FG: Prosperity Without Security is House Built on Shifting Sands

• Tasks private sector on strengthening national security 

•LCCI: insecurity now measurable economic burden in Nigeria

Dike Onwuamaeze

The federal government said Thursday private businesses and organisations should join hands in strengthening the country’s security system because prosperity without security was a house built on shifting sands.

Relatedly, President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Leye Kupoluyi, stated that insecurity had become a measurable economic burden in Nigeria and a macroeconomic variable that directly shaped growth outcomes.

The government made the call in Lagos in a goodwill message delivered by Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Dr. Tope Fasua, who represented Vice President Kashim Shettima at the “2026 LCCI Security Meets Business Dialogue Series.”

Fasua said, “We are gathered today at a pivotal junction in our history. We have seen that in recent global economic forecast that Nigeria has been earmarked as a top contributor to global growth.

“But any student of entrepreneurship in this room will tell you that prosperity without security is a house built on shifting sands.

“Economic history is replete with wreckages of nations that mastered their weaknesses in trade but not the grammar of security.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a man whose DNA is intertwined with the complexities of both commerce and governance and understands that the vital noise of the market place can only be sustained by the silent vigilant guardianship of state.”

He said Tinubu was convinced that security was not a standalone sector but the prerequisite for every other sector.

Fasua added, “We cannot talk about the African Continental Free Trade Area if our highways are contested; we cannot speak of digital Nigeria if our servers are under siege.”

He said Tinubu had moved Nigeria from a doctrine of containment to a doctrine of pre-emption, adding that the recent appointment of the new Inspector General of Police (IGP) is a testament to this shift.

Fasua stated, “The appointment was not based on traditional dictates of turn-by-turn but on a serious assessment of strategic competence and the ability to lead a 21st century police force that is data driven and community aligned.” 

He said the most significant development in Nigeria’s recent security discourse was Mr. President’s clarion call to the National Assembly to consider the constitutional framework for state policing.

According to him, “For too long we have operated a centralised policing model in a decentralised federal reality.

“The atavistic adherence to unitary security structure has left our local communities and businesses vulnerable.

“State policing is not an invitation to regional fragmentation. It is an invitation to regional responsibility. It is about creating a multi-layered shield where the federal, state and local forces operate in a symphony of intelligence and action.”

He explained that Nigeria’s current collaboration with the United States’ forces was not about surrender of sovereignty but sharing of strength.  

Fasua said, “Our partnership with Washington is hinged on capacity building. 

“This synergy ensures that Nigeria’s forces are equipped with the best tools to protect both our domestic and foreign investments.

“Mr. President is keenly aware that the invisible hands of the market need the visible hands of security to function. 

“However, the government cannot do this alone. The LCCI should move from being security consumers to being security co-producers. 

“We need your data. The private sector controls vast amount of surveillance and logistical data. We must create a framework where private security data can be fed into the national security grid to ensure faster responses to threats.”

Speaking at the event, Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, represented by Director, Veterans Affairs Division, Defence Head Quarters, Major-General O.D. Williams, said, “Market flourishes where stability exists and investments flow to where security is assured while innovation thrives where people feel safe to take risks.”       

In his presentation, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, represented by Chief Staff Officer of Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Nnamdi C. Ekwom, said no development could take place where insecurity thrived.

He said, “Therefore, security is a very serious business. It is a shared national responsibility involving government institutions and private enterprises and organisation.

“Therefore, business owners are strategic partners in building the necessary resilience we require for our economy and nation to thrive.”

Kupoluyi, said in his welcome remarks that “no economy can outperform its security architecture”.

He stated, “Investors evaluate not only fiscal policies and market size, but also the predictability of the security environment. Insurance costs, logistics pricing, tourism flows, and even digital trade are influenced by how safe a country is perceived to be.”

Kupoluyi added, “In Nigeria, insecurity has become a measurable economic burden, distorting production patterns, discouraging long-term capital, and weakening consumer confidence.”

According to him, security is “a macroeconomic variable that directly shapes growth outcomes.

“We need a structured public–private collaboration that can transform security from an isolated government function into a shared national responsibility.”