The donations by the Dangote cement plc of patrol vehicles to the Security Trust Funds of Ogun and Lagos governments have remained a landmark since the establishment of the Funds. This is because lack of operational vehicles has been a sore point in the efforts of the security operatives in the two states to combat crimes and bring about a secured atmosphere for people and businesses to thrive.
Following series of security breaches and the apparent inability of the security agencies to respond appropriately, state governments not wanting to give in to helplessness took steps with a view to finding solutions to the seeming intractable insecurity so that the people would be able to sleep with their two eyes closed while the corporate bodies would be free to pursue their legitimate businesses in a secured environment.
In the case of Lagos State, the government set up a committee, headed by a former Inspector General of Police, to examine the issue of insecurity in the state, to look into ways and means of combating the growing menace of violent crimes in the state and the seeming inability of the police and other security agencies to confront this challenge.
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The committee’s report indicated that the problem was essentially related to lack of logistics, mobility, communications, kitting and so on, especially when considering the peculiar security challenges in the state. The committee also considered how much the state government would cough out on regular basis to adequately cater for security and put violent crimes under checks, which the state cannot afford.
Thus in 2007, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund was established. The idea of a Trust Fund was to make it donor-funded by sourcing for funds from government, private organisations and individuals in order to meet the operational capacity needs of security agencies particularly in the areas of logistics and provision of crime fighting equipment in the effective discharge of their duties. The state government adopted a Public Private Partnership (PPP) business model for the governance and financial operations of the Trust Fund due to the energy and expertise that exists in the private sector and for timely security interventions devoid of bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Apart from Lagos, the neighboring Ogun State has also gone ahead to set up its own Ogun State Security Trust Fund. Since the launch, leading cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc, headquartered in Lagos but with plants across the country including Ogun state, in line with its corporate citizenry strategy has been partnering the two Funds to deliver on their mandate.
Quite recently, Dangote Cement donated 60 fully equipped operational vehicles to the fleet of the Funds, 25 to Ogun and 35 to Lagos, to help strengthen the Funds by boosting its operations
Presenting the cars to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, a Non-Executive Director of Dangote Cement, Emmanuel Ikhazobor, who led the management of the firm to Marina Lagos House where the vehicles were handed over to the state government, said the gesture was part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, which was being done in appreciation of the efforts of the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to make the State secure for the people and investments.
Besides, he stated that the donation of the cars was in response to the challenges of securing Lagos State as a destination of choice to investors and the face that security is essential to economic development remains one of the major demands of investors.
“We are presenting 35 saloon cars today to strengthen the operations of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund. We commend the Government of the State for instituting a Trust Fund with the mandate of utilizing donations from corporate bodies and individuals to equip the security agencies operating within the state,” he said.
According to Ikhazobor, the company decided to support the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, having being established in September 2007, because it was in direct response to the security challenges in the State such as logistics, mobility, communications and kitting.
“The donation of operational vehicles today is in continuation of our commitment to the promotion of security in Lagos State. It should be recalled that our Chairman, Aliko Dangote made donations to the Fund in the past. As a socially responsible organization, the security and well-being of our host communities remains utmost in our minds.
“Therefore, a major step towards encouraging investments and creation of employment is promoting and ensuring adequate security in our environments. This is why we at Dangote Cement, fully appreciate several initiatives by the State government in the promotion of security and a safe operating environment for business,” he stated.
Ikhazobor maintained that Dangote Cement management was of the firm belief that government alone cannot continue to bear the full cost of meeting the expectations of the entire populace in the provision of basic necessities like health, education and security for the citizenry, and this gave rise to Public Private Partnerships, where private sector collaborates with public sector in the provision of essential services.
“Our desire to partner government or the public sector informed our interventions such as Apapa-Wharf road, Itori-Ibese road, and Obajana-Kabba Road. We are at the forefront of combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have adopted several protocols such as social distancing, provision of temperature scanners, hand sanitizers, face masks and sick bays, designed to secure the health of our staff at the cement plants. We have provided basic necessities to prevent infection and transmission of the virus in our plants,” he stated.
Receiving the car keys, the Executive Secretary of the Fund, Abdulrrazak Balogun, described the donation as a huge intervention from a private sector organization to solve critical challenges of logistics and mobility faced by the security personnel in the state.
He expressed the appreciation of the state governor to the gesture and promised that the vehicles would be put to good use. “We know that receiving these vehicles is one thing, maintaining them is another thing. Though we don’t have control of the security personnel that would make use of the vehicles but we will try to ensure they are well maintained.
Balogun said the state government was particularly happy that Dangote Group has always being there for the State in the area of maintaining security of lives and investments pointing out that Dangote has been helping the Fund to the tune of hundreds of millions of Naira in the last 13 years that the Fund was established.
Earlier, the company presented 25 cars to the Ogun State Security Trust Fund. The donation, according to the executive director, was a fulfillment of a pledge made by the immediate past Group Managing Director (GMD) of the company, Joseph Makoju, who promised the state government that Dangote Cement as a responsible corporate citizen would partner the government in ensuring the much desired security is maintained in the state and its environs.
Ikazoboh, while presenting the car keys, said the donation was informed by the need to boost the Fund’s operation because security is essential to economic development.
“No investor will be willing to put his/her funds in an economy where insecurity is rife with lawlessness and chaos is the order of the day. We are major investors in Ogun State and as such we prefer a state of orderliness and sound security which allows businesses to thrive.
“Ogun Security Trust Fund was established in 2011 and refined in 2019 by the Governor, His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun. The objectives of the Fund include the maintenance of security and welfare of citizens.
“I recall that on October 6, 2019, our then Group Managing Director, Engr. Joe Makoju made a pledge on behalf of the company to present operational vehicles to the fund. As a corporate socially responsible organisation, the security and well-being of our host communities remains utmost in our minds,” he said.
Ikazoboh said a major step towards encouraging investments and creation of employments is promoting and ensuring adequate security in our environments.
“This is why we at Dangote Cement, fully appreciate your State government’s several initiatives in the promotion of security and a safe operating environment for business,” he said.
The director explained that government alone could not continue to bear the full cost of meeting the expectations of the entire populace in the provision of basic necessities like health, education and security for the citizenry, adding that this thought gave rise to Public Private Partnerships, where private sector collaborates with public sector in the provision of essential services.
“This collective support, we believe, will go a long way to ensure adequate security for all stakeholders in Ogun State,” he said.
Responding after collecting the keys to the cars, the executive secretary of the Fund, Opeyemi Agbaje, expressed the appreciation of the Ogun State government to the management of Dangote Cement Plc, saying the gesture would go a long way in helping the Fund achieve its core mandate of maintaining security with ease.
“When you do a fund raiser, we are used to the Nigerian phenomenon, where it’s very easy to make a pledge and when it is time to redeem, it becomes difficult. We are happy that this is a fulfilment of a pledge made sometimes ago being fulfilled in our very eyes,” Agbaje said.
He promised that the cars would be maintained and put to judicious use, saying the Fund would not disappoint the company on the partnership.
