Minister for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, has reiterated the federal government’s commitment to improving the safety of Nigerians at community level in order to encourage economic growth and development of the country.
The minister stated this in a press briefing after a conference organised by his ministry in collaboration with Risk and Accident Prevention Society of Nigeria (RAPSON), aimed at bringing together role players in violence prevention to share ideas on improving community safety and human security in the country.
A statement by the ministry, made available to Blueprint Tuesday, quoted Senator Akume as disclosing of a national community conference on community violence prevention and human security billed to take place from Mach 24-26, 2020 with the theme; “Strategising for Community Safety.”
He noted that thought-provoking papers will be delivered by carefully selected resource persons and experts in community safety and security matters, aimed at enhancing the supporting goals of community safety and human security management, saying the outcomes will positively contribute to the fight against violent crimes which, sadly result in unnecessary deaths and human suffering.
He added that community violence prevention and human security were required as comprehensive approach that utilises the wide range of new opportunities to tackle threats in an integrated manner, stressing that security threat cannot be tackled through conventional mechanisms alone but via new consensus that acknowledges the linkages and interdependencies between human development, human rights and national security.
The minister said, “to actualise the objectives of the conference and create a platform of cooperation among relevant stakeholders, a draft strategic plan of action on community violence prevention and human security has been developed, following findings from a variety of community engagement exercises, which will be discussed and adopted at the conference.”
He thanked the media for the support and adequate publicity of his ministry, while appreciating RAPSON and other stakeholders for their commitment to the goal and aspirations of this government, adding that their contributions would add value to peace and security of the country.
