Security Management And The Exception In Northeast

By Zayyad Muhammad

At its 8th meeting held in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, on September 9, 2023, the Northeast Governors’ Forum expressed its concern about the new dimension of growing banditry in Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba states as a result of the concerted efforts of the military bandits from other parts of the country. The governors called on the federal government to intervene. With this new development, it’s obvious to say that Adamawa State is doing well among the six states in the northeast sub-region in the area of internal security. How did the state achieve that? Through planning and strategies or just sheer luck?

The Adamawa state government has employed three approaches. First, it looked at the areas affected by Boko Haram’s senseless insurgency, and then  developed excellent and feasible post-war programmes and projects with a comprehensive implementation strategy that fast-tracked the healing of the  scars. The government restored basic infrastructure and local economies, returning the affected communities to their peaceful and productive pre-war status. A simple example is the bubbling economic activities in townships like Mubi, Michika, and Madagali. Secondly, after the restoration of basic infrastructure and integration of the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people, the government employed a quick rehabilitation of agricultural land, places of worship, health centres, bridges, and schools, including the creation of productive employment for the teeming unemployed citizens, especially young people and women.

Over the years, most developmental efforts in many states laid emphasis on urban development at the expense of rural development, which has led to a substantial rise in inequality among Nigerians—inequalities beget insecurity. What governor Fintiri did was balance urbanisation and rural areas’ needs while the  state capital, Yola, is gradually being transformed into a working city that accommodates all segments of society and provides basic and modern infrastructure, other local governments are getting what they ought to have in the areas of agriculture, basic electricity, healthcare, and human development. What the government did was equate each community’s basic infrastructure needs with youth employment needs to curtail crime. For example, when the notorious Shila Boys re-emerged, the government used a soft and hard approach: the government provided young people with cash grants, loans, and training on new skills through the Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation Agency (PAWECA) and the Adamawa State Social Support Programme (ADSSSP). While those who refused to change their ways were dealt with the hard way by law enforcement agents. Another approach that helped the state  to sustain the success recorded in its internal security management is that the government reinforced its more knowledge-based approach bringing on board some technocrats who are well-read and have been through the mills in their respective fields.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), community security seeks to operationalise human security, human development, and state-building paradigms at the local level. This is the concept Adamawa has succeeded in using to douse tension due to farmer-herder conflict in some communities. However, there is a theory that says no one can experience perfect security because individuals or states are not perfectly secure or completely insecure, but the model of community engagement, local people’s parley, and provision of basic needs has helped curtail farmer-herder conflicts, peaceful co-existence, youth restlessness, assurance of safety, absence of fear, etc. within the state. The Adamawa model of internal security management is working; other states in the northeast sub-region can take a cue from  it.

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–  Muhammad, writes from Abuja