Vincent Toitseju
Lagos — There are indications that the management of the nation’s sea ports and the security groups at the ports are not united in the task of ridding the ports of security breaches.
This came to the fore as the Lagos Maritime Security Zone, LMSZ, of Port Facility Security Officers, PFSO, Forum has said that the buy-in of management of port facilities were needed to improve the security of these facilities.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Forum which was hosted via zoom, the group’s Chairman, Dr. Ignatius Uche, said that port security without managements’ appreciation will not help the Port Security Officer, PSO, of the facilities to work better.
Uche also said that the earlier managements of port facilities begin to buy-in into their security arrangement of their facilities the better for the facilities.
In her presentation at the meeting, Mrs. Irene Akpu, Treasurer of the Forum, said that a Security Manager must get Senior Management’s buy-in by way of ensuring that state-of-the-art security infrastructure are procured with a view to increase security of facilities and implement new initiatives that can provide value to the organization.
Akpu also advised that Port Security Officers must understand the organizational culture, timing, available finance and readiness for the type of initiatives for which support is sought.
She admonished the security team, “Seek to know about other ongoing projects your peers in other departments are handling and where your own project might fit in.
“Partner with your peers in other departments to ensure that the security strategy you’re proposing complements the overall business strategy and brings articulated value to the organization.
“Provide a project timeline and identify any potential risk to the plan. Highlight the proposed value of the project by articulating the intended benefits and the way the implementation cost is outweighed.”