Abdullahi Mohammed Gana was appointed as Commandant General of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in July 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari. His appointment was greeted with celebration at the headquarters of the NSCDC. Five years after, Gana has a sprawling new headquarters, 13 State Commands and the establishment of the Agro-Rangers and mining protection sector units as some of his achievements. In this interview with, KEMI YESUFU, the NSCDC C-G gives insight into his tenure, the challenges he has faced and why he prioritized the training and discipline of his personnel.

When you started your career in the NSCDC, did you envisage your becoming C-G?

I was a banker. I rose to level of a branch manager in Port-Harcourt. My banking career saw me working in places like Onitsha, Jos and Lagos as a manager. In Lagos, I was walking around Kingsway Road Ikoyi, with my cousin and I saw an old man walking with this ‘red neck’ (points to uniform collar). I told my cousin, that I liked the uniform the old man wore. He dismissed my admiration, saying ‘Those people are touts’. I never knew it was destiny calling me. After some years, I just found myself registering as volunteer in the corps before the law to make it part of government was enacted. I never dreamt of being the CG of the NSDC, but God willed it and today I am doing my best to justify the confidence reposed in me.



After 53 years of NDSDC, what would you list as pivotal moments in your history?

Most people are not aware of the International Civil Defence Organisation based in Geneva. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) is the Nigerian chapter of the International Civil Defence Organization. The mandate worldwide for civil defence corps is disaster management, both for man- made and natural disaster. In Nigeria, the civil defence corps was born out of necessity. It was created during the Nigerian civil war in 1967. It was given three mandates. First was it was to cater for injured soldiers from the war front. Second was teaching the civil populace precautionary measures in case of emergencies. Thirdly, it served as a reservoir for the military. This is why the bond between the military and the civil defence is tight. It is like a relationship between a father and child. So, we celebrated the 53rd anniversary of the corps in Nigeria and we look back at how we started as a voluntary origination, outside of government and today the corps is not only part of government, its mandate is wider. In fact, we do all we can to meet up with the expectations of the public, as more people now recognize our contributions to the peace and stability of the country.

In Nigeria, people now realise what civil defence is all about, like some other parts of the world, a good example of such places in RUSSIA. I was in RUSSIA for three weeks. There they have the ministry of Civil Defence, they have the University of Civil Defence. For the three weeks I spent in the country, I didn’t see the police until the day I was leaving. So, everything that has to do with the civil society is done by Civil Defence. We are doing more to enlighten Nigerians on the real roles of the corps, I am sure with time, the recognition of our role will improve. But when you look the corps from 1967 to 2003 when the bill establishing the NSCDC was passed into law, in less than 20 years we have achieved a lot.

From 1967 till date would you say the corps has achieved its mandate?

Looking at it first from our international mandate, you know in Nigeria we have the National Emergency Agency (NEMA). But the NSCDC is the only organization of government that has about 10,000 personnel dedicated to disaster management. We are the only organization that has a directorate for crisis management. We have achieved a lot in terms of our international mandate, especially as we work hand –in-hand with NEMA.

How did you instill discipline within your rank and file?

The watchword of every uniformed organization is discipline. This is achieved through training. We place premium on training and retraining our men. We a product of the Nigerian military, ninety-five percent of our training is handled by the military. Even our recent training of ‘Agro-Rangers’ done in Katsina State was handled by the military.

Read More@:https://frontlinenews.com.ng/nscdc-agro-rangers-13-state-commands-high-points-of-my-leadership-abdullahi-gana/