Taiwo Jimoh 
The year 2024 end with mixed fellings, ranging from insecurity, food scarcity and other issues.The year 2025 is full of hope and aspirations as Nigerians crave a country free of kidnapping, banditry, Boko Haram, ISWAP and others.
The citizens have called on President Bola Tinubu to prioritise security of Nigerians in the new year. He is also urged to tackle clashes between farmers and herders, especially in the North Central part of the country and the South East.
The insurgency have continued to destabilise the Northeast, leading to high civilian casualties and displacements. Armed banditry has also escalated in the Northwest and North Central regions, characterised by violent attacks and kidnappings.
Food insecurity
A security expert, Mr Femi Adeniyi, said Nigeria’s security situation is a pressing one that requires urgent attention. He said unfortunately, projections indicate a worsening food security crisis, which is linked to the country’s security challenge.
The northeastern states like Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States are expected to be particularly affected, with millions facing severe food shortages due to compounded economic, environmental and security.
Adeniyi said the allegation against Nigerian government by Abdourahmane Tchiani, Niger military leader, that Nigeria is colluding with France to destabilise the junta led nation is also a serious one that could lead to crisis.
Part of the allegations of the military leader is that Nigerian government had provided a base for French soldiers near Lake Chad to invade his country, these allegations are strong ones that can cause division among the two countries if proper care and attention is not taken.
“The Niger President’s allegation was that Nigeria government had established a training camp for terrorists in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, all aimed at destabilising Niger.
The Nigerian government needs to quickly deescalate the threat posed by the Niger President to avoid the fragile crisis that the country is still battling with in the Northeast of the country.
The allegation was however denied by Nigeria which could help douse the already generated tension.
“Yes, neighboring countries bordering Nigeria have contributed to Nigeria’s insecurity to a large extent, another problem with Nigeria is that our porous borders and regional dynamics have allowed various security threats to emanate from or be exacerbated by neighboring countries.
“The proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria is partly attributed to the country’s porous borders.
Arms are often smuggled from neighboring countries, such as Libya, Chad and Cameroon all need to be tackled by the government for Nigerians to have a prosperous 2025.
“Another issue is the transnational organized crime, Nigeria’s neighbors, particularly Benin and Togo, have been implicated in transnational organized crime.
“These include; human trafficking, narcotics smuggling and counterfeit goods, all these hinder our security as a nation, our government needs to do more to protect the country from invaders.
Some of the factors contributing to the perceived ineffectiveness of security fight is corruption, because corruption within the security apparatus and diversion of funds have undermined the impact of security expenditure.”
He further said to have insecurity free Nigeria in 2025, the Federal Government and military apparatus should ensure security funds are allocated and utilised transparently.
“The military should develop a comprehensive security strategy and adopt holistic approach that addresses the socio-economic drivers of insecurity and promotes community engagement.
Also improved collaboration among security agencies, state governments and local communities will ensure a unified response to security challenges.”
Nnamdi Kanu
Another security expert, Mr. Felix Datwang told our correspondent that the issues of insecurity in Nigeria is a multi- facet one that requires holistic approach.
South East now is also battling with issues of unknown gunmen, kidnapping and several attacks of innocent residents of the region.
Datwang said to have a free South East region, one of the factors to be considered is the detained Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who sometimes boasted that he has the capacity to end insecurity in the South-East and South-South Nigeria within two minutes if he is released from detention.
“To make that freedom happen, the President should use his prerogative of mercy to release him so as to stop the senseless killing in the region. Kanu have been in detention at the facility of the State Security Service (SSS) since he was re-arrested and brought back to Nigeria from Kenya in June 2021, under controversial circumstances.”
Datwang added that to overcome the insecurity, Nigeria needs to addresses the root causes and promote regional cooperation and policies that will reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment.
“All these are factors driving insecurity, I could remember when I was in service, some of the boys we arrested then always told us that it was because of poverty that made them to go into crime, because they want to survive.”
Plateau
The clash between Fulani and the natives of Plateau State is another issue the government of Tinubu needs to tackle. Several lives and property have been destroyed in the war.
Despite military presence, killing is still ongoing in some parts of the state, but the military are doing their best to eradicate the crisis in every part of the state Benue State is another focus for the government in 2025, several innocent lives have been lost to the once food basket of the nation.
“A lot of lives have been lost to inter tribal war in Benue, all these has to stop in 2025, a lot of human blood has been spilled in Nigeria. I am not of the opinion that the Federal Government should open the land boarders.
In Africa as at today, Nigeria has the most porous boarders, where everything comes in at will, without being checked.” A veteran crime and security editor, Mr. Atta Folorunsho, appealed to President Tinubu to pay more attention to security of lives and property of citizens and secure the Nigeria territory.
Folorunsho said general security situation in Nigeria in 2024 and previous years has not favoured the nation. The president and security chiefs needs to do more to secure Nigeria in 2025.
He said: “The Nigeria security architecture needs a serious overhauling and it is expected of the President to improve upon the security apparatus and get modern security gadgets and equipments for the security agencies to use.
“The allegation by the military leader of Niger Republic against Nigeria government should be investigated by the Economic Community of West African States and African Union body, they should both investigate the allegation separately so as to exonerate Nigeria.
“I also want a country free of killing and destruction of lives and property in 2025. A lot of innocent blood have been spilled under the name of fighting, Nigerians needs a better society where people can drive from one state to another without fear of being kidnapped or killed by bandits.
“The President should follow the foot steps of late President Umaru Musa Ya’adua by giving the militants then amnesty, President Tinubu should extend same to Nnadmdi Kanu to douse the tension and senseless killing in the South East part of the country.
“If such gesture is extended to him, I believe the IPOB members will cease fire and the South East region will be a peaceful place and business will thrive.
“But the continued detention of Kanu will continue to cause a lot of damage even to South South part of the country, not only in the South East, but Nigeria as a whole.
The security agencies are doing their best in the fight against insecurity, but more still needed to be done.
Corruption
He noted that the budget earmarked for defense in Nigeria is intended to support the country’s military and security agencies in their efforts to address insecurity, but majority of the money goes into the hands of the senior military officers.
Folorunsho appealed to the President Tinubu to extend his fight against corruption to the top service chiefs, “because corruption within the defense sector is alarming, most of the funds are being diverted to their personal account.
“There is limited transparency in defense budgeting and spending, which makes it difficult to track the effectiveness of the allocations to the ministry, to have secured country we need to do more on transparency in defense budgeting and ensure accountability, to avoid what we experienced during Sambo Dansuki who was the National Security Adviser then.
“The spending of the defense should be priorities based on the military most pressing security needs, ensuring that all allocations align with strategic needs to prevent corruption and ensure the money is used efficiently and effectively.”
Tech approach
The use of artificial intelligence is also important in the fight against insecurity, part of the new strategy the military should adopt is the use of artificial intelligence to combat crime.
Mr. Folorunsho said the deployment of AI in security operations will transform the dynamics of criminal activities in several ways, “it will enhance detection and analyse vast amount of data to identify unusual and potential threats.
“AI will allow security forces to respond more quickly and effectively to incidents before they escalate. It will also improve security measures, lower the barrier for criminals.
Overall, AI offers significant advantages in enhancing security measures, it simultaneously presents new challenges that require ongoing adaptation by law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals and also streamline security operations by automating routine tasks.
“AI will also allow human operatives to focus on strategic decision making and more complex threats, thereby improving overall efficiency, more of the gadgets used in combating terrorists, banditry kidnapping and other crimes should be adopted.
