Alaafin says insecurity requires innovative solutions

The Alaafin of Oyo, Akeem Owoade, has called for innovative and context-specific approaches to addressing Nigeria’s security challenges, stressing that the country’s diverse threats require tailored solutions.

Speaking while receiving participants of Executive Intelligence Management Course 19 from the National Institute for Security Studies at his palace in Oyo, the monarch said tackling insecurity demands a deep understanding of local dynamics and a multidimensional national strategy.

He noted that Nigeria’s security issues extend beyond insurgency, highlighting the need to distinguish between different threats and their socio-geographic contexts in order to design effective responses.

Owoade emphasised the importance of an integrated security framework that goes beyond military action to include improved access to government services, social development, and job creation. He added that strengthening access to justice is critical in mitigating conflicts and easing tensions between communities and authorities.

The monarch also stressed the need for security agencies to respect and enforce court rulings, warning that disregard for judicial decisions undermines the rule of law and can escalate tensions.

On operational challenges, he pointed to the recurring difficulty of sustaining security presence in volatile areas. While security forces may clear criminal or militant groups, he said failure to maintain control often allows such groups to regroup and resume activities, leaving communities vulnerable.

Owoade further described ethnic militias as a major threat to democracy, noting that they weaken state authority, erode national unity, and destabilise political and economic systems. Although such groups may emerge from grievances or institutional failures, he warned that they often devolve into violent criminal networks involved in kidnapping, killings, and infrastructure destruction.

He concluded that Nigeria’s largely domestic security challenges require active citizen participation, stressing that cooperation between the public and authorities remains essential for sustainable peace.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Halima Ibrahim, said the visit was part of efforts to draw insights from the monarch on ethnic militias and their implications for national development.