Takeaways From The South East Security Summit

The recently concluded South East Regional Security Summit, which was held in Umuahia, Abia State, indeed opened a new vista in the analysis of the security situation in the South East. One of the key observations from the communique issued at the end of the summit was that insecurity has significant consequences for commerce, investment, livelihoods, and development; consequently, strengthening security is essential to restoring economic confidence and unlocking the development potential of the South East. As a newspaper, we reckon with this observation for painstakingly capturing the essence of security and the economic implications of insecurity.

Security unlocks the potential for development, and without development, there will be social vices, and these vices manifest in various forms that have been identified as markers for insecurity, such as kidnapping, insurrections, banditry, farmer-herder conflict, militancy, and separatist agitations. These social vices exist or manifest in various regions in the country, and an economic causation factor can’t be ruled out completely.

This is why, as a newspaper, our editorial advisories to the government have been centred around purposeful leadership from those tasked with leadership positions in the country. It can be argued that a lack of purposeful leadership is a security threat and can contribute to the breeding of social vices that eventually threaten the socioeconomic fabric of the country.

The South East Regional Security Summit theme of “Collaborative Approaches to Strengthening Regional Security and Stability” could pass for a bold call to action by relevant stakeholders in the South East on the need to enter into a strategic collaboration in delivering purposeful leadership. The operations of security agencies are not the magic wand needed to address the security challenges. It is at best an aspect that sits at the bottom of the security value chain.

Our position as a newspaper is that political leaders in the South East should intensify efforts to bridge the gap between the government and the people. Everyone has a role to play in governance and security; the identified challenge is the belief that only those who hold political authority should make decisions on behalf of the people without their input. This, in reference to security, explains why collaborative approaches are necessary, but for this to happen, that gap between the government and the people should be closed through purposeful leadership initiatives.

One of the recommendations in the communique issued was the need to “Protect and Encourage Citizen Participation” by instituting “Appropriate action that strengthens the mechanism to protect citizens who provide credible security information and to encourage responsible citizen participation in community security and early warning.” As a newspaper, this recommendation is something that should be institutionalised at the ward and local government levels. This is on the heels tof the fact hat insecurity manifests more in rural areas than urban centres.

This is one of the takeaways of the regional security summit and a key lesson for our policymakers to learn from. Another takeaway was that “Security responses should be complemented by sustained interventions addressing the political, social, and economic drivers of insecurity, including dialogue, strategic communication, youth empowerment, peacebuilding, and economic inclusion.” The social and economic drivers of insecurity are sometimes man-made. For example, a communal land feud among communities could escalate into a full-fledged war that could threaten peace and security in a state. This is why early warning detection is very critical.

It is the position of this newspaper that the regional security townhall initiative deployed by the Ministry of Defence is a laudable one that holds the prospect of fulfilling a critical gap in community participation in the business of security across the country. However, this can be achieved when the political class elects to take responsibility by honouring the social contract they entered into with the people to provide security of lives and property and also to ensure the unlocking of development potential.

This newspaper admits that in Nigeria, recommendations and implementations of government policies are mostly politicised, but it is hoped that this regional security initiative is taken beyond words into tangible and sustainable action plans that would not only address the security challenges in the country, but also add another layer to the security architecture of the country.

As highlighted in the communique, “sustainable security in the South East requires synergy, shared responsibility, trust, intelligence-driven responses, and sustained collaboration among government, security institutions, and citizens.” This newspaper tasks the governors of the South East to identify and adopt the resolutions of the summit as a blueprint for sustainable peace and development.