Editorial
In Support Of Neighbourhood Watch Revival
Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s decision to reintroduce the Rivers Neighbourhood Watch, also known as Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, after six years of its establishment, reflects the Governor’s dedication to the security of the residents of the state. The Neighbourhood Watch, which was established by the previous administration, serves as a community-based security organisation with a primary goal of boosting community safety, especially in addressing the prevalent issue of oil theft in the region.
Neighbourhood Safety Corps has been inactive or inadequately funded for approximately six years as a result of several administrative challenges. Governor Fubara recently convened a meeting with the leaders of the security outfit in a private setting, expressing a firm commitment to rejuvenate the organisation. This initiative is accompanied by assurances of improved assistance and incorporation into the state’s security framework.
The leader of the Corps, Wogbo Lawrence, expressed gratitude to the Governor for the initiative, emphasising the challenges the outfit faces in sustaining its operations with limited support. He mentioned that they had successfully kept about 1,150 personnel engaged throughout the 23 local government areas of the state. The Director-General of the agency, Mike Chukwuma, who is a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and former experienced police public relations officer (PPRO) in Rivers State, also praised Fubara’s decision.
Governor Fubara’s actions exemplify a comprehensive approach to addressing local security concerns by actively involving communities, thereby establishing a potential model for state governments to interact with local residents on security issues. Nevertheless, the success of this initiative will hinge on its proper execution, adequate funding, and sustained support from the community in the long term.
Following the signing of the bill for the establishment of the agency into law by former Governor Nyesom Wike in March 2018, its complete implementation faced obstacles due to allegations from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. The APC claimed that the security structure was intended to intimidate its members during the 2019 elections, leading to a prolonged legal dispute that was ultimately resolved in the Supreme Court.
The Tide highly commends the Governor for his efforts in revitalising the stagnant institution. If implemented, security will be accessible throughout the entire state. This initiative will facilitate the smooth operation of businesses for all residents. By promoting the establishment of individually designed security systems by states, the prevailing security issues plaguing the nation can be effectively eliminated.
Upon the outfit becoming fully operational, it is important that the state government expeditiously address the outstanding salaries owed to the employees by the previous administration. Resolving these unsettled obligations is essential not only for boosting the morale of the workforce but also for optimising operational efficiency. Unpaid salaries have the capacity to reduce productivity and increase discontent among employees, thereby jeopardising the overall efficacy of public services.
Like any conscientious organisation, the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps has clear objectives. The objectives are (a) gathering information about crime, crime in progress, suspicious activities and crime suspects away from other things; (b) making available such relevant information on crime, crime in progress; suspicious activities and crime suspects to the police or other security agencies that require it; (c) putting structures in place to ensure that hoodlums and cult groups do not have the opportunity to operate within the state.
Others include (d) undertaking routine motorised patrol day and night; (e) reducing the crime rate and ensuring that offenders are identified and made to account for their misdeeds; (f) following up on arrest of offenders to court and ensuring justice; (g) timely reporting of suspicious activities and crimes in progress to the police or other security agencies; (h) improving relationship between the police and the community as it concerns law enforcement.
Also, (i) contributing in maintaining community peace; (j) providing the police with relevant information that will enhance their understanding of how to effectively police the communities and; (k) assisting the police carry out any other lawful activities in maintaining law and order.
Indeed, the underlying objectives of this legislation are commendable as they reflect the desire for a more secure state. Proper execution holds the potential to offer a greater sense of protection to all individuals. However, Rivers people place a strong emphasis on the agency’s neutrality. There is a lasting concern that it could be misused against political opponents, a worry that has been present since its inception in 2018. Therefore, it will be vital to establish transparency and accountability in its undertakings to address these anxieties and cultivate a truly safe environment for all residents of the state.
Unlike the previous administration, there is necessity to effectively fund the enterprise to guarantee its sustainability. Without adequate resources, the organisation faces a risk of stagnation, which could lead to it becoming inactive once more. Strategic financial investment is obligatory for maintaining operational consistency, as well as for promoting innovation and expansion. Giving precedence to financial backing can establish a strong foundation that enables the enterprise to prosper, overcome obstacles, and ultimately accomplish its mission more efficiently in a continuously changing environment.
Through the implementation of the Neighbourhood Watch programme, it is anticipated that the obstacles currently encountered by law enforcement agencies in the state will be alleviated. This initiative aims to address concerns like delayed police responses to emergencies and mishandling of information, ultimately leading to improved public safety. The outfit is expected to generate employment opportunities for the youth, foster stronger relationships, respect, and trust between the organisation and community members. Residents will feel more actively involved in crime prevention and management. Rivers people should rally behind the Governor in actualising this laudable project.
There are moments in the life of a legislature when plain speaking becomes a public service. Senator Adams Oshiomhole provided such a moment on the floor of the Senate when he accused the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, of manifestly neglecting critical federal arteries in Edo and Delta States, and implored his colleagues to prevail on the Minister to adopt a more equitable and genuinely national approach to road infrastructure delivery. It was blunt, it was uncomfortable, and it was necessary.
