The UNIBEN CCTV project as worthy lead

IT is heartwarming to note that while governments continue to fiddle about the application of ICT in security, individuals and institutions are forging ahead by adopting digital solutions to security.

Uniben gate

On Monday, the University of Benin raised the ante when it commissioned CCTV cameras for surveillance in the university. That means the UNIBEN community is now wired against criminals, just like the city of London, and .
That feat, by that university, deserves accolades because it shows that things can be done in this country. It also demystifies all the humdrum being peddled in the corridors of power on why we can’t have it in every major city.
At the individual level, it is known that not a few houses in our major cities and towns are retrofitted with digital security gadgets that would deter the ordinary burglar or some other criminal. It is also common knowledge that the office suites of top business executives are, in terms of security, digital fortresses. But that is in the private sector.
What the University of Benin has done is to show that it can also be done in the public sector for the common good, and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Osayuki Oshodin and his team deserve applause from all of us.
It is no longer a matter of argument that our universities have derailed from their primary objectives — that of culturing and nurturing the brightest and best of the nation’s intellect.

Nowadays, university campuses have become veritable training grounds in gangsterism, hooliganism, and thuggery for the menfolk, while the ladies also get tutelage in things I don’t want to think about.
I hope the UNIBEN CCTV network covers remote areas of the campus where unsavoury activities inimical to the pursuit of excellence in academia take place.
Where we are in this country, after more than $300 billion of oil revenue and other uncountable billions from other sources, it is not too much if all our universities are wired up. In fact, we should take it for granted that our major cities are also wired like London, or Seoul, Korea.
Given the enormous resources God endowed us with, Nigerian towns and cities should be settlements that people from other lands covet.
Eleven years into the 21st century, record-keeping in most police stations is still manual; many policemen still don’t have walkie-talkies, and were it not for GSM, communication for crime management purposes among policemen would still be a tough thing.
From an IT point of view, the Nigeria Police Force should have one of the most expansive databases in the country, with cross-linked servers all over the place, which every policeman can access for information regarding criminals in his area.
By now, every police station should be wired up; in fact, anybody who has any purpose to enter a police station (even if not a suspect) should be on record — mug shot, fingerprints, other biometrics instantly captured at reception.
I hope all universities and other institutions of higher learning follow suit and adopt digital solutions to checkmate cultism, exams fraud and other malpractice, while we wait on our governments to adequately secure our lives through wholesale application of ICT to security.