‘How ICT solution can curb the Boko Haram menace’

Boko Haram........The kind of bombs they use

By Prince Osuagwu

Former President of the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria, ATCON and the Executive Chairman, Technology Development Company Limited, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem has in different occasions argued that unless government took ICT development seriously, it may not properly tackle problems of national security.

Ekuwem was not singing a different tune last week, on hearing the news of the alleged Boko Haram masterminded bomb blast at the Nigerian Force Headquarters, Abuja.
He was however bitter that Nigeria could not learn her lessons with what was happening in other societies by using ICT tools that actually could be readily accessible to her, to nip such ugly activities in the bud.
For him, this incident seems to have provided a strong ICT test to the government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan much as it has also challenged the federal and state governments to show greater appreciation for ICT-based technologies that would enhance the automation of  national security operations.
Ekuwem, blamed the growing acts of insecurity in Nigeria, partly on the slow pace with which relevant government agencies  appreciate the urgent need to deploy advanced technologies that would enhance effective security surveillance, monitoring and policing across the nation.

They felled this innocent toddler too...

Responding to Hi-Tech’s questions on the panacea to incessant bombings and Boko Haram activities in recent times, Ekuwem said that “Although president Jonathan has made security one of his top priorities, relevant authorities are not responding fast to that concern. For him , the will is not enough without the wherewithal.
He added: “The simple fact that the security agencies could not detect the passage of the bomb devices in a car into the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, of all places, is a clear indication that much still need to be done to improve our security surveillance, monitoring and policing operations. Nigeria has a very robust ICT industry with enough experts to help the government devise water-tight security across the country, but one wonders why these relevant government agencies are not very sufficiently keen on taking advantage of the enormous power of ICT to leverage our national security operations as it is the case in advanced countries of the world.”
He further explained that “there are modern technologies like Vehicle and Cargo Scanning System (VACIS) that enable the scanning of every piece of cargo, container, truck and vehicles that enter Nigeria at the seaports, airports and inland border posts. Even if criminals weld the explosives or bombs  into the panel or chassis of the vehicles, the scanners will pick them out. The scanning radiation can penetrate six inches of concrete and very thick steel materials.
The vehicle-mounted mobile ones will periodically or at a tip-off go on city scanning patrols. They can capture the number plates, biometrics of the driver as well as photographs and video clips of each port/border crossing into Nigeria by any cargo, container, truck, tanker or vehicle. They can scan on specific highways within Nigeria, roads, check-points, inland waterways, streets and roads leading to and entrances to big complexes like the Police headquarters, Federal Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eagle Square, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Assembly, Presidential Villa, FCTA, among other places and detect contents of cars, trucks, tankers, boats and ferries as the case may be”.

The man who started it all...Late Muhammed Yusuf

Ekuwem however condemned in very strong terms the recent bomb incidence as well as others that took place before now and advised that until the government agencies appreciate the viability of installing hi-tech scanning devices in strategic locations, security breaches such as the ugly occurrences witnessed last week may still continue unabated for a long time.