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Out of the 16 West African countries, Nigeria seems to be the most affected by insecurity despite its large security institutions. By this, I mean the armed forces, the police, and other paramilitary agencies. Insecurity has consumed over 5 million (without official statistics) innocent citizens since independence. This persistent vulnerability raises fundamental questions about our national strategy, intelligence gathering, and regional stability.
Insecurity in Nigeria was first ignited in the old Western Region two years after independence- the infamous but bloody Operation Wetie riots which engulfed the entire region. The bloodletting was the fallout of the leadership crisis and dispute within the defunct Action Group, the party in control of the region at that time.It was a period of severe political violence and arson in the old Western Region- between 1962 and 1966. “Wetie” comes from a Yoruba expression meaning “wet him” or “drench it.” It described a brutal tactic where political rivals, their homes, and their vehicles were doused in petrol and set on fire. The media nicknamed the chaotic Western Region the “Wild, Wild West.” The core cause was an intense rivalry that developed between Action Group leader Obafemi Awolowo and Western Region , Premier Samuel Akintola over political alliances and regional control. This early political breakdown set a dangerous precedent for using violence as a tool for political dominance.
As the country tried to overcome the Western Region imbroglio, lo and behold, it was enveloped in a coup engineered by young, disgruntled Army officers. The coup was to birth, first genocide against Easterners living in the Northern part of the country , then the Northern officers counter- coup of July 29, 1966 which claimed the life of the first Military Head of State, Major-General JTU Aguiyi- Ironsi and those of thousands of other Igbo Military officers. The disquiet, bad blood, disagreement and impasse that followed culminated in the secession of the Eastern Region and its declaration as an independent Republic of Biafra by the Military Governor of the region, Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. The resultant brutal civil war devastated the East and left estimated over 3 millions deads. The civil war also left deep scars on the nation’s psyche and altered the trajectory of national integration.
A decade after the genocidal civil war, a radical Islamic fundamentalist group sprang up in the northern part of Nigeria. It was called Maitatsine led by a certain Islamic preacher, Muhammad Marwa.This extremist and militant movement terrorized innocent citizens, especially in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, and Gombe. The sect’s militant agitation resulted in massive, bloody urban insurrections, starting with the devastating Kano riot in December 1980, which resulted in the loss of over a million lives, including Marwa himself. The brutal handling of this insurrection sowed early seeds of religious fundamentalism that would plague the region decades later.
No sooner had the police and the army been able to quell the insurrection of Maitatsine than the country wasb gripped by armed robbery and kidnapping attacks. This gave rise to the formation of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known as SARS. The SARS team was made up of tough mobile police officers who carried the war into the domain of the robbers and kidnappers (see my book, DARK CLOUDS: CONFESSIONS OF NOTORIOUS ARMED ROBBERS IN NIGERIA). Security agencies were able to temporarily curb the menace of armed robbers across the country.
A few years later, the Niger Delta region was overtaken by armed militants who were agitating for the control of the natural resources ( rude oil) found beneath their soil. In the Niger Delta crisis, thousands of lives were also lost and vital economic infrastructures disrupted.
By 2009, another radical and insurgent Islamic group had surfaced, thereby escalating insecurity in the northern part of the country: Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), popular known as Boko Haram.This vicious group collaborated with other murderous Islamic insurgents like the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) from Chad, Libya, and Niger to attack northern Nigerian cities and communities. Added to the mix are the killer Fulani herdsmen and bandits whose main calling seems to be heinous kidnapping for ransom, cattle rustling, pillaging of communities and destruction of crops thus driving a deep wedge through the agrarian heartland of the country.
From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that Nigeria has had more than its fair share of insecurity and instability since independence. A former Nigerian military leader, the late Sani Abacha, was once quoted as saying, “If an insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, then the government has a hand in it.” It can, therefore, be argued that the insecurity that has bedeviled Nigeria for the past 66 years could have been orchestrated or enabled by successive governments through compromise, failure of political will, or institutional decay. What a country, what a people!
However, the paradigm shift the country hopes to enjoy seems to have come to our doorstep with the recent independence address by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, wherein he said:
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“My fellow Nigerians, we have reached a turning point. The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired. The central economic task before us has changed. For three years, our overriding purpose was to correct our nation’s course. Now, our purpose is simple: shared and widespread prosperity”
Truly, there can be no prosperity where there is insecurity. It means there must be a paradigm shift from insecurity so that Nigerians can truly enjoy the ambiance of prosperity that the president dreams for Nigeria. The president has so far been commended for his efforts in mobilizing our security forces to decimate the insurgency. Unfortunately however, some unpatriotic elements within our system have turned out to be the proverbial ravaging soldier ants. They, through their untoward actions and utterances, are playing politics with insecurity ravaging Nigeria thus impeding progress towards securing the country. According to the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, “we will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights. “
My prayer, like that of every other patriotic Nigerian, is that the wishes of the president turn out a reality.
As we approach 2027, the election year, may the sad issues of insecurity be left behind in 2026, and may our collective prayer be that a true security paradigm shift takes the centre stage—a paradigm shift from 66 years of insecurity to a future defined by peace, institutional accountability, and socioeconomic equity.
Dear readers, our security agencies must synergise and must be supported by Nigerians. They need the cooperation of Nigerians in providing necessary information about undesirable and unpatriotic elements. As a patriotic citizen, when you see something, say something becaude crime fighting is a collaborative effort, its everyone’s business. We must bridge the gap of distrust between the civilian population and law enforcement agents.
On it’s part, this column is collaborating with security agencies in the war against corruption and criminality. As part of its support and collaboration,Security File has provided telephone numbers of the various security agencies.When you notice something suspicious or unusual in your neighborhood, call any of these numbers:
1 . POLICE: 07031 1 791 86 (For general crime, armed robbery, and distress calls) 2. NDLEA: 08001 0203040 (For drug trafficking and substance abuse reporting)
1. EFCC: 08093322644 (For economic financial crimes and corruption cases) 4. Nigeria Customs Service: +234 703 789 1 1 56 (For smuggling and border security issues) 5. NAPTIP: 08075638397 (For human trafficking and child exploitation reports) 6. DSS: 091 53391 309 (For internal security threats and national intelligence matters).
May Nigeria succeed.
