The reverberations of the dark cloud massing from the recent incident of killings in Uromi Edo state and even the more recent mass murders in Benue and Plateau states, have again thrown up questions on the health of Nigeria’s internal security.

For long, the common sense embodied in a workable federalism, the establishment of state police and complementary community policing system, have been rammed home consistently by discerning minds, only to be left high and dry at the stakes while the Nigerian people, on that account are denied the benefits of collective neighbourhood watch and a shared sense of safety.

And what do we now have on our hands? A former General Officer Commanding the first Division the Nigerian Army, Major General General Danjuma Ali-Keffi is all over the place spilling so much of the beans of complicity of the nation’s military, the contagion of which may already have spread to cover the entire security system of the country.

The entire nation seems to be in the tightened grip of lawlessness and suddenly, we are all beginning to come to grips with the fact that the resurgence of killings in the land is not just that of a dead cat bounce.

Therefore, it is high time Nigeria considers the submissions on how to effectively manage Nigeria’s internal security requirements, made by former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Dr. Solomon Arase. Being someone “who should know”. His, it has to be said is a comprehensive look at the causals of and curatives to the seemingly intractable security issues.

And what was presented in the form of a book does not, in the end, fail to urge all stakeholders to keep an eye on: bad governance, corruption, unemployment being the most powerful fuelers of insecurity! 

There has not been a bogus claim to the management of security globally. Instead, it is what it takes to be on top of the security concerns in a near-failing nation state such as Nigeria, that was culled up.

According to the former IGP, who was also a one time, Chairman, Police Service Commission, the heightened security concerns in Nigeria that is fast turning enclaves in Africa’s fabled giant, into killing fields, is one challenge that security stakeholders and of course the government of the day must meet with the required gravitas.

I will attempt a scurry of further chips off Arase’s iceberg containing what might actually turn out to be a well-researched security bulwark, from the 760-page book which unveils selected viewpoints in internal security management, since this compendium has already been described as a major effort offering workable solutions that have been verified by technological evidence.

First, after striking at the heart of the very core of the Nigerian police by giving an appraisal of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, he recognises the imperativeness of peace and security to national development and then quickly moved on to define the role of police officers in securing the nation through community policing and even how the very act of internal security is strengthened by community policing.

Fresher perspectives were given to the idea of a safer Nigeria. Once the country sees the damage that the Nigerian brand of politics does to the health of security dynamics of the country. Meanwhile it was clearly stated in the same vein that there must be a thriving police- public partnership in order for violent crimes and conflicts to be mitigated in Nigeria.

Now is the time also to take in one recommendation by security experts that has gained grounds over the years but hasn’t quite gotten its taproot deep enough into the ground. And this is that Nigeria’s national security surely would be enhanced by inter-agency cooperation and synergy. The number of reasons given to back this seems endless.

For Arase, there must be a “whole society approach” for policing to be truly reformed. Every reform exertion must be backed by innovative investigation techniques, and that new policing thought is clearly now needed to be able to propel and win through internal security dynamics.

In Arase’s view, fixing transborder crimes has to be part of the larger modern policing strategies that Nigeria should adopt if she means real business security-wise.

In today’s Nigeria, who cares enough about how environmental security challenges are worsening the unemployment situation while the promotion of national values and civic engagement has taken the back seat?

Clearly, if the hints and roadmap given by Arase are followed, even separatist agitations can be taken care of from within the movements themselves instead of the coercive externalized efforts in use now, as people have become so distrustful of the weight of the behemoth that the central government of Nigeria has turned out to be.

Now, would the government of the day and security stakeholders acknowledge this is a timely toolbox and a major contributor to the efforts to crack the knotty nut of the insecurity scourge plaguing Nigeria?

Have authoritative insights been lacking in the attempt to tackle insecurity in Nigeria? I don’t think so. What has been lacking rather is the will to ride on the finer grains contained in models and nuggets of tested security practices that guarantee the safety and health of the citizenry.

•Obayuwana is a former Foreign Affairs Editor of The Guardian