Insecurity Scourge: Can Civilians Owning CCTV Or Bearing Arms End It? (2)

Government support—through subsidies, equity investments via the Ministry of Fi­nance Incorporated (MOFI), tax holidays, and customs duty exemptions—must be guaranteed.

In the same vein, the newly established Credit­Corp should be mandated to provide Nigerians with credit facilities to acquire CCTVs and solar panels assembled locally. This would not only enhance se­curity but also create jobs and increase the country’s productivity quotient.

With a population of over 220 million, Nigeria has a sufficiently large market to justify local production.

I am convinced that this proposition is a win-win: security will be improved through widespread CCTV coverage, people will feel safe enough to return to farms and factories, job creation will rise, and, by extension, the economy will grow—ultimately boost­ing our GDP.

That is not all. There’s also the added value of tech­nology transfer, as Nigerians working in these assem­bly plants will learn to build these gadgets through collaboration with foreign technical partners.

That said, one fact that must not be ignored is that with the IGP’s proposition for citizens to acquire CCTV, the responsibility for monitoring crime—to proactively prevent it or to track and apprehend criminals—is being shifted from the government to the people.

But perhaps this shift is justified, as it has been proven that public funds invested directly in citizens tend to yield better returns than those funneled through government contractors, which often fall victim to corruption.

As may be recalled, in 2012 or thereabouts, a con­tract was awarded to ZTE Corporation of China for $470 million to install 2,000 solar-powered CCTV cam­eras across Nigeria.

According to a House of Representatives ad hoc committee that investigated the deal, ZTE collected a $100 million upfront payment but only installed 40 cameras—most of which remain non-functional.

The committee described the project as a monu­mental failure, attributing the outcome to corruption and mismanagement. The goal of the initiative had been to monitor and deter crime in Lagos, the com­mercial nerve center, and Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Therefore, it’s perhaps a credit to the creative in­genuity of the current IGP that he is seeking to cir­cumvent the well-known corruption associated with government contracts by pivoting CCTV ownership to citizens. I would add that such acquisition should be supported by the government.

Just imagine if the $470 million earmarked for ZTE in 2012 had instead been used to subsidize in­dividual CCTV ownership under a model like the one now proposed by IGP Egbetokun and expanded upon here.

Had that approach been adopted back then, per­haps today’s alarming insecurity levels would either not exist or would be drastically reduced, as criminals would have had no hiding places.

Incidentally, the same scourge of corruption that scuttled the deployment of CCTV cameras in Abuja and Lagos has characterized the military’s kinetic ap­proach to combating insecurity in Nigeria—a crisis now in its 25th year, having started during Obasanjo’s administration in 1999.

In the 2014 national budget, about $2.5 billion was allocated to security agencies under the supervision of then National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Da­suki.

Following the defeat of President Goodluck Jon­athan and the PDP in 2015 and the takeover by Mu­hammadu Buhari and the APC, allegations surfaced that the security funds had been misappropriated and diverted to fund the 2015 elections.

At this point, it is important to examine how in­security started and degenerated to the current dire state.

It began as a form of religious insurgency, follow­ing the adoption of Sharia law (a legal and moral code based on Islamic principles) in Zamfara State during Obasanjo’s presidency in 1999.

The religious extremism that accompanied the law was soon hijacked and transformed into a front for political thuggery and criminality.

Curiously, since that time, mineral-rich Zamfara has consistently been a hot spot for insecurity in Nigeria.

Arising from this, I believe that religion is another factor fueling insecurity in the country.

Some of the perpetrators of heinous crimes have used the pretense of jihad—a claim that many Islam­ic clerics have rightly denounced—to commit atroci­ties. These criminals have killed both Christians and Muslims indiscriminately.

Once those hiding under the guise of religion to perpetrate crimes bordering on genocide and ethnic cleansing are exposed and apprehended, our securi­ty agencies will be in a stronger position to restore peace.

In addition to religion, another major factor driv­ing insecurity is external influence.

