NIGERIA SECURITY AND CIVIL DEFENCE CORPS GOMBE STATE COMMAND -COMMANDANT. MUHAMMED BELLO MUAZU

Orderliness in the land and conformity to the laws in every given society is paramount to human existence. The whole matter of law, order and conformity, borders on security of lives and properties, protection of National assets and protection of pipelines from vandalism which may make or mar a society depending on how they are being handled. Gombe State has come a long way in her Twenty eight years of existence as a state. There is the increase in population as a result of migration from the villages to the urban areas. The aftermath of this development is rise in crime rate. These variables have posed serious challenges to the NSCDC and other security operatives in the state. Security is a serious issue all over the world as there is global increase in crime. It is therefore a thing of serious concern to governments, the NSCDC and individuals. The state government is religiously committed to ensuring that the rate of crime in the state is brought to the barest minimum.

The acquisition of expertise in a given field of human Endeavour is not just a bread and butter affair. It is therefore a fact that mediocre or a half-baked practitioner cannot attain the status of the seasoned professional. The extent of career building knitted with impeccable character can give birth to a competent Expert. This kind of person is proactive and versatile. In addition, the expert is also a team player, an achiever and a break of new grounds. All these are the stabilizing props that make such an expert in a focal point and the preferred one when a trusted person is being sought. The Centre-Point or nucleus of the foregoing will help in assessing the man, Commandant  Muhammed Bello Muazu not only in his present designation as the Commandant Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Gombe State Command but also on his pedigree and antecedent.The Forward News media in discharging its responsibility as the society’s watch-dog was in the Office of the Commandant of Nigeria Security and  Civil Defence Corps Gombe State Command, Commandant  Muhammed Bello Muazu to  x-ray his operational plan and vision in  Gombe State.

Hear Him:

Can you give us a brief background of yourself and what you stand for?

I am from Sokoto North Local Government Council, born on the 14^th August, 1965 from a humble background and beginning. I had my primary, secondary and tertiary education all in Sokoto. After my tertiary education, I started working in the state in one of the higher institutions of learning in Sokoto till when I switched off to Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in 1992. I continued my career having rosed through the ranks to the present rank of Commandant of Corps (CC). God made me to be a Commandant and later a State Commandant. I worked in two States other than where I started in the National Headquarters. So far so good, I tried as much as possible to project the Corps I am serving and I projected the Corps in Zamfara State where I served because I concentrated on the needs of the State and the expectation of the Corps over me. I conducted so many activities that will hail the State at large and afterwards, before the 2023 general elections during the Naira scarcity, I felt there was need to call for the youths in the State to come together and tell them the need why they must not go on destruction, destroying public properties in the State. As God will have it, they listened to me we turned out to be on the same page. Later, shortly after that, there was also the need to conduct sensitization for stakeholders’ of 2023 election. I was so happy all and sundry came out, for that said gathering, we sensitized all the stakeholders on the need not to be involved on the contrary conduct of the election. Therefore, to ask a question on what I stand for, I stand for the truth, I stand for the ethics, I stand for the rule of law and I stand for the growth and development of the State I am serving  and as well as projecting my Corps as required.

 As the 12^th Commandant of Gombe State Command, what can you say about her operations and staff?

when I came down to Gombe State, to be realistic and candid, I met the state in shambles, in the sense that things were not going on right, ranging from relationship between the Corps and the Government, the corps and the general public, the corps and other stakeholders in the State, but I vowed and owe myself, ‘I will change the narrative’. As God will have it, God stand by me I changed the narratives, the perspective of the way people is looking at us, the way people are thinking of us, you know, and we have gone back to the right position we deserve to be or where we were supposed to be. I started with a crusade, a very important crusade,that will sanitize the entire State. I started a crusade against criminals in various places in Gombe State. During my first meeting with my management staff, I promise them that I will go against any house or houses housing criminalities in the State, which I did, I did it and God willing, I succeeded. We have succeeded. Today as I am telling you, the gala houses we know in Gombe state, has become a history, why, because we were able to bring down the activities of the gala houses in the State wherever they are. Thereafter, we also went after other houses other than gala because I promised wherever these criminals tend to be operating, we will get there and get them. Relatively, I can assure you, we have more than 70% peaceful atmosphere in Gombe state compared to other states either within the region or within northern Nigeria. I also embarked on telling people to be going to their respective houses, as early as possible, which we succeeded as well. Today, out of 100% you will see that 90% are going back to their respective houses to meet and stay with their families. This was not tenable before my coming. Another area is on the social vices in the state that we heavily worked on and today we are enjoying peaceful atmosphere unlike before when you cannot sleep with your two eyes closed. Another area that I met over a long time that are not enjoying peaceful coexistence and peaceful harvest during any harvest period, with my readiness of my Agro-Rangers of my command we were able to go out there to do the needful to ensure peaceful harvest, at the end of that harvest period, I can assure you that we also attain successful harvest because I am not saying there was no pocket of issues here and there but they are manageable compared to 20-25years Gombe state has never witnessed a successful harvest until the period we came in and did our best to bring together a very particular understanding between herders and farmers. And to make it successful, we really had a ground work as we tried as much as possible to meet who is who as well as the stakeholders in the farming activities of the year.  We were able to reach out to herders themselves, we were able to reach the farmers, we were able to reach the traditional rulers, we were able to meet the government functionaries and collectively they gave us their assurance to cooperate with us for the achievement of the set goals of the government.

