At the 17th Security Watch Africa Initiative, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Emmanuel Udom posited that the panacea for insecurity is ‘Sustaining Security in Africa through Good Governance’. Elucidating, he shared the Akwa Ibom experience. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports
“Economic security is the best foundation for human security. The best way to stop crime is to beef up the economy, where people can make a decent living from honest means.”
The above statement was made by Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Emmanuel Udom in his lecture at the recently held 17th Security Watch Africa Initiative (SWAI) annual conference and award ceremony at the Sir Dawda Jawara International Conference Centre, Banjul, The Gambia, the smiling coast of Africa.
Held from November 9–11, 2022, the theme of this year’s conference was “Post-COVID-19: Sustaining Security in Africa.”
Import of Good Governance
In his lecture titled “Sustaining Security in Africa Through Good Governance: Panacea Against Insecurity,” Governor Edom said: “Societies can only fly to freedom on the twin wings of security and good governance.
“Good governance, according to the Council of Europe, is the responsible conduct of public affairs and management of public resources. The Council holds that twelve principles underpin good governance.
“These are: fair conduct of elections, representation, and participation; responsiveness; efficiency and effectiveness; openness and transparency; rule of law; ethical conduct; competence and capacity; innovation and openness to change; sustainability and long-term orientation; sound financial management; human rights, culture, diversity, and social cohesion; and accountability”, the governor said.
In the same vein, quoting the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the governor stated that governance is the provision of political, social, and economic public goods and services that all citizens rightfully expect from their government and that a government responsibly delivers to its citizens.
Expatiating, he said two things should guide an honest assessment of our political situation- “a consideration of both our inner scorecard and our outer scorecard”.
Good Governance Template
He added that with respect to our inner scorecard, “the Ibrahim Index of Good Governance provides us with a template.
“The key assessment areas of this template are security and the rule of law; participation, rights, and inclusion; foundations for economic opportunity; and human development.
“When subjected to this test, most African countries perform very poorly. Our outer score card which has to do with how the world sees us is not any better.”
Eradicating Poverty, Promoting Development
According to Udom, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan once rightly said that “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development.”
He further posited that “it should be noted that affluent societies do not have security challenges like poor societies do. To eradicate or tame the hydra-headed monster of insecurity, we need to eradicate and tame poverty through good governance.
“Therefore, addressing the issue of poverty is not just a matter of doing the right thing – it is a matter of meeting an obligation to ensure security at home and abroad. “
Africa’s Importance in Global Security
Emphasising Africa’s importance in global security, which he said cannot be overstressed, African countries represent about sixteen percent of the world’s population.
He said: “African countries currently hold the second-largest number of seats in the United Nations Security Council. Africa has the largest, most unified bloc in the United Nations General Assembly.
“So, the world cannot afford to ignore Africa but we do not have a veto vote at both the Security Council and general council. At the same time, Africa should look inwards.
“We still have some distance to cover. Many African countries are yet to undertake the kind of reforms that would checkmate abuse of power, stop corruption, and reverse economic decline.
“The Nigerian case is worth a second glance. When the world made the transition from cash transactions to wire transactions through credit cards and wire transfers, Nigeria witnessed an upsurge in insecurity.
“Hoodlums who were involved in armed robbery discovered that people no longer kept money at home, so they resorted to kidnapping for ransom.
“Kidnapping seemed to favor them more as they could negotiate the ransom based on the presumed economic strength of their victim. Kidnapping also became a tool used by some politicians for political advantages.”
Understanding the Nexus Between Security and Governance the Akwa Ibom Example
Depsite the insecurity in Nigeria, Governor Udom vowed to do something different. And upon assumption of office, he set out to minimise poverty by ensuring good governance.
“It was in this mix that I assumed office as the governor of Akwa Ibom State. It should be noted that though governors are said to be the chief security officers of their states in Nigeria, they do not control the security architecture in their states.
“But I understood the nexus between security and good governance and that minimizing poverty would also minimize insecurity. With the cooperation of the law enforcement agencies, we designed rapid response strategies to curb insecurity.
