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Boy Scout Security Forces


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Now here is a hoot.

Volume 3, page 156 of the Abuja Bid Book says that there will be 4000 Boy Scouts as part of the security personnel for the Games.

This is more than the police and armed forces.

I wonder if they will give them guns?

No they will not be given guns. Only the police and the military are allowed to hold guns.

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the good thing is that any terrorists will have their cars washed and be shown how to tie knots properly.

And, if they do manage to foil a terrorist outrage - they will get a special badge for it.

Everyone's a winner with Abuja's Boy Scout Army.

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It's obvious that Glasgow will be judged differently to Abuja - if a European, North American or Australian prospective host city were to announce such a plan they'd be laughed at.

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It's obvious that Glasgow will be judged differently to Abuja - if a European, North American or Australian prospective host city were to announce such a plan they'd be laughed at.

Now you are making it look more than what it actually is- a naive albeit hilarious inclusion. We are all laughing at Abuja (and Im pro- Abuja) but it doesn't mean its bid would be treated differently. On a more serious note the security would be the preserve of the Police and the military as it was during the All Africa Games 2003. The Boys Scouts usually act as part of the volunteer corps so our dreams of boys scouts armed to the teeth and frisking potential terrorists will sadly not materialze in Abuja.

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I know that we are having an end of week laugh about this - but if you delve deeper into the security plans you see some serious issues.

For me, quite apart from the Boy Scouts, the biggest one is the budget.

They have allocated £550,000 to secure the event. Glasgow has £26m. And i think that that is probably a low ball figure.

£550,000 is just not enough. No matter which way you look at it.

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I know that we are having an end of week laugh about this - but if you delve deeper into the security plans you see some serious issues.

For me, quite apart from the Boy Scouts, the biggest one is the budget.

They have allocated £550,000 to secure the event. Glasgow has £26m. And i think that that is probably a low ball figure.

£550,000 is just not enough. No matter which way you look at it.

I have another perspective on this. Glasgow is not a national capital but Abuja is. Abuja is the seat of the Nigerian government therefore already has in place quite a sustained security network and would only require a minor boost to accomodate the commonwealth games. Trust me on this- with the amount of crooked government officials walking about in Abuja security is already pretty tight in that city. Furthermore, because of Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, there may be a greater possibility of suicide bombing for instance hence greater need for security.

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I have another perspective on this. Glasgow is not a national capital but Abuja is. Abuja is the seat of the Nigerian government therefore already has in place quite a sustained security network and would only require a minor boost to accomodate the commonwealth games. Trust me on this- with the amount of crooked government officials walking about in Abuja security is already pretty tight in that city. Furthermore, because of Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, there may be a greater possibility of suicide bombing for instance hence greater need for security.

Oh were that true. Glasgow has the largest police force in the UK outside of London - so its not lacking in that area.

Its not just personnel that you have to pay for remember. It is security equipment, magnetic scanners etc for all the venues. The boy scout army will have to be fed.

£550,000 for a global events is a laughable figure.

All in my opinion, of course.

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Oh were that true. Glasgow has the largest police force in the UK outside of London - so its not lacking in that area.

Its not just personnel that you have to pay for remember. It is security equipment, magnetic scanners etc for all the venues. The boy scout army will have to be fed.

£550,000 for a global events is a laughable figure.

All in my opinion, of course.

Im not disputing the disparity in the amounts at all. Again you make an excleent point about Glasgows point which netralizes my arguement somewhat. However, you have to consider the fact that services are much cheaper in Nigeria than in Glasgow. It then follows that things like food and actual personel costs will be lower. But once agin point taken on board that it appears to be such a small amount.

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Well Nigeria does have a well Equipped Army and Security force, so that may be part of the reason why so little was set aside for security. Nigeria's Military expenditure is $469.8 million, little compared to Britain's 66 billion dollar expenditure, but large enough to deal with Extreme Terrorism. The £550,000 will most likely be spent on salaries and Uniforms. £550,000 isn't little if Nigeria is already investing 7.5%(3.75 Billion dollars) of the Expenditure funds in Police Vehicles, Air Planes, Uniforms etc.

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This is one area that Abuja will have to expand on, no question about it. Investment in and around the area, though perhaps relevant, is not specific to this issue. Surely there has to be more detail about how they will ensure the Games are secure, especially with such a low budget figure set aside.

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