By Adoyi Onoja

Introduction

The time has come to retire ‘security’ in the image of the military and begin the construction of security in the image of civilian and civil rule in Nigeria.

Arguably, the solution to Nigeria’s myriad of problems can be captured in one word: SECURITY.

In the same vein, the major and primary problem of Nigeria since independence and beginning with the 1999 Republic is the inability of successive governments to deliver “SECURITY” to most if not all Nigerians.

There are two securities identified in the two statements so far. The first is security, and the second is “security” .

The first security is taken from the philosophy or nature, meaning, and purpose of security. This philosophy is enshrined in the etymologies of security and in the circum- stances that produce security. The Latin etymologies for security are “securus” and “securitas” and the English etymology for security is “secure”. They mean “free from care”, “something which secure or condition of being secure” and “feeling no apprehension”.

The security theories and practices of all over the world arose from these etymologies. Of these securities, there are two popular genres. They are European type called security and the United States of America type called national security. The former designated the European perspective of security, which is arguably the founding perspective of security in the world. The latter, taken from the former, carries the American stamp. The concept of national security is the handiwork of the legislation called the National Security Act of 1947. The European and American security types, for reasons of colonialism and globalisation, are cloned, copied, and replicated in most other countries’ security.

The second is “security ”. The quotation mark is used to designate and distinguish this “security ” from the first type of security. This is because it is used to designate and describe the Nigeria type, which lacks foundation in Nigeria’s philosophy, legislation, and policy.

“Security” comes with two perspectives. The first perspective is security’s use as a noun or name. The second perspective is as verb or work. “Security” designates the name and work of the executive agencies of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement (MILE) in Nigeria. This received wisdom was the product of military rule and military rule’s reading of the Cold War environment. The relationship be- tween “security” and security is thin. Nigeria’s “security ” embraced the founding philosophy of security on the one hand and strictly domesticated this in the work of the agencies of the MILE and nothing else.

Of the European security/ America’s national security and “security ”, the former embraces every issue of human being and being human and seek security by combining domestic, foreign and de- fence policies to attain security wherever in the world. For European, the United States and most developed and discerning developing countries (D&DDC), the bulk of what free them from care, provide them with something which secure or condition of being secure and free them from feeling no apprehension comes from their forage beyond their borders into the different parts of the world and taking into cognisance their historical and political heritage. These explained the symbiotic relationship of foreign and de- fence policies in the making of security for these countries.

The Nigeria type copy this dimension when the reality is that it is singularly focused on the work of defence, intelligence and law enforcement agencies within Nigeria and pretend to embrace dimension of externality into Nigeria’s “security”. Nigeria has been unable to distinguish security and defence in their affairs. While the Europe, America and D&DDC sees security as FOREST with different trees whose health and wellbeing determine the health of the FOREST, Nigeria sees “security” as just few TREES made up of defence, intelligence and law enforcement whose health and wellbeing constitute “security”.

‘Security’ in the Image of Military and Military Rule

Arguably this perspective of “security” is the product of military rule and military rule’s narrow perception of the received wisdom of the international practice of security particularly during the Cold War and in the post-Cold War fluid and changing world orders. Thus Nigeria’s “security ” was constructed in the IMAGE of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement whose roles constitute the trees of defence, intelligence, and law enforcement. In the hierarchy of security needs, the defence, intelligence and law enforcement trees should be the least of the trees in the security forest assuming other trees such as family, school, morality, religion, economy, employment, opportunity, infrastructures, recreation etc. works within the security forest.

It is the failure to construct a security forest that enables most if not all the trees to work in the short, medium and long term to unleash opportunities for most Nigerians that created the chance for the military, intelligence and law enforcement trees with the lethal power to intimidate Nigerians including the political class and to seize political power. Military rule is an abnormal rule type. Military rule is prohibited by the constitution.

From early on at independence, Nigerians endured this rule type not because they are better than the civil rule type. Nigerians endured this rule type because the military possessed guns with which they used to intimidate and silenced Nigerians. The guns are their only

claim to security. In its illegal and illegitimate state, military rule is a crisis government and its construct of “security” is solely informed by its constitutionally assigned professional role of defence and the crisis it seize political power to quench.

The military and military rule enabling environment socialised and educated most Nigerians on “security”. Most Nigerians’ security education came from the practice of the military, intelligence and law enforcement in the course of the domination of governance by the military and consequent on the continuation of this “security” practice under civil rule of the last twenty-four years. Thus “security ”, for most Nigerians, is the name and work of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement. Period! The association of security with any other agency does not sell for most Nigerians. Indeed, of the armed bearing agencies of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement, most Nigerians believed the military, and within this, the army is better capable of dispensing “security”.

This enabling environment has been recreated in the civil rule underway beginning in 1999. This rule type was jump- started by a retired military officer, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Of all the presidents that served in the Fourth Republic prior to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and in fairness, only Chief Obasanjo manifested the understanding of security as forest. Under his watch, he adopted what he called the Grand National Security Strategy, which embraced lots of the trees in the security forest and sought to religiously monitor their health and wellbeing. The military, intelligence, and law enforcement were not featured as priority as was the case with his successors.

After his presidency, other presidents returned security to its default setting of “security”. They did not bother to look at security as a new idea re- quiring fresh construct under civil rule governance and constitution in order to engender the governance of persons and institutions. From 2007 onward, “security” returned in what I called the political economy of “security”. In this political economy of “security”, the elected elites of the executives and legislatures and the elites of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement found accommodation for their interests using “security”.

For reason of self-preservation owing to their bitter experience under the military, elected members of the executives and legislatures acquiesced to the MILE’s management of “security”. They thus deny themselves the chance to re-invent the word under civil rule governance and under a truly “we the people” constitution or legislation.

The MILE “security ” FAILED glaringly and convincingly. This “security” continued to FAIL to free Nigerians from care and provide Nigerians with something that secure or condition of being secure and release Nigerians from feeling apprehension since the enthronement of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

* ONOJA is of Nasarawa State University, Keffi