do you intend to achieve that?
Well, it is a big task; AMAC Marshal itself is a child of necessity; it was conceived by the present chairman of AMAC, Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Candido, and I am the initiator of the Marshal. I did all the write-up and everything was my handiwork. But the thinking of AMAC Marshal was brought about by the chairman himself and the purpose is to curtail the level of unemployment in the rural circles.
Rural unemployment
The unemployment situation in the country is on the high side; everybody depends on government for white collar jobs, but in a civilised society, government cannot provide job for everybody and come to AMAC, since the inception of the Council, no chairman has ever thought positively to reduce the unemployment, especially in the rural areas, the way Candido is doing now.
For instance, within the two month of his administration, he was able to assemble 150 able men and women for job creation and this job creation is all about revenue mobilisation, revenue engagement, to checkmate the sanitary offenders and to provide both corporate and individual guards. This is wonderful way of thinking, if the past AMAC administration should embark on a project of this nature, by now the issue of unemployment could have been a history in AMAC. Therefore, we intend to make sure that we make the AMAC Marshal the model for the other 773 local governments in Nigeria.
We will create an enabling environment for others to copy from us. For example, if you are to direct somebody to park, instead of shouting on him, you kindly and gently walk up to him and say please sir, may I help you? Please sir, this is not a parking place, can I show you where to park your car sir? It is one of the model ways we want to carry out our job as a Marshal.
Secondly, there are a lot of unusual activities going on in the society today; our youths, our young ones, men and women are engaging themselves in uncultured habits, and how do you curtail them? Do you allow government to be doing that all by itself? No, everybody is a government in his or her own way. Therefore, we have to collaborate; we have to give them maximum cooperation in order to keep things done. We are from the grassroots, most of the Marshals were drawn from the villages, wards, and they know who is who. We will teach them the way to engage dialogue with their people at home.
From the security point of view, these people were drawn from the communities, they know strangers, and they know who has been living in that community for long. If we engage them in this service, they can easily trace a suspected person, and by so doing we are helping the bigger security agencies to actualise their motive.
People fear that AMAC Marshal could be used to witch-hunt residents
Witch-hunt, how? We are not training them on arms, we are not training them on anything; instead of witch-hunting, I should rightly said we are engaging them to be more productive instead of seating under the tree and causing irrelevant issues. We now engage them in one thing or the other that would be beneficial to the communities and the society at large. It is only somebody with a myopic mind that would think Marshal is coming to intimidate people in the communities. Where they not drawn from the communities? What kind of intimidation are you talking about; can you please elaborate?
A Marshal could use his position to intimidate residents
Well, I am giving you assurance that there wouldn’t be any intimidation from any Marshal member; if anybody claims to be a Marshal and consequently intimidates his people in the community and we get to know about it, we will sanction him; we will sue him because Marshals are well-trained, civilised organised individuals that are set for a particular goal and that goal is nothing other than to achieve both political, economy problems in our country.
What is your staff strength?
This is just the beginning; Marshal and intelligent units is a continue process. We started with 150 and in the next two, three months, we would be having another 150 depending on our work force because we are a revenue generating unit. Due to the current economic crisis, we can no longer depend on government allocation. We, therefore, have to strive hard to look for ways of generating revenue, engaging revenue mobilisation within our reach so as to make our area Council viable.
Are you collaborating with other security agencies?
We have involved the Civil Defence, the Police and all other security agencies. We are not going to force anybody into anything, but we would engage them to do the right things. If a Marshal sights someone doing a wrong thing, our intelligence unit will quickly inform the bigger security forces around, it may be Army, SSS, or Police and NSCDC. As Marshals they are free to interact with all these agencies; I am a Marshal, this is what I saw. Therefore, the bigger security agencies would use their knowledge to intervene and intercept the crime. By so doing, the Marshal will help to save that security situation within that circle.
Your advice to residents
My advice to the people of AMAC is for them to collaborate and see the Marshal guards as friends; they are brothers that were drawn from their own communities, they are out there to perform the work of your communities, their responsibilities is their communities.
They have no other things than to see their communities as a safe place for everybody, both the natives and the residents, to feel free. Every Nigerian has legitimate and constitutional right to lie anywhere he want to and in as long as you have 10, 20, 30 to 100 people; you can’t guarantee their attitude, some people will like to oppress others and to prevent that oppressor, the Marshal would be there as a guide and help the security agencies.
