By Chief Momoh Obaro
The tragic killing of retired General Abubakar Rabe in Katsina and the continued abduction of his wife serve as a grim reminder: Nigeria’s insecurity crisis has moved beyond isolated incidents to a systemic threat. In the wake of such tragedies, the national discourse frequently descends into partisan finger-pointing, demands for resignations, and cycles of outrage.
While these reactions are understandable, they are ultimately unproductive. Treating insecurity solely as a failure of the current administration ignores the deep-seated structural deficits that have allowed criminal networks to flourish since 2009. If we are to secure the nation, we must pivot from reactive blame to proactive, evidence-based reform.
The Economic Engine of Insurgency
At the core of the crisis lies a simple, brutal economic reality: Poverty is the primary recruiter for terror.
When a significant portion of the population exists on the margins of survival, non-state armed groups—bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers—become alternative “employers.”
Youth Unemployment: With Nigeria’s unemployment rate hovering around 33% and underemployment even higher, millions of young Nigerians lack a stake in the formal economy.
Survival Mode: The removal of fuel subsidies and the depreciation of the Naira have eroded the purchasing power of even the employed, including frontline security personnel. When a police officer or soldier struggles to feed their family, the integrity of our security architecture is compromised, creating vulnerabilities where intelligence and equipment can be commodified for survival.
The Solution: We must move beyond palliatives. Nigeria requires a “Marshall Plan” for human capital development that prioritizes vocational training and labor-intensive infrastructure projects to absorb the surplus of idle, desperate labour.
The Data Deficit
Effective law enforcement is impossible without granular, actionable data. Currently, our security agencies operate in a fog of anonymity. While the National Identification Number (NIN) initiative is a step forward, it remains disconnected from physical reality.
Spatial Intelligence: We lack a unified national digital registry that links individuals to specific, numbered residences. Without address-based intelligence, law enforcement can not effectively track suspects or conduct community-based policing.
Economic Profiling: Without comprehensive data on household income and employment, state planning remains “blind,” making it difficult to target social interventions to the populations most at risk of recruitment by criminal elements.
The Solution: Prioritize the completion of a National Urban Addressing System and integrate state-level residency databases with federal security biometrics to create a real-time “Public Safety Dashboard.”
Restoring the Grassroots: Local Government Autonomy
Nature abhors a vacuum. The systematic degradation of the Local Government Area (LGA) system over the last two decades has created vast “ungoverned spaces” across rural Nigeria. When local leaders are treated as mere extensions of state governors rather than autonomous administrators, the link between the people and the state is severed.
Fiscal Decentralization:
Federal allocations intended for grassroots development often fail to reach the local level. Without resources, LGAs can not provide the basic services—schools, clinics, and local policing—that foster community loyalty and cooperation.
Intelligence Gathering:
Insecurity is local. When communities trust their local government, they act as the eyes and ears of the state. Currently, that trust is broken.
The Solution:
A constitutional amendment is required to guarantee the financial and administrative autonomy of local governments, ensuring that resources reach the communities where security is most fragile.
Reforming the National Discourse
Finally, the rhetoric of division must be addressed. Security challenges are frequently weaponized through religious and ethnic framing, often by political elites seeking short-term leverage. This “othering” prevents the national unity required to combat decentralized criminal networks.
Words have consequences. When leaders spread unsubstantiated rhetoric, they erode the social cohesion necessary for intelligence sharing. We must demand accountability—requiring that public figures provide evidence for claims of communal culpability or face formal censure.
A Call for a Unified Strategy
The insecurity crisis is not a partisan problem; it is a Nigerian problem. It can not be resolved by the federal government in isolation, nor can it be “policed” away without addressing the underlying poverty and structural decay.
We must convene a National Security Consensus Forum—bringing together federal and state leaders, traditional rulers, civil society, and opposition figures—to commit to a multi-year, binding framework for:
Economic Stabilization: Targeted employment programs in high-risk zones.
Infrastructure of Law: Judicial reforms to ensure speedy trials and digitized administrative record-keeping.
Constitutional Realignment: Devolution of security responsibilities to empower local authorities.
The blame game has consumed enough time and lives. It is time to replace rhetoric with the hard, structural work of nation-building.
This is not a time for division, but a clarion call for collaborative action. By marrying cutting-edge border technology with robust financial intelligence, economic inclusion, and community trust, we can secure Nigeria’s borders and protect our people. The tools are within our reach, the strategy is clear, and the time for all stakeholders to bring their fingers to the deck is now
Let’s be honest about the insecurity situation in our country right now. If we look past the politics, what do you think it will really take to fix this? Share your thoughts below.
– Obaro, a widely travelled data scientist, is a community leader.