“Our plan was actually twofold: one, we had zero tolerance for security breaches and we put top-notch security equipment in place to take care of this; and two, we provided good governance underpinned by poverty-reduction strategies designed particularly for youths.
“We also saw the need to reduce the level of unemployment in the state through the establishment of industries. So far we have established no less than 20 new industries in the state since my assumption of office.
“We have also embarked on reforms and innovations in the area of agriculture and introduced our people to the cultivation of economically viable crops which hitherto, were thought impossible in our clime.
“As a result, a good number of our youths have keyed into this vision and are now making a decent living through agriculture.”
Human Capacity Development
Not done, the governor also set out to develop human capacity. On this he said: “Our human capacity development efforts are also mainly targeted towards the youthful population, who not only form the bulk of our populace, but are also the ones most susceptible to restiveness and crime that can precipitate a lot of insecurity.
“We have designed and are implementing schemes that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, and we have also invested in helping small and medium scale enterprises to thrive.
“Through these different programmes, over 5,000 of our youths have benefited directly from interventions and facilities provided by the government to help them improve their businesses and economic circumstances.
“This has certainly contributed in no small measure to the progress we have made in the area of development and security.”
Refocusing Strategy to Ensure Security in the State
Positing that the situation now is that though the country was enmeshed in this insecurity at the said time, he said: ” we were able to refocus our strategies and today our state has emerged as the safest state in Nigeria.
“We succeeded because we entrenched mechanisms to promote constitutionalism, rule of law, accountability, democracy, and good governance in order to achieve our development goals.
“We created strategic engagements with all segments of the state population. We made it clear that injury to one is an injury to all. When any Akwa Ibom man or woman bleeds, we all bleed.
“So we operate with the consciousness that insecurity anywhere is a threat to security everywhere. And why would a youth who stands to be employed in a lucrative job, or who can key into the numerous avenues created by government for him to earn an honest living, undertake the risky venture of embracing or promoting insecurity?
“It is commonly agreed that the components of Security Management are Protection, Detection, Verification and Reaction. On all these, our state, Akwa Ibom is performing far above average and we can share our experience with others.
“African Countries must take protection and detection very seriously because if insecurity is curbed at this level, then most countries in Africa will not be crisis ridden. We must deal squarely with these issues both in Nigeria and Africa.
“Of course it is obvious that any destabilising occurrence in Nigeria leading to a mass movement of their citizens will not only mount pressure on the continent, but on the entire world.
“It is my hope that as stakeholders in the African project, we can continue to preach the gospel of good governance so as to contain our security challenges. After all, the primary duty of any government is the safety and security of its citizens.
“Akwa Ibom State where I come from and which I am opportune to lead at this time has provided a template. Indeed it is not yet uhuru, but I believe we have certainly made enough progress as to be a model for other parts of the continent as it is an undeniable fact that good governance remains the only panacea for insecurity.”
Way Forward
In conclusion, he posited that Africa cannot achieve the growth we desire through investment until we fix the problem of insecurity, because money is a coward.
Hopelessness is the highest causative factor for crime, he opined, thus followership must take ownership of governance. He also added that African countries need to stop adapting exogenous constitutions.
“We need home grown democratic styles that reflect our environment and culture. Until that is done, democracy cannot sustainably thrive here.
“African leaders must not rely on cash for development, they must learn to create money for development. Without development, insecurity will become the norm.
“I believe that when criminals become tough, leaders must become tougher and smarter. Until leaders outsmart and overpower criminal elements, security will not be achieved,” he added.
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I understood the nexus between security and good governance and that minimizing poverty would also minimize insecurity. With the cooperation of the law enforcement agencies, we designed rapid response strategies to curb insecurity
Captions
Governor Udom with the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (CFR) at the lecture
Governor Udom delivering his lecture
CEO SWAI, Mr. Patrick Agbambu; Commissioner for information, Awka Ibom, In Ememobong and Governor Udom
