– Titus Adekunle, ABH PRESS
Following the recent trend of theft cases in the Alexander Brown Hall, Titus Adeolu Adekunle of the Alexander Brown Hall Press caught up with the Defence Minister, also probing a little into his new venture into the music industry.
ABHPO: Can we meet you?
IMRI: My name is Adefokun Imri, the Defence Minister of Alexander Brown Hall.
ABHPO: What do you think has been responsible for the recent theft cases we have been having?
IMRI: Well, generally speaking, I don’t know what is responsible for the thefts but I know what has made Brownites victims – carelessness! … and not seeing security as a collective responsibility.
ABHPO: So, you do not think ABH is generally porous?
IMRI: I think it is. But we do not have the wherewithal to restrict access to the hall.
ABHPO: Seeing it is questionable for a non-Brownite to be found in the residential part, don’t you think there could be a barricade to restrict access?
IMRI: People with nefarious ambitions will still go around. It is going to be a waste of money. It would actually be more cost effective if we invest in CCTV.
ABHPO: Do you think getting the CCTV is feasible and it will not be under-utilised seeing even if we curl footage, we might still be unable to ID the person?
IMRI: Hmm. Well, the beauty of it is, it would give an incline into how the act is perpetrated.
ABHPO: Considering the presence of the University Security Personnel (Abefele) in the hall, how much have they been able to provide security to Brownites?
IMRI: They have been doing a great job, they patrol at night. They have a high index of suspicion. They do their jobs but ultimately, I think they are handicapped without technology (CCTV is not available) and there is really not so much you can do with three or four. So, they are not even enough. This is a top-down thing; there are no enough operatives in the university so we cannot have enough in ABH. But, the ones around do good enough jobs.
ABHPO: How far have we gone in ensuring justice takes its course on apprehended suspects?
IMRI: The one in November, there was really nothing much we could do. Every stolen item needs to have an owner. We cannot prosecute the cases in UI. We need to go to the Nigeria Police Force who would like to see the owner of the stolen items come and put down a statement. It makes it troublesome when persons whose items were stolen do not want to go to the police station for reasons best known to them which you can reason with since the police in the country is in a certain way. Those images resonating in people’s minds very strongly. When that person does not come forward, the case cannot move forward
ABHPO: So the suspect from November is walking the streets free now?
IMRI: Invariably, yes.
ABHPO: And he could not be charge on account of trespassing?
IMRI: No, he was not trespassing. There is free movement within ABH. Unless we commit to saying we do not want to have external persons within ABH, now, someone is trespassing. Unless we have a notice to the effect signed with the police, we cannot say someone is trespassing.
ABHPO: What do you think can be done to forestall future occurrences?
IMRI: Brownites should have a high index of suspicion. We need CCTV cameras; serve as deterrence – “cameras are watching”. Some people will still steal anyways. But, first things first, at least we can look, monitor and know what happened. It was obvious that the man apprehended in November has been responsible for a string of thefts and had become very confident at it.
ABHPO: Leaving ABH and her Defense system, let us probe into your personal life a little. So we heard you dropped an album
IMRI: It was an EP
ABHPO: What motivated you?
IMRI: I like music and there is a certain sound i like. I love music and i had a couple of thing i wanted to say.
ABHPO: Which artistes do you look up to?
IMRI: Look-up to is a strong word. May be artistes that I like – Burna Boy tops the list. I like my cousin’s work. I like Jay One a lot too. Maybe I look up to Burna Boy and Jay One. The thing that connects them for me is that – put out what you want to put out. You do not mute your artistry because you want to get a certain sound and not do your own thing. Yes, I look up to thenm on that.
ABHPO: What do you see for yourself in the music industry?
Dropping more tracks?
IMRI: Definitely! Maybe, I would be dropping two-track EP (Extended Play) in February, maybe a day before Valentine’s. Down the line, post part-4, there would an album at some point – June, July, August.