Expanding the Frontiers of Whistleblower Policy

Political notes

 

The news, last week, that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed his National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.), to design a template that would be used to reward persons, who give information to government about individuals in possession of illegal firearms, was cheery. The idea, reports said, was aimed at disarming people with small arms and light weapons and that are believed to have been using such to cause communal conflicts across the country.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the move was to prevent and eradicate illegal ownership of small arms and light weapons through a whistle-blower scheme that would turn the spotlight on the regime of gun ownership and control in the country.

With the whistleblower policy targeted at recovering looted funds so far proven to be quite effective notwithstanding its minor hitches, this initiative is equally a product of sound reasoning that would go a long way in stemming the tide of killings across the country.

Although the office of the national security adviser already has a committee on the recovery of small arms and light weapons in the country, with the inclusion of the whistle-blower scheme, better results are expected in the days ahead and the mindless killings going on in different parts of the country would be contained considerably. The idea is good and indeed, commendable.

 

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