Need for reflection

More than ever before, the spate of insecurity in Nigeria is quite disturbing. Even in the midst of the ravaging COVID -19 pandemic, violence in Nigeria never abated and it is no longer a fallacy to state that the security situation in Nigeria today seems to be getting hotter by the day.

It is trite to note that insecurity in Nigeria is multi-dimensional as there exists a list of massacres that have occurred over the years: Boko Haram insurgency, herder-farmers conflicts, kidnappings, ethnic militancy, the trending rape issue, banditry and many more.

Over the years, millions of people have been killed; many have been displaced and properties have been destroyed. Do we really deserve these as Nigerians?

What the current trend of insecurity is imprinting on the psyche of Nigerians is that the government is clueless and incapable to protect the lives and properties of her citizens.

The failure of the Nigerian state after her independence to put in place structures to cater for the needs and common goods of Nigerians could be a reasonable justification for the spate of insecurity in Nigeria today.

What is the Nigerian government doing today to engage our youths? Of course, youths that find it difficult to maintain a living are easily lured into criminal and illegal activities. Arguably, the effectiveness of governance, national integration and the moves for development have been rendered ineffectual due to the state of insecurity in Nigeria. The ultimate goal of government should be geared towards achieving adequate security.

A lot needs to be done in terms of multi-track diplomacy. There’s the need for interconnected activities of private individuals, institutions, government and communities to operate together for a common goal of ensuring peace, security and stability.

In essence, security issues should be seen as everyone’s business and not the government alone. Perhaps if we had put in concerted efforts towards insecurity over the years, like we are putting to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the death of many Nigerians could have been averted.

As a matter of urgency, proactive measures should be deployed towards achieving peace and security in Nigeria, in fact. There’s the need to go back to history to check the implication of not priotizing security issues under a multilateral framework to ensure lasting solutions.

It becomes imperative to integrate diverse means and basically establish a strategy for security management by reflecting and reconnecting with the African style of ensuring security.

This will not only help the Nigerian communities in seeing security as core values but will also promote collective responsibility in ensuring peace and stability.

Ishola Akinwale Victor.

[email protected]

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