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Security Expert Advises Tinubu on Solutions to Insecurity
As Nigeria’s security forces continue to engage kidnappers, bandits, terrorists and other violent criminals in a battle of wits, a security specialist, Mr. Matthew Ibadin, has called for the urgent establishment of what he described as Arms Control and Licensing Authority to deescalate the increasing circulation of small arms and light weapons in the country.
In a press statement e-signed and released to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP in Lagos on Wednesday, the Badison Security Chief Executive Officer noted that kidnapping of Citizens in the last nine years has become the order of the day with an increased frequency and intensity of such abductions across the country in the last two months of December 2023 and January 2024, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to him, the Federal Government through an Act of the National Assembly should establish an Arms Control and Licensing Authority to be in charge of documenting all illegal arms intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Service or those recovered from unauthorized persons, the army, police and other security agencies.
“All arms collected or seized from criminals should be in the custody of the Arms Control Agency and Authority with a view of ascertaining at any point in time the number of illegal arms recovered from various parts of the country. The Arms Control and Licensing Authority would be saddled with the responsibility of also conducting a total audit of all weapons in the custody of the military, the police and all other arms bearing security agencies on behalf of the government, so as to ensure accountability and global best practices on arms management. It should be headed by a civilian security expert who can carry out due diligence without fear or favour”.
While commending the various security agencies particularly the military and the police for doing their best, he pointed out that a lot more was expected from them.
Going forward, he suggested that the focus should be on evolving a detailed security architecture with the police being at the nucleus of co-coordinating all anti kidnapping operations in the country.
The Badison Security boss also emphasized the need for police personnel across all ranks to continuously engage in training and retraining with a view to technologically upgrade themselves.
He mentioned the need for the acquisition of tracking equipment and training on the tracking of stolen phones should be made available to the Nigerian police, divisional and outpost personnel and private security companies. The police should collaborate with cyber security experts, private investigators as it is obtainable all over the world. A situation whereby kidnappers are asking for ransom to be paid in bitcoin makes the situation so complicated that if they are not trained for it, they can not solve the challenges.
He stated that as long as we have this single digit security architecture whereby the police are under the exclusive legislative list, we can never solve the security challenges confronting the nation. The present policing system is reactive instead of being proactive. Therefore, we need to dismantle the present inefficient policing architecture, where it would be expunged from the exclusive legislative list, and moved to the concurrent and residual list enabling state governments to create and manage their own local policing architecture. So we can hold the state government and local government chairmen responsible instead of calling out the federal government for local security affairs.
On the issue of the existing centralized police structure, Ibadin posited that decentralization of the existing federal policing structure was long overdue and must be holistically pursued with patriotic vigour in contemporary time. Amotekun, Hisbah, Abube Agu and other state self help will not work unless the police architecture is reformed to operate at state and communal levels.
While rooting for a decentralized police structure which in other words is currently a federal police structure. Ibadin who did his post-graduate studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna stated that the poor remuneration, low training and lack of modern digitized training for the Nigerian police personnel has helped to dampen the morale of the average police officer. He further stated that he believes that the Nigerian police despite the unfavourable conditions they have to work with are rated in his own words as the best in the world because they are working without the necessary tools.
He urged the National Assembly to urgently take a proactive legislative step that would remove policing system from the exclusive list to the concurrent and residual list adding that for effective policy implementation, the state government, local government and communities must take the lead at creating and managing a police system that is fit and customized for their peculiar local needs.
While the political class delineated voting to the ward level, the government should also apply this same strategy by giving every ward in the country a functioning police station which is closest to the people. This would curb the crime rate to the minimum because the current policing structure does not allow the people to report crime as at when it happens because the current divisional police headquarter and outposts are far from the people.
Due to a lack of trust in the current policing structure, the people are scared to report criminal issues to the police, because it is not a community based policing that protects their interests. Citizens in transit need to reach the police easily in any crime situation. Therefore, operational hubs for police should be established at all the former toll gates and create additional ones across the federation, equipped with sophisticated weapons detection systems because we have a lot of concealed weapons in transit across the country, due to porous border and insecurity in the Sahel region. Furthermore, “The state should enact a law that makes it easy for the police to secure a warrant to search any house in their states.
To assist in solving the current operational logistic challenge that police often encounter, the security chieftain suggested that all vehicles seized by the EFCC, Customs and even the police should officially be given to the police and must be branded and documented at the zonal police headquarters.
He also recommended that to address the issue of low morale currently pervasive among police personnel, a minimum wage of N250,000 should be approved for the police, explaining that such gesture would invariably attract high quality recruits into the Nigerian Police Force.
