By Lai Olurode 

In the past couple of days or weeks, security of life and property has forced itself into the front burners and has constituted major headlines. It isn’t as if there has been a major breakthrough or respite since the era of the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan through to those of Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and the current Presidency of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

This shows that our security is independent of who rules Nigeria as important as this is.

Agency intervention alone isn’t enough. The structure is also an issue to be looked. On this alone, President Tinubu deserves a pat on the back. The Nigerian structure is often presented as an iron cast for those who draw benefits from its lopsidedness.

However, far more than his predecessors, President Tinubu is dealing with the security conundrums from the roots – rejigging security agencies and addressing funding issues in a federation. Why?

No presidency before him has taken decisive and bold steps at power devolution.  Nigeria’s current warped federal structure is certainly unsupportive and atypical in facilitating the concurrent blossoming of diverse but competitive and autonomous governments. In most cases, local governments now receive direct allocations from the Federation accounts. The Nigerian political environment has suddenly become more receptive to tolerating state policing rather than the non competitive and archaic unitary system that had been in place before.

I can vividly recall with nostalgic feelings though, the role that the late Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN), played in putting life into the then moribund and  nascent Amotekun. He was firm on the side of true federalism and the constitutionalism of Amotekun as a security outfit. Unfortunately, many of the governors of the Southwest at that time displayed nonchalant attitude and just ‘siddon look’. The only reason was the cold, non receptive and intolerance disposition of the federal government under President Buhari.

To be truthful, some governors in the other geopolitical zones made open but feeble efforts in promoting and activating state police.

In the creation of more development regional commissions, President Tinubu continues his journey toward a true and a sustainable federation and far away from the moribund inherited military unitary federal structure. Without doubt, many star politicians in the north remain uncomfortable with the president moves. No applaud for the President but cold rebuff. No other reason other than the cancellation of free lunch.

The damage that has been done to our psyche and how we think through the issues of security, peace and development is huge but we need to be clear headed. Of course, in the general perceptions, Mr. President and the governors, even, the local government chairmen are regarded as Kabiyesi but in the eyes of the laws they can be subjected to scrutiny. But citizens shy away lest they be crushed by the hegemonic power of the state.

Since the kidnapping incident of 47 pupils and their teachers in the Orire Local Government of Oyo State on May 15, 2026, the President of Nigeria, who is in far away Abuja and the governor of Oyo State, who is in Ibadan, have received most of the blames far more than the chairman of the local government whose name remains unknown.

The questions that arise are: Is the local government receiving what is due to it and how is the amount being utilised? What efforts were put in place by the governor and the chairman of the council to secure the local government? What constituency projects were in the area? Any security presence during the incident?

My interpretations of the kidnapping are that our governors in the South-West are unprepared for the security breach by the bandits. There was a feeling that it cannot happen here. Now, that the myth has been shattered, the Nigeria and the world know that the Western Nigeria isn’t exceptional, it is as bare as the other regions if not the worst.

We must all wake up, acknowledge the contributions of the late Akeredolu in buoying up the security architecture in the region under  unfavourable conditions. His was a lonely but strong ethical voice in a Sea of Scoundrels. We have simply not learnt lessons from the happenings in the other parts of Nigeria. We have, naively though, assumed that we are untouchable and simply impregnable.

Our forefathers hardly wait until wartime before they are battle ready. The response has been sluggish. Probably, the birth circumstances of the kidnapped might have been a key factor in the tardiness. They were not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I plead for more resource allocation in the training of security personnel at the local level and in the procurements of arms and ammunition.

Any government that pays attention to politics at the expense of governance can only continue to do so at its own peril. The governors of the region need more joint and collaborative efforts in the spirit of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN). The buying-in of the grassroots – the purveyors of the traditional political authorities, the community based organisations and a variety of local security outfits – need to be co-opted for effectiveness.

The past one week or so has been traumatic for everyone with a sense of empathy. We mustn’t get used to this aberration. With more funds in the kitty, no excuse can avail us.

Our slogan and motto should be to make sure that the southwest is safest in Nigeria. Since the recent kidnap incident, learning in schools, freedom of movement have been curtailed, human development is dragging to halt. Productivity will certainly suffer.

We must, therefore, cultivate the habit of putting first thing first rather than the first thing last. Security matters come first rather than politics which currently consumes our energy. Development must not be frozen for politics.

Olurode is a retired Professor of Sociology, University of Lagos.