Watching the pain on the faces of the parents and relatives of the students who were massacred in Garissa University leaves a lot of pain in my heart. Reading the stories of the survivors and messages of the departed moments before they were shot in cold blood is heartrending. There can never be justification for such heinous acts of terror meted on innocent souls.
I remember vividly the hope and aspiration among the University administration on the vision they had for the only University in the Northern frontier. All that is now on shaky grounds since it may not be reopened and even if it will be reopened, there will be no students from other parts of the country who would want to go learn there. Garissa University in the place where the G-United training programme was conducted. What was once an island of knowledge has now been turned into a ghost town haunted by the souls of the more than 140 students killed in the hands of Terror. Something radical must happen very quickly to wipe off Alshabaab from the face of earth. It requires the concerted efforts of all East Africans.
The stories about radicalization of our youth, need to be interrogated and any family that has a young person unaccounted for should be questioned and made to ensure their sons and daughters are up to good. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are all safe if we love this country and if we have aspiration for our sons and daughters to also grow in a peaceful country. Our security agents should stay in Somalia as long as it takes. We need to strengthen security on our porous borders so that we don't continually have to deal with runaway crime as is the case now.
The leadership of the Northern Frontier need to work together to ensure that they account for each and every member of the families.
The casual treatment of terror tips by the security agents need to be stopped. Whenever there is an imminent attack, it is the responsibility of the Government to advise its citizens on what to expect and what to do in case of an attack. There is nothing as good as a citizenry that is aware of what is happening. If the Government is serious about protecting its citizens, then we all need to know and be given travel advisories.
It will require concerted efforts of the civil society to begin to interrogate its work and engage the citizenry on matters security. Civic Education on security is paramount in this difficult times.
The biggest question that the Government needs to ponder is what kind of information do you need to provide the public in order for them to protect themselves. That responsibility starts with you Mr. President.
I remember vividly the hope and aspiration among the University administration on the vision they had for the only University in the Northern frontier. All that is now on shaky grounds since it may not be reopened and even if it will be reopened, there will be no students from other parts of the country who would want to go learn there. Garissa University in the place where the G-United training programme was conducted. What was once an island of knowledge has now been turned into a ghost town haunted by the souls of the more than 140 students killed in the hands of Terror. Something radical must happen very quickly to wipe off Alshabaab from the face of earth. It requires the concerted efforts of all East Africans.
The stories about radicalization of our youth, need to be interrogated and any family that has a young person unaccounted for should be questioned and made to ensure their sons and daughters are up to good. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are all safe if we love this country and if we have aspiration for our sons and daughters to also grow in a peaceful country. Our security agents should stay in Somalia as long as it takes. We need to strengthen security on our porous borders so that we don't continually have to deal with runaway crime as is the case now.
The leadership of the Northern Frontier need to work together to ensure that they account for each and every member of the families.
The casual treatment of terror tips by the security agents need to be stopped. Whenever there is an imminent attack, it is the responsibility of the Government to advise its citizens on what to expect and what to do in case of an attack. There is nothing as good as a citizenry that is aware of what is happening. If the Government is serious about protecting its citizens, then we all need to know and be given travel advisories.
It will require concerted efforts of the civil society to begin to interrogate its work and engage the citizenry on matters security. Civic Education on security is paramount in this difficult times.
The biggest question that the Government needs to ponder is what kind of information do you need to provide the public in order for them to protect themselves. That responsibility starts with you Mr. President.
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