By Abdu Saidu
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has received the Award of Excellence in Security Governance from the Institute of Security and Strategic Studies (ISSS) in recognition of his efforts to strengthen security, protect lives and property and promote peace in the state.
The award was presented at the North-West Conference on Community Security Management and Crime Prevention, organised by the institute in Kaduna State.
The conference brought together government officials, security and intelligence agencies, traditional and religious leaders, academics, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to deliberate on emerging security challenges and ways of building safer and more resilient communities across the North-West.
According to the Director of Special Duties, Kano State Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs, Sani Abba Yola, the institute said the award followed an assessment of Governor Yusuf’s commitment to public safety, support for security agencies, community engagement, crime prevention, institutional coordination and response to emerging security threats.
Governor Yusuf was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, who expressed the governor’s appreciation to the institute for the recognition.
Waiya described the award as a significant honour and an encouragement to the administration to sustain its efforts towards protecting lives and property and promoting peace and security across Kano State.
He said the state government had continued to work with security agencies, traditional and religious institutions, community leaders and civil society organisations to strengthen the state’s security architecture.
According to him, effective security governance requires the collective efforts of government, security agencies and communities, particularly through intelligence sharing, community engagement, early intervention, youth involvement and institutional collaboration.
The commissioner also urged leaders across the North-West to intensify efforts to strengthen community-based security initiatives, intelligence gathering, crime prevention and strategic partnerships with security institutions.
Speaking at the conference, the keynote speaker, Dr Muhammad Ali, called for an integrated and community-based approach to security governance.
He said sustainable peace could only be achieved through closer collaboration between communities and security institutions.
Ali also advocated stronger early-warning and early-response mechanisms to enable communities and security agencies to identify emerging threats, respond promptly to security concerns and prevent conflicts from escalating.
The conference ended with a call for sustained collaboration among governments, security agencies, traditional and religious leaders, communities and civil society organisations to build safer, more peaceful and resilient communities across the North-West.