The four-day siege at Kenya’s upmarket Westgate Mall which began on Saturday may be over, according to Kenyan authorities, but the dust raised by this assertive and fearless terrorist attack in the East African country is yet to settle. Questions have been asked of Kenya and the preparedness of its security forces to handle a terrorist attack of this magnitude.

Over the course of the siege which lasted for four days, before government forces were able to regain control of the shopping complex from suspected Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants, about 68 people were confirmed dead, among them were a prominent Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor, 6 Kenyan soldiers and 5 of the attackers. Scores have been injured and many are still reeling from the shock and are in disbelief. No-one in Kenya believed that al-Shabab could launch such a sustained and prolonged attack which is a marked shift from their previous hit-and -run modus operandi.

Now that the standoff is all over, what lessons can Nigerians – the leaders and the led alike – learn from this inglorious incident? What measures should we put in place to ensure that such a thing does not happen anywhere within the boundaries of our country. If the worst comes to the worst and such an attack is launched anywhere in Nigeria, how long will it take the security forces and agencies to bring the situation under control and reduce the casualty figures that may arise as a result of such unfortunate and unforeseen event. Nigeria, though, is not new to terrorist attacks, but it has never been confronted with one that came in the shape of the Westgate Mall siege.

Our security forces should always be proactive

Our security forces, both paramilitary and military, should always be a step ahead of these terrorists. For every trick they have, the security forces should have four. They (security agencies) shouldn’t wait for them to strike first before they swing into action; proactive measures should be taken to prevent such occurrence. Information gathering and nationwide surveillance should be top on their agenda to forestall any possible attack. Security should be tightened, not only in those regions of the country that have been identified as hot spots, but also in places that can be easy and unlikely targets for those terrorists.

Everyone should be on the alert at all times

We as citizens should play our part in securing our lives and the lives of the people around us. Everything should not be left to the security forces alone. They cannot be at every square inch of a country as big as Nigeria at the same time. The citizens should always be on the lookout for those signs that may be pointers to an attack, especially in public places like malls, schools, hospitals, markets, churches, mosques, motor parks and recreation centers. These are easy targets for the terrorists because of the sheer number of people that visit those places and the absence of tight security measures.

Curbing the proliferation of small arms

It is easier now than ever before to launch a large-scale and sustained terrorist attack such as the one that was witnessed in Kenya despite the great advancement in intelligence gathering and surveillance technology that has been recorded in recent times. This is due of the sheer number of small arms and light weapons in circulation all over the world at the moment. The acquisition of these arms have become almost stress-free thanks to incessant conflicts here and there in most parts of the world. When those wars must have come to an end, the unused and unrecovered weapons remain in circulation; some are sold for profit while others are retained by the different actors in the conflicts for protection in the event of another conflict in the future. In addition to that, the production of these arms and ammunition by local manufacturers and blacksmiths have gone unchecked over the years. This is where the government should step in and regulate the manufacture and distribution of such weapons.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/what-lessons-can-nigeria-learn-from-the-kenyan-mall-attack/

Hmm, interesting, if only we can learn from the mistakes of others btw, ftc.

Loads.
Well armed military presence @ all points of interest. And enough Military manpower on standby, just incase.
Maybe our inept leaders would spend our resources in keeping us safe, if they have noting else to do with it, rather than stuffing it in their bank accounts and spare bedrooms !!!!

Lexusgs430: Loads.
Well armed military presence @ all points of interest. And enough Military manpower on standby, just incase.
Maybe our inept leaders would spend our resources in keeping us safe, if they have noting else to do with it, rather than stuffing it in their bank accounts and spare bedrooms !!!!

The military should be well equipped also so that if such a thing arises they will not be overwhelmed.

every public building should have armed security men

Government must launch a sustained security awareness campaign especially on how the citizens should behave, what to look out for, what to do in public enclosures such as malls and also emergency exit procedures. these are simple procedures that have been proven well over with time. Right now Nigerians simply react and stampede at any semblance of chaos and that in itself has been a major cause of fatalities (e.g ikeja cantonment bomb blast).

This is the time for the National orientation Agency to begin to educate nigerians on what to do and precautions to take going forward. Once the people are empowered then it makes managing emergencies easier.

Government should also take the issue of emergency management very seriously from both the security and medical response perspectives.
The kenyans responded quickly and effectively and were focused on the task, security folks on engaging the terrorists while the medical responders where busy moving the woulded to safety for care. they were not crossing paths. The security personnel were not even distracted by the presence of journalist who also went in and took fotos unlike here where they will be chasing journalist away from the scene. every one knew his job and there were no conflicts of roles.

This is an opportunity for us to look inwards take proactive steps and make amends
God help us