There are foreign interests behind the chaos in states rich in rare earth minerals. These actors fund criminal activities to make such areas ungovernable, thus enabling illegal mining and exploitation of re­sources.

They began in Zamfara and have now shifted their attention to Plateau State, which is rich in lith­ium and other valuable minerals.

One clear thing is that the same playbook crim­inals have been using in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for about 100 years is now being de­ployed in Nigeria.

Strikingly, what is happening in Darfur, South Sudan—defined by armed conflicts driven by exter­nal interests in fossil fuel resources over the past five decades—is not dissimilar.

Due to a gap in policing in our country, foreigners are roaming freely in our hinterlands, mapping out resources. In some cases, we’ve even seen trending videos of foreigners handing out cash to our police officers—presumably as compensation for favors.

In more security-conscious climes, foreigners are not allowed to travel into the hinterlands, let alone contest for resources with locals without proper li­censing.

But in Nigeria, foreigners are present in our for­ests and solid mineral sites, extracting and carting away natural resources under the radar.

At one point, small propeller airplanes were land­ing on narrow paths in Zamfara State, carting away precious stones to unknown destinations for process­ing—allegedly in connivance with security forces.

Aside from their official duties of protecting pub­lic officers and Very Important Personalities (VIPs), some police personnel have been seen offering protec­tiontoindividualsof questionablecharacter—people they ought to be apprehending. These individuals then move around intimidating ordinary Nigerians with loud sirens and vehicle convoys while citizens go about their daily struggle to eke out a living.

With a paltry police strength of about 400,000 of­ficers in a country with an estimated population of 220 million—and many of them engaged in VIP pro­tection—there are not enough personnel to respond adequately where marauders strike.

As a result, there have been multiple instances wherebanditsreturntopreviouslyattackedlocations within days or weeks to wreak more havoc on unpro­tected victims.

One cannot fathom why the operationalization of state or community policing remains in abeyance andwhythepoliceforcecontinuestobeunderfunded.

We have a youth bulge in this country. I do not understand why the authorities have not embarked on a massive recruitment drive to enlist and train young Nigerians into the police force to secure the hinterlands and repel marauders.

We also need a dedicated forest police unit—an idea previously proposed by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Dele Alake. This specialized force would patrol forests and protect our natural resources, which are the primary targets of criminal syndicates fomenting violence in resource-rich areas.

In addition to the regular police force, I would argue that it is time to reintroduce the National Guard—originally established by General Ibrahim Babangida—as an elite police unit to tackle the evolv­ing security threats across the country.

The recent tragic events in Plateau and Benue states, where numerous lives have been lost, highlight the urgency of adopting extraordinary measures to combat insecurity.

Commendably, in his Easter message, President Tinubu while felicitating with Christians, also com­miserated with those who lost loved ones in the at­tacks, stating:

“Just as Christ triumphed over death, so too shall our country triumph over every challenge we face.”

He went further to reassure Nigerians:

“I have given clear directives to the Armed Forces and all relevant security agencies to end insecurity decisively and without delay.”

Given President Tinubu’s record of thinking outside the box, we can hope that his directive to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu—himself a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police—will yield positive results.

That said, one pressing question remains: Will putting the police at the center of the renewed effort to restore peace lead to a lasting solution to the resur­gent insecurity?

Well, we won’t know until we try.

Also, is this resurgence in violence connected to the politics of 2027, when the next electoral cycle begins?

Time will reveal the truth as the situation unfolds.

Myargumentforamorecentralroleforthepolicein internal security is based on the fact that they are better trained in managing civil conflicts. How could the mil­itary have been involved in the infamous Lekki, Lagos toll gate killing of protesters in 2020 during the EndSARS riots, if it was not involved in internal security?

Some pundits argue that insecurity has persist­ed because the military—whose expertise is in ki­netic warfare—has been overwhelmed, as what is truly needed are policing skills to handle banditry, inter-communal conflicts, and various criminal ac­tivities.

