The Federal Government has said it has begun work on a five-year security strategy designed to give Nigeria a more coordinated and long-term response to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other emerging threats.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has constituted a high-level committee of defence, intelligence and security officials to develop the proposed plan, with the panel given 90 days to submit its recommendations.
The committee was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, on behalf of the President.
Akume said the government was seeking to move the country away from a security system that largely reacts to threats as they occur and towards one that identifies dangers early, sets clear priorities and provides security agencies with the resources required to respond effectively.
He said the initiative was necessary because modern security threats were no longer isolated problems, but increasingly connected and capable of exploiting weaknesses between government institutions and security agencies.
According to him, the proposed strategy would be built around a National Threat Assessment, which would help the government determine the nature of threats facing the country, their likely development and the consequences of failing to address them.
The assessment is expected to serve as a common basis for planning by the Armed Forces, intelligence services, police and other relevant security institutions.
Akume said the government wanted a system where decisions on security spending and operations were directly linked to identified threats rather than being driven by the individual preferences of institutions.
“In simple terms, we must establish a clear path from threat to objective, from objective to capability, from capability to resource, and from resource to measurable outcome,” he said.
Under the proposed arrangement, the government will identify what needs to be achieved in different operational theatres and determine the personnel, weapons, intelligence, technology, infrastructure, logistics and other resources needed to achieve those objectives.
The committee is also expected to identify weaknesses in existing security capabilities and recommend which areas should receive priority based on the seriousness and urgency of the threats involved.
Akume said the proposed five-year period would give the government enough time to plan for major investments such as military equipment, infrastructure, training, maintenance, research and development, as well as the growth of Nigeria’s defence industry.
However, the strategy will not be a fixed five-year document. It is expected to be reviewed annually so that the government can adjust its priorities in response to new threats, technological changes and lessons from ongoing security operations.
The SGF said the approach would also help prevent situations where security agencies make operational requests without a broader understanding of the country’s national security priorities.
He noted that while commanders and security chiefs must retain the ability to respond quickly to immediate dangers, their actions should be guided by a broader national strategy covering immediate, medium-term and long-term security needs.
Akume acknowledged the efforts of the military and other security agencies in recent operations, but said the country needed to build a system that could anticipate threats and sustain its response rather than deal with security problems one after another.
The committee will therefore review both existing and emerging threats, rank them according to their strategic importance, determine operational priorities and establish the capabilities required to tackle them.
It will also recommend procurement priorities, implementation timelines and methods for measuring whether the proposed measures are producing the desired results.
Akume charged members of the committee to approach the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, patriotism and a sense of urgency.
He assured the panel that the government would provide the necessary support and authorised his office to bring in officials from other ministries, departments and agencies where their expertise would be required.
The committee is headed by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd.).
Its membership includes the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu; Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Adeola Ajayi; and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed, are also members.
Two days before the announcement of the new initiative, social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, had called for a rethink of the country’s approach to security.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Otse argued that the country’s security agencies were too small to effectively protect a population of more than 200 million people.
“They need to make provisions for citizens to protect themselves. Make it easy for us to get guns because right now they are understaffed. They can’t protect everybody,” he said.
Otse also called for better welfare for members of the security agencies, arguing that personnel would perform better if their working conditions improved.
“Until we take care of them properly, they will keep on turning on us,” he said.
A police officer who participated in the discussion similarly called for improved welfare but stressed that greater accountability was needed in the use of funds allocated to security agencies, particularly procurement.
Otse also spoke about the role of local communities and information networks in tackling insecurity, arguing that better use of intelligence could help security agencies identify and prevent attacks.