The federal government has been urged to overhaul Nigeria’s security architecture, stressing the need for a coordinated response beyond the conventional deployment of military and police personnel.

Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ado-Ekiti, now Ekiti State University (EKSU), Professor Dipo Kolawole, who made the call canvassed the development of a national strategic defence doctrine and the establishment of a National Security Policy Development Team.

Kolawole said such must be done in addition with the increased recruitment into the armed forces, police and other security agencies as part of measures to restore peace and strengthen national cohesion.

The political scientist spoke in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital ,while delivering a lecture titled: “The Paradox of Nationhood: The Struggle for Reinventing Nigeria’s Security Architecture” at the second edition of the Joel Babatola Annual Lecture, organised by the Board of Trustees, Ekiti Council of Elders.

The academician who posited that artificial intelligence was rapidly transforming the global security environment, creating opportunities for development as well as new vulnerabilities also decried that corruption, political interference, elite collaboration and institutional rivalry are undermining efforts to combat insecurity across the country.

Kolawole expressed the view that Nigeria’s persistent security challenges were not merely the consequence of inadequate military capacity but also reflected deeper structural problems associated with leadership failures, weak accountability, poverty, corruption and the country’s incomplete journey towards nationhood.

He maintained that the prevailing security arrangement, in which the Armed Forces, intelligence services, police and other security institutions operate largely in separate structures, had weakened intelligence sharing, coordination and operational effectiveness.

Kolawole added that Nigeria needed an integrated security system capable of harmonising the activities of security agencies, improving threat assessment and eliminating the destructive rivalry among institutions responsible for protecting the country.

On the emerging technological threats, he noted that sophisticated technological tools could be exploited by hackers and criminal networks to compromise financial institutions, disrupt aviation operations and undermine public safety.

The professor called for a global regulatory framework for artificial intelligence and data centres, arguing that the implications of advanced technology transcended national boundaries and required international cooperation.

According to him, “The continued incidences of crime and criminality in Nigeria impose a duty on us to surgically examine the underlining causes and proffer solutions. Yet corruption is a serious enabler of insecurity.

“Nigeria needs something more to integrate the various components to function as one. Nigeria needs to immediately develop an overeaching strategic doctrine.

“It must be a think-tank made up of the best and brightest security policy talents. It must be a non-political assemblage drawing membership strictly from technical areas of competence.

“It must be understood that security matters are not about or should not be about partisan political issues. Nigeria with an estimated population of over 200 million needs a considerable increase in the police force, armed forces and other para-military security outfits.

“Finally, we must reinvent, restructure and reenergise the security architecture of the Nigerian State in order to insure and assure the security of its citizenry. This must be done quickly, meaningfully and effectively”.

In his address, Governor Biodun Oyebanji commended the Ekiti Council of Elders for celebrating the legacy of Late Joel Babatola, whom he described as one of the frontrunners who sacrificed for the growth and development of Ekiti State.

Governor Oyebanji, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Professor Azeez Akeem said Ekiti’s investment in security had yielded remarkable results, citing its ranking as Nigeria’s safest state in the SBM Intelligence security report for the second quarter of 2025.

The Governor further disclosed that the administration of President Bola Tinubu had demonstrated strong commitment to Ekiti’s security through various interventions, including the construction of a 900-unit Army barracks in Ikere-Ekiti, which he said was 95 per cent completed within three years.

He assured residents that the Oyebanji administration would continue to provide the necessary security infrastructure, while urging communities to sustain the provision of timely intelligence and vigilance to complement government efforts.

Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ekiti Council of Elders, Olufemi Adewumi, said Nigeria’s security challenges and fragile national unity, fuelled by mutual distrust, religious differences and ethnic divisions, made the need for responsible leadership more urgent.

Adewumi said the council, comprising individuals of high integrity and unblemished patriotism, was committed to rescuing the country from its present challenges and defending national unity, in honour of the sacrifices of past heroes, including Chief Joel Eyinafe Babatola, a revered national figure of Ekiti extraction.

He explained that the annual lecture was conceived to inspire contemporary leaders to draw lessons from Babatola’s exemplary life of selfless service, honesty, forthrightness and responsive and responsible leadership, stressing that his legacy remained a compelling model for rebuilding public confidence and strengthening the nation’s democratic institutions.