Multidimensional national security strategy, antidote to ethnic militiancy, says Alaafin
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade has said diversity of the country’s security threats require an innovative set of solutions adapted to each context, saying this will entail understanding
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade has said diversity of the country's security threats require an innovative set of solutions adapted to each context, saying this will entail understanding the local dynamics of each threat and integrating them into a multidimensional national security strategy.
He stated that Nigeria faces an array of security challenges beyond Boko haram, adding that distinguishing these threats and understanding their socio-geographic contours is essential for adapting customized solutions.
In a release by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, Oba Owoade gave the advice while receiving leaders and participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 19 from the National Institute of Security Studies, Abuja, who paid him a courtesy visit in his Palace.
The monarch pointed out that domestic nature of ethnic militias highlights the importance of an integrated security response that encompasses expanding access to government services, social development, and job creation.
He said, "Integrated security also entails widening access to justice. Accessible and trusted justice mechanisms can serve as a vehicle for conflict mitigation as well as defusing tensions between communities or with the government. Rulings by courts, in turn, must be respected and upheld by security actors.
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"This review reveals, especially with regards to security sector violence against civilians, repeated instances of security services disregarding judicial rulings, thereby exacerbating social tensions and undermining the rule of law.
"Another recurring challenge observed across multiple security contexts is the need to sustain a security presence in outlying areas. Our security forces have repeatedly been able to clear militant groups from territory they had held – be it boko haram in the North East, criminal groups in the North West, or pirates and armed gangs in the South West or South South.
"However, the inability to sustain a security presence creates a security vacuum that has enabled these militant groups to regroup and revive their predatory activities.
"Communities that are caught up in the middle of these shifting security frontlines are left in a vulnerable position. For Nigeria to turn the corner vis-à-vis these militant groups, the government and security forces will need to be able to sustain an ongoing and accountable security presence in these contested regions.
"As Nigeria’s challenges are largely domestic in nature, this national security strategy will require active citizen engagement. Citizen cooperation is the most essential element of a successful response."
Alaafin noted that ethnic militias constitute a severe threat to democracy, by fostering insecurity, undermining state authority, and destabilizing political processes through violence.
Ethnic militias, he added, are considered a disaster to any nation because they undermine state sovereignty, destroy national unity, and inflict severe damage on social, economic, and political stability.
"They often emerge from institutional failure and marginalized groups' grievances, but their operations frequently evolve into violent criminality, such as kidnappings, killings, and the destruction of infrastructures", Alaafin said.
Earlier the leader of the visiting officers and participants of the Institute, Hajia Halima Ibrahim said they were in the palace, as part of their intelligence gathering course, to explore from the deep knowledge and experience of the Alaafin on ethnic militias, their implications and solutions for national development.
