Ebonyi state government’s sensitisation effort towards eradicating cultism and other crimes is yielding dividends. In this interview with EGWUAGHA AMARACHUKWU, the special adviser to the state governor on internal security and utility, Chika Nwangele, says the approach has human face.
Who is Chika Nwangele?
I am an indigene of Ebonyi state and special assistant to the governor on internal security in Ebonyi South.
When did you assume this position and how has it been so far?
I assumed office on June 19, 2019. Since then, I have been working together with my boss, Governor David Umahi, my colleagues in other senatorial zones and our direct boss, the acting commissioner for internal security, Dr Ugbala Kenneth, to ensure that the state is raid of cultism, rape and other vices ravaging the society. You know that one thing is to give advice and another is to implement it. We have been going round the state on sensitising the residents and youths especially on the dangers of indulging in cultism, kidnapping and vices of all sorts. It’s not just tertiary institutions that we have been visiting, but secondary schools, local government councils, communities, women groups, traditional rulers and elders for collaborative efforts in order to reduce crimes rates to the barest minimum in this state. I want to tell you that the experiences I have had in the course of the sensitisation are mind blowing. Many people we interracted with were really not happy being cult members. In fact, many of them admitted that they were conscripted into the group under duress mostly under the influence of bad friends who engaged in hard drugs and other illicit behaviours. I so much thank my governor for the initiative to decentralise our offices. That is why we have SA (internal security) for Ebonyi South, North Central and the capital city in order to achieve maximum results. This initiative has made our work easier in the form of division of labour. Our aims are the same and that is basically to flush cultism, rape, kidnapping, among other social vices, out of the state. For instance, we have, within the last two weeks now, taken the sensitisation programme to many places like the Urban Model Secondary School Okpaugwu, Presco Secondary School located at Mile 50 and Holy Ghost Secondary School. We have also gone to familiarise ourselves with the police division officers in order to avoid any conflict.
Has this sensitisation programme of yours been able to bear any fruit?
To the glory of God, this sensitisation exercise has brought about genuine repentance and denouement of cultism by over 3,000 persons as against the application of stick approach. In recent times, some of the repentant cultists have been going to churches to denounce their membership of those cult groups. So many of them now have the fear of God to the point that they understand that there is no need to be abnormal in behaviour. Yes, I call it abnormal because when someone wakes up in the morning and what comes to his mind is to kill or rape somebody, then the person is abnormal. He or she is not in the real sense. On that note, I thank my governor for giving us the opportunity to contribute our quota in the eradication of these vices from the state.
Like my lecturers would always tell us way back in school, ‘show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’. When you want to change the kind of life you live, you have to change some places you visit as well as some people you interact with and some things you do. So, with the help of Chief David Umahi at empowering the youths, we got the opportunity to go to some flash points and preach repentance to them. You know that when someone is empowered economically, it becomes easy to interact with that person. Ordinarily, we are supposed to start by arresting everyone we know that has any connection with cultism, but because of the kind of heart our governor has as a man of God who also has children, he gave them the last chance for repentance by asking us to preach to them first.
That extra chance is why we are going on this sensitisation. Right now, many of them have immersed themselves in the things of God in different churches by being members of choir and prayer ministries in their rehabilitation processes. I want to tell you that any day we go out for sensitisation, we win souls for God. We have about 80 persons that denounced cultism this week on Monday July 15 to be precise. we are still going to get more because they are eager to leave their evil ways. And let me say that with the assistance of the governor, by this time next month, there would be nothing like cultism in Ebonyi state. With the help of our neighborhood watch, we also checkmating the incidences of kidnapping, child snatching, trafficking, among others. To that end, we shall commence arrest of motorcyclists and drivers who operate without plate numbers in the state. Because without plate numbers, when babies or bags are snatched or any crime at all is committed, the identity of the hoodlums would be difficult to unravel. To that extent, this operation to impound motorcycles and cars without plate numbers shall commence soon.