Overtime, the spread of HIV in Gombe State has become alarmingly high where even old men go about having coition with young females. What can you say about this ill news and its detrimental effect to the good of the State operations?

 In this area, I came with a particular approach that really worked for us. For in every arrest the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps made before sending them to Court for possible prosecution, we subject them to test and disappointingly many of these suspects youths were discovered to be positive but Government in this direction as well is heavily out to ensure that the menace has not escalated. Government is trying its best to see that it is curtailed within the management level but I don’t know where you got your information, the menace of HIV in the State is getting higher and higher. Please I want you to debunk such opinion.

Mining has become a very lucrative business for some individuals but this has resulted into illegal exploration and exploitation in Nigeria and even in this State. Do you think deep illegal mining activities are still going on in Gombe State

 My dear gentlemen of the press, you said it’s a lucrative business and there is no person who will not dare to have a lucrative business if wish be, well you said because of being it a lucrative business this resulted into illegal exploration and exploitation in Nigeria. Well, it’s all depends on how you want to put It, but nobody would not like to embrace a lucrative and good thing in his life. Mining is quite ok, is not without guidelines, is not that  there is operating going on without a law to be followed, there are regulations before anyone is set to be in the operations or in the business of mining has to abide by, there are certain conditions that you must fulfill after you have applied for exploration license. Exploration license, is to give you an idea of what you have or what you want to have depending on the mineral resources you want to explore, so where you get your opinion of an illegality, I don’t know about that but we knew anybody who applied for exploration license before the main license one need to be allowed to go into explorations as long as he had his documents, Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps will not have any rancor with that individuals, but quite ok, there are people that are just going into this business without knowing the rudiments and it uses, rudiments to be applied and we are on our toes against this people, but am assuring you here in Gombe we have a detail information of actually the legal miners in the state. We have their records available before us and that in case there is any new that the Federal Government approved, we also come about knowing it and where such individuals were given license to operate. Therefore. I will tell you like I said we are on our toes to be vigilant to make sure no illegal operators are operating in the State. We are on our toes and we are working against such people. So proudly, I will tell you only if they are hiding where we cannot reach, but there are no sites that are operating illegally because we are working together with all the stakeholders, ranging from the Federal mining officer, the state mining office, we are coming together, at times we go out together on crusade against mining. Therefore, where you said whether I think deep illegal mining activities are still going on in Gombe State, I will give you an answer or a response CAPITAL NO but you can be a tool to us, to lead us where deep illegal mining activities are going on, you can be of assistance to us to give us a lead to where such illegal mining is going on.

Its over 11months and some weeks since your appointment as commandant NSCDC Gombe state Command, what are the accomplishments you have recorded over the span of this time?

All I have been saying in the line are achievements the Corps made under my leadership, so I don’t know which particular area are you interested to know on my achievements, but am telling you in a very nutshell we have changed the narratives. The narratives upwardly and  positively. As part of the achievement you talked about, we reduced significantly the crime rate in the State, I think that should also be looked at or considered as an achievement if I am right but I stand to be corrected. Another area of achievement is the perspective of how the general public are looking at us, how the general public have taking us to be that had changed entirely and you know that is also an achievement, we have now occupied our rightful status Quo that we deserve to be in, is an achievement in its self. Like I told you my Agro-Rangers Department is also walking assiduously and because of that we achieved remarkable success during the last harvest. What will also interest you as to what we consider achievement is people, people are now converging to NSCDC for one complaint or the other and this was possible because we stand for the truth, we stand for the rule of law. We make sure any complainant and or the suspect both are being respected because being them Nigerians, every individual need to be respected, and we are according to each and every person the respect he or she deserves, that is an achievement. Another achievement is whenever lawyers visit my Command, I tell them to go away, what they are looking for is injustice they should go, we don’t operate injustice in this Command. Many at times both complainant and suspect will go out of the Command happily embracing each other, apologizing to each other, I don’t know if to you this is success. A blind Man today if offended would desire to come to Civil Defence, that is an achievement. We are equally identified with none compromise position in the State, that is an achievement, we are also being identified standing for the truth at all times, that is an achievement. I don’t know if I should go on and on telling you about the achievements the Corps accomplished during this period of time you said.

