The Commandant-General (CG) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, has reiterated the commitment of the corps in applying new information technologies in the monitoring and protection of mining sites and petroleum pipelines, against illegal operators and vandals. He stated this yesterday at the Corps National Headquarters, Abuja, during the commemoration of the 2016 World Civil Defence Day, which is celebrated every first day of March.

Commenting on the deployment of 3,000 corps personnel to the various mining sites in the country and 5,000 to the North-east, among other deployments to strategic places to beef up security, the C-G said: "The adoption of new technologies has helped to enhance our performance over the years, while at the same time playing a vital role in the mitigation and prevention of disasters.”

According to Gana-Muhammadu, “the corps, in line with the umbrella body, the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) in Geneva, Switzerland, is in the process of deploying modern mechanisms, which is ICT-driven, to help inject professionalism into the operations of the Civil Defence, so as to conform with international best practice.” This, he noted, could be achieved in Nigeria through upgrading of the Civil Defence Academy, Abuja, into a modern ICT- based institution, involved in training and retraining of personnel on modern technologies.

In the area of effective disaster response, timely dissemination of information and early warning about potential hazards, he added that the ICDO has recently established programmes to develop and deploy information and communication technologies, geographic information systems and remote sensing and satellite data for effective monitoring.

Corroborating the CG, the ICDO Secretary-General, Vladimir Kuvshinor said: “This year, we are not only celebrating World Civil Defence Day but we are also commemorating the 85th anniversary of our organisation. The International Civil Defence Organisation has come a long way from its beginnings in 1931, as the small organisation, to the current International Civil Defence Organisation – a large and united world family.

Kuvshinor noted: “The importance of scientific and technological solutions to complex problems presented by disasters cannot be over-emphasised,” adding that in social realities, new technologies must be implemented in such a way as to benefit the largest possible segments of the civilian population: children, the disabled and the elderly. “Without modern science and technology, there can be no world safe from natural and manmade disaster,” he offered.

Joining in commemoration of the World Civil Defence Day, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanieri, sought collaboration and partnership with the corps in the area of disaster prevention and mitigation. He said the NSDC is a critical stakeholder in disaster management, hence, the need to bring other stakeholders together to plan and re-strategise towards disaster reduction and provision of primary health care to both victims and the populace.

Gana-Muhammadu, therefore, used the occasion to congratulate corps personnel across the country, admonishing them to continue to give their utmost best by

embracing the new world challenge in application of modern science and

technological know-how in the execution of their mandate, especially in the protection of critical infrastructure.

He assured the government that with the engagement of corps personnel in protection of mining sites, illegal mining will henceforth be stopped, advising that illegal miners must desist, or relocate from the country, as the law is no respecter of persons.

•Photo shows Gana Muhammadu.