The specifics of his complaint deserve restating. Drawing attention to the recent approval of some 20 new road projects despite the parlous state of existing ones, the former Edo State governor lamented that Nigerians cannot travel from Benin to Warri, Benin to Asaba, Benin to Auchi, or Auchi to Okene without encountering severe distress. He alleged a deliberate omission of these corridors from the national budget in the last three years, save for palliative interventions directed by President Bola Tinubu through tax credit arrangements. His question — “What have we done wrong?” — resonates far beyond the chambers of the National Assembly.
We lend our full and unequivocal support to that call. The Auchi-Benin Road, for instance, has been in a deplorable and near-impassable condition for several years, turning what should be a two-hour journey into an all-day ordeal of broken axles, extortionate fares, and despondent commuters. The media have, on multiple occasions, chronicled the suffering of motorists, traders, and students who ply that route. To describe it as a federal road today is to stretch the meaning of the term beyond recognition.
This pattern of sidelining is not confined to Edo or Delta. Even here in Rivers State, the disposition of the Federal Ministry of Works has left much to be desired, particularly along the Eleme axis of the East-West Road. That road, which ought to be a flagship of federal presence in the Niger Delta, has remained in a wretched state for long. Those who use it daily — workers at the Eleme Petrochemical Complex, the two refineries, Onne Port, and the countless ancillary industries — can attest to its deterioration. Work has proceeded in fits and starts without the sustained urgency such a strategic road demands.
The Eleme stretch is not a mere intra-state byway. It is the gateway to the nation’s economic jugular. According to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing’s 2023 Highway Condition Survey, only about 35 per cent of the country’s 36,000 kilometres of federal roads are rated as being in good or fair condition, with the remainder classified as poor or very poor. The East-West Road, conceived in the 1970s to bind the entire Niger Delta, remains unfinished in critical sections more than four decades after. If it had been treated as a priority, the perennial gridlock, carnage, and economic loss on the Eleme-Refinery junction would have long been consigned to history.
The irony is as painful as it is glaring. The Niger Delta remains the goose that lays the golden eggs. Data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative [NEITI 2023 Oil and Gas Audit] show that the region still accounts for over 78 per cent of Nigeria’s federally collected export earnings and about 65 per cent of total government revenue. The National Bureau of Statistics [NBS Foreign Trade Report Q4 2024] similarly confirms that crude oil continues to dominate export receipts. By every metric of equity and economic logic, a region that sustains the national purse deserves first-rate consideration in the allocation of infrastructure, not afterthoughts and tokenism.
Road infrastructure is not largesse to be dispensed by favour; it is the skeleton upon which commerce, cohesion, and citizenship hang. When contracts are concentrated in one geopolitical zone while other zones are left to contend with craters, it erodes trust in the federation itself. The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update [June 2023] estimated that poor transport connectivity inflates the cost of moving goods by up to 40 per cent and costs the Nigerian economy an estimated $1.5 billion annually in lost man-hours and vehicle maintenance. If we profess to be one country, then equity must be the compass that guides key institutions before any project is executed. Development must spread round, not pool in one place as though other regions do not matter.
There is also a grave security dimension that can no longer be ignored. The deplorable condition of federal roads has become a veritable enabler of criminality. The NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey reported over 2.5 million incidents of kidnapping-related occurrences nationally, with transport workers identifying bad road spots as prime ambush points. When vehicles are forced to crawl at 10 kilometres per hour through failed sections at Auchi, Sapele Road, or Eleme, they become sitting ducks for armed gangs. Fixing bad roads, therefore, is not merely about convenience; it is about safeguarding lives.
By his intervention, Senator Oshiomhole has hit the nail on the head and reminded Minister Umahi of a fundamental constitutional truth: public office is held in trust. The Ministry of Works is not a personal estate where contracts are awarded according to whim or political convenience. It is a national institution funded by the collective resources of Nigerians, including the oil and gas rents from the very communities whose roads are now neglected. The Minister must demonstrate balance, transparency, and a pan-Nigerian outlook in the distribution of projects that impact the daily existence of citizens. Selective neglect breeds suspicion, and suspicion is corrosive at a time when the nation is preaching unity, oneness, equity, and justice.
Consequently, the National Assembly must go beyond rhetoric and assert its oversight powers with vigour. Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution [as amended] empower the legislature to investigate and expose any maladministration in the execution of federal projects. If an office holder is not acting rightly, it is the duty of the Senate and the House of Representatives to call him to order. Oversight must not be reduced to budget approval ceremonies; it must translate to field verification, public hearings, and insistence that the Federal Character principle, as enshrined in Section 14(3) of the Constitution, reflects in road awards.
Let the Auchi-Okene, Benin-Warri, Benin-Asaba, and Eleme East-West gangways be restored to motorable dignity. Let priority be given to completing existing, economically vital roads before embarking on new ones. If those who, through their resources, sustain the federation are sidelined in the distribution of tangible dividends, it tells poorly of our nationhood. Bad roads must be fixed, and they must be fixed now, with fairness as the guiding standard.
