By Okechukwu Nwanguma
As Nigerians exchange compliments of the season and look ahead with cautious hope, the year 2025 will linger in our collective memory as one of the most tragic and unsettling in recent history. From the North to the South, insecurity has tightened its grip—through terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, communal clashes, cult-related killings, and violent crime.
Perhaps more disturbing than the scale of bloodshed is its growing normalisation, and the seeming helplessness—or unwillingness—of the state to decisively protect lives and property. Yet this is the foremost duty of government under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution.
As we approach 2026, platitudes and propaganda will no longer suffice. What Nigeria requires is a fundamental shift in thinking and action.
Rethinking the Federal Government’s Approach to Insecurity
The Federal Government must abandon reactive, militarised responses that prioritise optics over outcomes. A holistic, accountable, and people-centred security strategy is overdue.
First, security sector reform is imperative. The police, military, and intelligence services must be retooled for professionalism, accountability, and effective coordination, with unwavering respect for human rights. Abuse, corruption, and impunity within these institutions do not defeat insecurity; they incubate it.
Second, decentralised policing can no longer be treated as heresy. Nigeria’s over-centralised policing model has failed to deliver safety. Devolving policing powers and resources—alongside well-regulated, properly trained, and accountable community-based policing—would enhance local intelligence, speed of response, and public trust.
Third, the government must address the root causes of violence: poverty, youth unemployment, inequality, land disputes, political violence, and a weak justice system. Without confronting these structural drivers, military deployments will remain temporary bandages on a festering wound.
Finally, ending impunity is non-negotiable. Whether the perpetrators are terrorists, bandits, criminal gangs, or state actors, justice must be blind and consistent. Selective prosecution and political protection of criminals undermine public confidence and embolden violence.
On U.S. Support and International Cooperation
International assistance, including support from the United States, can be helpful—but it is no silver bullet. Its impact depends entirely on its purpose, conditions, and oversight.
Such support should be welcomed only where it prioritises intelligence sharing and technical assistance; training anchored in professionalism, rule of law, and civilian protection; and capacity building rather than combat dominance. It becomes counterproductive when it strengthens abusive units without accountability, deepens militarisation, or turns a blind eye to human rights violations by Nigerian forces.
Nigeria’s insecurity cannot be outsourced. Foreign support must complement—not substitute—domestic political will, reform, and accountability.
Strategic Alliances and the Promise—and Peril—of Technology
Nigeria should indeed pursue strategic alliances with technologically advanced countries. Technology can enhance security through surveillance and early-warning systems, data-driven intelligence and crime mapping, border security tools, and improved forensic and investigative capacity.
But technology without good governance is dangerous. Surveillance tools must not be weaponised against journalists, activists, or political opponents—as has too often happened. Robust legal frameworks, judicial oversight, and transparency are essential to prevent abuse.
A Season for Reflection—and Resolve
In the final analysis, Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is not merely a failure of capacity; it is largely a failure of leadership, governance, and accountability. Until the state demonstrates a genuine commitment to protecting citizens rather than regimes, and to justice rather than power, insecurity will persist—regardless of foreign alliances or advanced technology.
As Nigerians offer season’s greetings and look toward 2026, what we truly need is a government that treats human life as sacred, security as a public good, and accountability as non-negotiable.
Without this moral and political shift, the cycle of violence will continue to overshadow every festive season with grief instead of hope.
