If we are to turn Nigeria into the secure investment haven required to grow the economy, we need a massive overhaul of our security structure

Ayo Akinfe

[1] First of all, no nation can prosper without peace. With all these kidnappings, armed robberies, communal attacks, acts of banditry, etc, Nigeria will always scare some investors away

[2] I do not think we realise how badly we need foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria but by my calculations, we need to attract about $100bn annually

[3] Now, if we are seriously going to woo global investors the way say China, India and Brazil has, we need to update our security arrangements significantly. Foreigners visiting Nigeria need to know that they are safe and will not be abducted

[4] As things stand, we are still using the military structure put in place by our former colonial masters. Britain built the Nigerian Army to be like theirs, with its primary role being that of combating external attacks

[5] This is a classic case of the one cap fits all theory being mid-applied. As we all know, over 90% of Nigeria’s security challenges are internal, so our military structure and strategy needs to reflect that

[6] Nigeria is not 19th century Britain that was fighting endless wars with its neighbours France, Germany, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Spain, etc. We are never going to face say Ghana, Ivory Coast or Cameroon in the trenches as always happened in Europe

[7] Likewise, the Nigerian Navy is never going to have fight Battles of Trafalgar like Horatio Nelson in search of dominance of the high seas. Our naval challenges are crude oil and gun smuggling through the Niger Delta

[8] As was the case with the Old Roman Empire, most of our conflicts are between component parts of the federation. Our military needs to be reorganised so it can be deployed immediately there is any insecurity within Nigeria

[9] For starters, we need a coordinating minister of security, who will oversee the ministries of defence, internal affairs and police. He should be able to deploy any of our security forces to any part of the country to play any role that is required at a moments notice

[10] New security units we probably need to launch include - Nigerian Coastal Guard, Nigerian Border Guard, Nigerian Investor Guard and the Nigerian Anti-Kidnapping Guard

ayoakinfe@gmail.com