Nigeria Content Online

President Goodluck
Jonathan has urged Nigerians to be vigilant and report suspicious
characters in their areas who may want to cause violence to appropriate
security agencies.

He stated this
yesterday while inaugurating two committees at the presidential villa,
Abuja. The committees include: the Presidential Awareness Committee on
Security and Civic Responsibility which is headed by Lateef Adegbite,
Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and
Presidential Committee on the Review of the Reform Processes in the
Nigerian Public Service, headed by Adamu Waziri Fika.

The President
stated that the constitution of the Presidential Awareness Committee on
Security and Civic Responsibility was necessitated by the acts of
violence plaguing the nation adding that security and stability are
essential ingredients for a virile democracy.

“It is disturbing
to note that security breaches as well as violence across the country
are assuming a serious dimension. Some of these major security
challenges which are capable of subverting the process include intra
and inter political party conflicts, socio-economic agitations,
ethno-religious crises, civil and organised rebellions and outright
criminality”.

Mr. Jonathan who
noted that Chapter two section 14 of the Constitution clearly places
security and welfare of the people as the primary purpose of
government, vowed that he will do all necessary to ensure that security
is maintained.

“Cognisance of our
administration’s responsibility to ensure that these challenges do not
degenerate into unmanageable proportions, we have taken a number of
measures not only to contain them but to check them before they even
emerge,” he said.

He also declared
that one of the measures is to effectively sensitise the people on
security issues and the civic responsibility of citizens especially as
it affects security.

“The establishment
of the committee on public awareness, security and civic responsibility
is, therefore, a decisive attempt to engender communal commitments from
patriotic response by all in the interest of our collective security,”
he said.

Terms of reference

The committee is
expected to embark on “the reappraisal of the potential security
threats in the country; mapping out strategies on regular basis and
creating structures at the three tiers of government on how members of
the society including civil society organisations can identify and deal
with suspicious movements as well as potential threats to security
through effective communication, planning and public awareness”.

Others include
development of curricula incorporating information, security awareness,
session to deal with issues of safety and security awareness in
national institutions in the country as well as take further necessary
action that will strengthen the security agencies and empower them to
effectively tackle security breaches in any parts of the country.

“The challenges
inherent in this assignment are enormous, but with the caliber of the
membership of the committee I am convinced that you have the capacity
to carry out this task” the President said.

Reviewing the reforms

The President,
while inaugurating the committee on the review of the reform processes
in the Nigerian Public Service, stated the constitution of the
Committee provides the government with an opportunity “to assess where
we are coming from and where we want to be including the critical steps
in actualising the Vision 202020 agenda”.

He also stated that
the inauguration of the committee is particularly symbolic because the
nation is poised to implement good governance in the country, saying
that it will guarantee a high standard of living and quality of life to
Nigerians.

“We are currently
implementing two complimentary strategies, for sustainable development.
The first is the national economic transformation strategy as
enunciated in the Vision 202020 document which is an articulation of
the long term intent to launch Nigeria on a part of sustained social
and economic progress and accelerate the emergence of a truly
prosperous Nigeria”.

He, therefore,
urged civil servants to begin to think of themselves as world class
service provider that can function as a veritable engine of growth and
development. This national strategy for public service reform is aimed
at developing and deepening stability in governance.

“The developmental
challenges the nation is facing is tied to the ability of the public
service to deliver public goods that Nigeria needs for evidenced
accelerated development”.

The committee apart
from undertaking a detailed study of previous public service reforms
and assessing their impact, will also examine the structure of the
MDAs, manpower utilisation as well as review core values of ethics,
integrity, discipline, efficiency to reposition it for effective
service delivery.

It will also
examine the need for strategic medium and long term plans, staff
exchange programme between the public service, private sector,
international organisations and academia as well as the relationship
between the federal civil serve commission and Office of the Head of
Service of the federation in areas of recruitment, promotion and
discipline with a view of promoting harmony between them.