As a measure towards finding an all embracing solution to insecurity in the country, he also advised the government to license Private Investigators (PI) as it is obtainable in other parts of the world even as he enjoined them to under-study African nations like Kenya.
“It is instructive to note that it is also in the Police Act that Private Investigators should be licensed to operate. Ibadin also advocated that, responsible citizens should be allowed to bear arms as a first line of defense in our national security architecture.
He said, “Senior Citizens, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Executive Directors, Managing Directors, Security Consultants, licensed Private Investigators, senior civil servants and lecturers, local government chairmen, Counselors, captains of industries, traditional rulers, clerics and their security personnel should be profiled and allowed to bear arms. Furthermore, traditional institutions should have a legislative security role to protect their subjects in collaboration with the local police.”
The Badison boss noted that private security outfits in the country should be licensed to carry arms to protect VIPs and to help state governments to secure communities . He advised that they can also be involved in the fight against banditry and kidnappers since they operate at grass root level. The Nigerian police has been largely persecuted by the citizens and civil society groups, forgetting that they were created by the law to execute it.
Therefore, for us to resolve the prevailing situation in the country we must go back and amend the laws that created the Nigerian Police force. I expect the civil society organizations, Nigerian Bar Association (N.B.A.), the Nigerian Labour Congress (N.L.C.) and her affiliates and student union bodies of tertiary institutions to show more sympathy and support for the police asking the government to better care for the Nigerian police.
He said that “all police personnel should be kitted with ballistic vests and other gadgets that would enable them go after kidnappers in the bushes and flush them out.
With respect to the correctional intentions of government for all convicted and imprisoned criminals, Ibadin posited that the Nigerian correctional centers need to be reformed to mitigate the current situation of producing hardened criminals instead of reformed citizens after they come out of the system.
The security chieftain also posited that as a matter of urgency, President Bola Tinubu should look into the idea behind the military’s recruitment of ‘repented’ Boko Haram elements into the Nigerian armed forces “with a view to ensuring that they do not act as conduits of sabotage”.
He noted the exemplary efforts of some Nigerians towards fighting insecurity in the country and said that the Lagos Trust Fund and notable Nigerian businessmen like Mr. Femi Otedola and Mr. Aliko Dangote should be appreciated for their enormous efforts at supporting the police regularly.
He concluded by expressing his sympathy with the current Inspector General of Police and security chiefs, stating that the police is currently a single digit system security architecture which can not solve the insecurity issues it is facing alone as the system is operated at the federal level omitting the state, the local government and communities because crime is local.
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the North will, in the next six months, take a stand on who to support for the presidency in 2027.
He boasted that no politician can win the presidency in 2027 without the support of the region.
In a video interview he granted in Hausa language, Baba-Ahmed, who appeared alongside a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, lamented the state of the nation and urged northerners to resist divisive and deceptive politicians ahead of the next general elections.
He said: “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way. One thing is clear: nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support.
“We want a government that understands our problems and can address them. After Buhari’s eight years, we became wiser. Now, we are in another government, and we are still crying. Is crying all we know how to do?” Baba-Ahmed asked.
According to the former presidential aide, the North has suffered greatly during the Boko Haram insurgency, which affected all groups, Muslims, Christians, Fulani, Baju, and others, highlighting the need for unity.
“Before Buhari became president, Boko Haram was bombing mosques, churches, Abuja, and Lagos. That was a time Northerners had to unite. Today, no politician can just show up and expect Northerners to fall in line. Who are you?” he questioned.
He therefore warned against further marginalization of the North, noting that continued disregard for the region would have consequences.
“If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria. The North is watching, elders, masses, and interest groups will soon say “enough is enough ‘. The injustice and sidelining must stop.
Baba-Ahmed urged the northern region to look beyond identity politics, stressing that competence and integrity should guide voter decisions.
“We are tired of being deceived into voting based on religion or ethnicity. That era is over. We just want a right leader, we just want someone who will solve our problems,” he said.
Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has charged Christians to embrace the virtues that Christ preached as the 2025 Easter celebrations hold this weekend.
While congratulating Christians in Nigeria in a goodwill message released from its Lagos Head Office on Thursday, Globacom admonished them to imbibe the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
According to Glo, “Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”
Globacom charged all Nigerians to espouse the lessons of selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society and called on all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
The company praised their perseverance through the 40-day Lenten period which comes before Easter as it emphasized the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
Easter comes yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of unhindered voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
Dear Destiny Friends,
Every human being loves to get approval, either for the great work they have done or the ones they are doing. They love to be appreciated and admired. They also love to be given attention when they have something valuable to say or do. In all of these, one thing is certain, there is something special about us, and this special thing makes one unique, and ultimately attracts people to us.