Have there been challenges and hurdles over this time?

 Obviously, there is no life without challenges and there is always hurdles along the journey of life. Honestly this Command is operating not forgetting about the challenges, in fact here in the Corps, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps challenges are some of the tools that are gingering us to work harder every day, depending on how you look at the challenges, is it on a positive side or a negative side, I don’t know, but to me, without challenge I would not have prospered, because this challenges made me to be what I am today, they are pointers to me, a wakeup call to me , that’s a challenge, if you have no challenge today in life, then what will you be guided with. So quite ok, I love the challenges I have been facing but on the negative side of it, the challenges I am facing  here in Gombe, is that no matter the rate of crime of an individual some people don’t see it as a crime and that is a challenge for me, they will come around begging for consideration and mercy that you should allow that suspect to go. I have been facing such and I would look at that as a hurdle to me.

There has been a spade of social vices encouraged by some unscrupulous elements and enemies of the State, thereby corrupting the youths and putting them into all forms of social vices. What is the current state of this issue in the State?

In this area the spate of social vices we made remarkably achievements, remarkable strides by crippling them, we crippled these activities under social vices, like I told you earlier, we tried to go against, we tried to go after all forms of social vices, and today in Gombe State am assuring you, the position or status of the social vices in the State is relatively low.

Nigerians today have grown so resented towards the law. Currently in Gombe State, what would you say about the patriotism of the citizens?

There is no society that will continue operating or going on without observing rule of law and no society without laws, no society without rules, no society without tradition. Many at times this rule of law and traditions are operating hand in hand. Am telling you here in Gombe we respect rule of law to the highest level, we respect individual weather a criminal, suspect or complainant that comes before us with utmost respect because we have an ethic, what is that ethics? Professionalism, we must respect what we are trained for, we are trained to be skillful and even get ourselves professionalized. Professionalism implies working in tandem of what is expected for you to do without bending, without compromise because if you are subjecting yourself to compromising what is expected of you, you are unprofessional.

For 100% success in combating crimes and maintaining tranquility and peace in the state, synergy is needed from all the security agencies. In this State, what can you say about the security collaboration between NSCDC and other sister Agencies?

You have already made up your mind that it’s a 100% success in combating crimes and maintenance of tranquility and peace in the State, you said so, but then, you only marry it with certain things, synergy. Nobody operate in isolation and nobody will work in isolation and expect success. Therefore, here in Gombe we are working in synergy, we are working together, we are working in the same direction towards achieving the same goals, because the goal here is security to archive security for all, we are doing it. I don’t think there is any security agency here in the State that is working in isolation, we are collaborating, our relationship is robust, very robust here in the State in fact  am telling you there is no State like Gombe where you see all the sister security agencies are working together just like brothers and sisters in a family, and that is what we are, we have become a family here in Gombe State unlike other States, I don’t know if other States are not working together but here in Gombe we are working together for instance, if one is sick the entire other sister security agencies will come together and visit that person, when it comes to retirement, we come also together to see that we say goodbye to that person and as long as you serve in this State we will continue to be calling you from time to time to assure you  we have a family weather you have retired or you are on posting to another place we still consider you part of us.

Looking at your track records, even from Zamfara State where you were the Commandant also, you have been known to be dedicated, resilient, committed with a fortified leadership skill. What ignites your call to work and what’s the driving force that pushes you even against all odds to accomplish success in your work?

my response to this area is very simple, I have two tools and if I take you further three.  1. Determination 2. Dedication and at the same time allowing my subordinates what they are entitled to, I give them all the rights and privileges that will enable them work. I refused to always see myself as a boss, I learn from my subordinates, that’s what brought about this success you looked at or how you said I accomplished successes in my work, and any leader that is not embracing this is due to fail.