The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC has partnered with the National Institute for Cultural Orientation NICO to begin language proficiency training for officers and men in the Corps as part of efforts to improve its intelligence-gathering capacity.
The initiative aims to improve their knowledge and mastery of the three major indigenous Nigerian languages as a means of breaking down communication barriers during operations, intelligence gathering, and information sharing, among other things.
The CG NSCDC, Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, declared the program open in Abuja and described it as “very central” to the Corps’ corporate existence as a grassroots security outfit saddled with the onerous responsibilities of protecting lives and securing critical infrastructure.
He stated that access to timely information and credible intelligence gathering, which drive most successful security operations, necessitates proper indigenization and integration of Corps officers and men in various communities where they find themselves or are deployed for ad hoc functions.
Dr. Audi stated that, in addition to protecting government assets and infrastructure, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as a paramilitary organization, is responsible for training, licensing, monitoring, and supervising private security guard companies, as well as disaster management and crisis mitigation.
“As a result, the exigency of duty necessitates versatility and the ability to maneuver any challenging situation by any personnel, hence the need for collaboration with NICO to have Corps personnel fully trained in Nigerian languages,” he explained.
The NSCDC chief added that his administration is committed to training and retraining personnel to improve the professionalism of the service for effective service delivery to the nation, while also creating a positive culture that will create a distinct identity as a world-class elite organization that protects citizens’ lives and property.
“It is incumbent on all general duty officers who may be posted to any location in the country to acquire the necessary knowledge of our indigenous languages because it not only promotes our culture by bringing the officers closer to the people, but it also allows officers to easily blend with various communities for effective intelligence and information gathering.”
For example, the newly formed Female Squad has been interacting with and sensitizing students, teachers, and parents in various parts of the country; thus, knowledge of indigenous languages comes in handy in making interactions easier for them while on this assignment,” Audi explained.
Mr. Ado Muhammed Yahuza, Executive Secretary of NICO, stated in his address that the Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme is to address the unfortunate and alarming rate at which Nigerian languages are losing relevance in the scheme of things, as well as the threat of extinction.
He maintained, in this regard, that indigenous languages are a strategic tool for fostering national identity, national consciousness, and integration.
He added that the “language in the Barracks program” has the added benefit of being an invaluable tool for effective intelligence and information gathering by officers and men of the military and para-military agencies, reiterating that the agency will engage officers and men of the Corps in about six states across the federation, with about 13 centers spread across the country.