Let’s face it, nobody will admire you, appreciate you, approve you and give you attention if you don’t have anything to offer. The reason most people associate with someone is because they feel or know there’s something they can gain from the person. It’s hard for someone to relate closely with someone who they don’t see potential value in.
There is no doubt each and everyone of us is unique, yes, there’s something unique about you. You can sing, you can write, you can dance, you can lead, you can serve, you can cook, etc. One can even be a good actor, athlete, comedian, or preacher. The list is literally endless. Now, what’s unique about you?
When you discover what’s unique about you, please do all within your reach to nurture and develop it. One day, the right person, who truly appreciates and knows your value will celebrate you.
I have a friend who is exceptionally skilled in writing and developing creative contents. I call him a genius because he can literally write a book within a week. How he does it is what I don’t understand. I was surprised when he once told me he wrote a book and manuscript in one week. According to him, he has been developing the contents mentally, but hasn’t found time to put his thoughts together, and when he finally gets his thoughts together, he was able to write the book and manuscript. This is a typical way of knowing a unique being.
Many, however, do not know what’s unique about them. We focus our energy chasing what is not chasing us instead of focusing on developing what we already have. It’s sad to see young and old people living their lives in an unintentional manner with a belief that somehow lines, favour or opportunities will fall in place for them.
Sometimes, we rely on other people’s affirmation and opinion, and accept it as our fate. For instance, just because one is tall, he might be told he will be a great fit for basketball without considering if the athlete loves basketball; again, just because someone is very intelligent, his parents will encourage him to major in a particular discipline, which is perceived as lucrative without considering if the person likes it pr not.
I once experienced this fate when my late dad inspired me to study taxation law in New York Law School, a major I detest with passion. It was like a suicidal mission for me because I do know, it will take miracle to graduate from the program. How I was able to get a scholarship for my grades and graduate in record time is a story for another day. I’m not wired as a finance person, I will better serve humanity in the social and developmental space where my skills, talents, gift and passion will be better utilized. And ever since I joined the space, I have seen results.
There are many cases where many people lose their identities without knowing they are unique. We are all unique in our individual ways. Just like there are several gifts and talents, we have different skills. When you know what’s unique about you, you will stand out and the world will not only appreciate you, but will celebrate you.
When one discovers the power of their uniqueness, we will gather strength to unleash it to the world. Uniqueness works in several ways. For instance, the mere fact that ten people are genius, talented, skillful or valuable in a particular work, the person with the unique gift is the person who will not only stand out, but will be called upon to do the work.
Let me share more insight. If ten people sing a particular song with a great voice, the person who is called to be a singer will receive a unique appreciation because he/she is working on purpose. That is why it is easy to see a lot of people venturing into a particular form of business, but the favour of the business will not locate them because they are not uniquely destined to do business.
Few years ago, one of my mentors shared a deep insight with me. He said that, as a trained medical doctor, he once observed that despite the fact there are hundreds and thousands of medical doctors practicing their profession. One fateful day, he noticed a particular patient was not responding to treatment despite all the medication that had been given to him by a nurse, his health was deteriorating, then another nurse came and administered the same pill a nurse gave the patient, and the patient began to feel better. What does that tell you? The second nurse was probably working in her purpose which aligns with her profession, and as such the corresponding success. This goes to show that when one is unique, it has a way of robbing off on their work.
Furthermore, he stated that Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and Beyonce are some of the gifted singers and dancers the world has ever celebrated. He went on to say that we have hundreds and thousands of musicians, but only a few have got the spotlight.
What does that tell you? When you are unique, the world will celebrate you. I have understood that the fastest way to get recognition in life is to work in areas where one’s strength and unique gift will better serve the purpose. This is simply because the world does not celebrate one’s weakness, rather, the world celebrates one’s strength.
In recent times, I have seen myself as a counselor and human inspiration. My counseling skills have enabled me to influence people to live positive lives. Overtime, I have realized that when people share their burden with me, they feel relieved after speaking with me. What amazes me most is the fact that even my elders feel comfortable to relate with me on a cordial basis. Maybe, I have a unique gift for counseling and educating.
Today, I am going to charge you to focus your energy and time on whatever will bring you the highest satisfaction. Even if you are looking for a job, applying for school, or seeking any opportunity, your focus should be centered on what you have that the job, school or opportunity will amplify. When you do so, you will be in high demand.
In conclusion, please affirm to yourself today, I am a unique being with a unique personality, purpose and gift.
Say to yourself, ‘I am original’, and refuse to be fake.
Again confess that your originality, authenticity and uniqueness will attract favours, blessings, opportunities from leaders and queens to you, and you will be celebrated.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
