By James Sunday, FCAI, MNIIA
The United States, against the backdrop of the 9/11 attacks, established the United States Department of Homeland Security to confront what the government perceived as a direct threat to its homeland. A Secretary with vast prerequisite experience, familiar with the terrain and security realities, was appointed. The strategy practically worked for them, as the war on terror was taken to the doorstep of the enemy, while terrorist camps were devastated and decimated.
Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, has since around 2010 been battling internal security challenges that arose from wrong decisions and poor judgment. One of such was the extra-judicial action taken against a man perceived to be the leader of a sect that could threaten national security if allowed to thrive, Mohammed Yusuf. He was reportedly killed between arrest and interrogation in circumstances that attracted both local and international condemnation because of the extra-judicial process adopted.
Since then, the combatants and fighters have persistently attacked military, security, and police formations, as well as government infrastructure, including schools, across the country. The violence has spread from the North-East to the North-Central and North-West, and continues to spread like wildfire into other regions. Today, Nigeria is dealing not only with Boko Haram in the North-East states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba, and Gombe, but also with groups such as Lakurawa and Mamuda operating across Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, and Kwara States, as well as parts of the North-Central region, particularly Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi, and the Federal Capital Territory, among others.
History has repeatedly shown that wars are fought primarily by locals, even though support may come from international bodies or friendly foreign nations. The terrain is more familiar to local forces, and adaptation to climate, demographics, language, and local patterns often determines the level of success achieved by security forces.
Nigeria’s internal security challenges are peculiar to Nigeria. It is only Nigerians themselves who can bring the crisis under control by adopting a national security strategy targeted at protecting, insulating, and securing the country from incessant attacks by fighters who, by their ideology, believe they have nothing to lose, while the nation has everything to lose. These losses include troops, equipment, military assets and facilities, communities destroyed, and citizens killed, maimed, or displaced. These are issues that require a whole-of-society approach to addressing insecurity.
While equipping and re-equipping security platforms, upgrading facilities, and deploying trained operatives to theatres of operation, the country must also take cognisance of the human losses, the destruction of war assets, the erosion of public confidence and trust in government, and the huge funds spent on sustaining military and security operations. Consideration must equally be given to the plight of displaced communities and the destruction of infrastructure during the course of the conflict.
Now that a Special Adviser on Homeland Security has been appointed, the President must seek legislative backing to give the office proper parliamentary recognition, ensure it is gazetted, and clearly define its roles to avoid overlapping responsibilities, clashes of interest, sabotage, and inter-agency rivalry, problems commonly associated with duplicated responsibilities among agencies created by successive administrations.
The government must bring together all relevant agencies involved in internal security operations to brainstorm, define their respective responsibilities, and collaborate effectively without unnecessary competition or conflict from the outset. This is essential if the desired objectives behind their establishment and operations are to be achieved in the long run.
The newly appointed Special Adviser on Homeland Security undoubtedly has much to contribute. However, caution must be exercised to prevent misconceptions or ill-conceived assumptions that existing offices have underperformed or are being sidelined. This is one government pursuing one national objective. Nigerians look forward to robust discussions among the various services as they realign to what may appear to be a disruptive, yet necessary, new order.
Ultimately, Nigeria must adopt a truly national approach to its security challenges rather than merely copying foreign policies. While adapting existing international templates may be useful, such strategies must reflect Nigeria’s peculiar realities, domestic conditions, and societal structure if they are to succeed.
ACG James Sunday (Rtd.)
Border Security Consultant