Even the military has admitted that non-kinetic approaches might yield better results than the mili­tary tactics they’ve traditionally relied on. In fact, they have begun shifting toward non-kinetic strategies.

So why is the police—naturally more adept at non-kinetic methods—not being empowered to take the lead in a combined military-police strategy?

Let me be clear: I have nothing against our brave military men and women. I greatly admire them.

My father, David Ebiye-Onyibe, was a soldier who fought in World War II and the Nigerian Civil War as a medic. He died in active service on December 28, 1970, when I was a toddler.

After his passing, I was taken to Benin City from Agbor to sit for the entrance exam into the Nigerian Military School, but I was underage and couldn’t be admitted.

Because of that history, I have an eternal admi­ration for the military, and I always feel a sense of pride when, at airports abroad, uniformed service members receive special recognition through public announcements and are offered privileges and perks.

That said, beyond the inability of the military to play the role of internal security agent effectively, another major reason insecurity persists in Nigeria is religion.

Some of the criminals behind these atrocities are deceived into believing they are engaging in jihad, not realizing they are pawns feeding the greed of a few powerful kingpins.

Fortunately, some traditional rul­ers and Islamic clerics in the North have taken a stand, distancing them­selves from the terrorists and con­demning the senseless violence that has devastated lives and properties in the hinterlands.

Once these impostors—those hid­ing under the cloak of religion—are exposed and held accountable, our security agencies will be better posi­tioned to restore peace and harmony among Nigeria’smanyethnic groups.

More importantly, we must con­front the external factors in the rising insecurity.

There are foreign elements funding criminality in areas rich in rare earth minerals—especially in Pla­teau State—so they can operate in lawless conditions.

This same method was used in Zamfara, and now the focus has shifted to Plateau, largely because of its lithium deposits.

It’s the same strategy that has been in use in the DRC for over a century.

And just as external powers once armed the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, South Sudan, similar external forces are at play here.

Although the Nigerian military has made gains— repelling some attacks and neutralizing notorious gang leaders—millions still live in fear, especially in remote areas where the government seems distant and unresponsive.

Clearly, there’s a gaping hole in our policing ar­chitecture.

I cannot fathom why the implementation of state or community policing is still pending, or why the police remain poorly funded.

We have a youth bulge and a high unemployment rate.

Why aren’t our leaders seizing this opportunity to train and engage young people in law enforcement, transforming them into productive contributors to national security?

I do not understand why a massive recruitment drive into the police force has not been initiated— complete with cutting-edge training, equipment, and high-tech tools to secure our forests and hinterlands.

We also urgently need the forest police unit that Dr. Dele Alake proposed—dedicated to protecting our natural resources and fending off criminal syndi­cates.

Furthermore, I believe it’s time to reintroduce the National Guard, created under Babangida, to serve as an elite security force capable of handling the evolv­ing security challenges.

General T.Y. Danjuma’s extreme position—en­couraging self-defense among his people—may have stemmed from a deep sense of helplessness and frustration.

His home state, Taraba, as well as Benue and Pla­teau, has seen consistent attacks and loss of lives.

While not disputing anything Gen. Danjuma said, a resort to self-help in the form of widespread armament among civilians may have unintended consequences.

If inter-communal conflicts arise, will these weap­ons not be turned against fellow Nigerians over land disputes or cultural disagreements?

This is why we must take seriously the IGP’s call for citizens to own CCTV systems, and Gen. Dan­juma’s warning, both of which highlight the rising wave of killings in recent weeks.

If thesituationimprovesthroughanewparadigm shift in security—placing the police at the forefront, bolstered by strategic military support—then per­haps the urgency for civilians to arm themselves will diminish.

Before then Nigerians can not wait to exhale by having the yoke of insecurity removed as part of the existential challenge hindering them from being pro­ductive to self and society.

• Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, de­mocracy advocate, author, development strategist, an alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in Delta State government, sent this piece from Lagos.

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