PARTICIPANTS at a three-day conference on “Security sector and conflict management in Nigeria” have identified faulty formation of the Nigerian state and the haphazard operations of the Federal Government, coupled with corruption, as part of the factors responsible for insecurity in the country.

The participants also noted that, the endemic nature assumed by insecurity and violence in Nigeria were due to connection between the grass roots and the security sector.

This was part of the communiqué issued at the end of the conference organised by the Peace and Conflict Studies Department, the University of Ibadan, in collaboration with the IFRA-Nigeria, as part of the activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Institute of African Studies, the University of Ibadan.

The over 200 peace scholars, practitioners, policy makers, security personnel and researchers from Nigeria and South Africa, who converged at the premier university, specifically identified corruption as part of the causative factors.

In the communique signed by the Director, Institute of African Studies, Isaac Olawale Albert, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan, on Monday, it was posited by the experts that unethical practices in politics and governance were part of major failures of security strategies and reiterated that, “uncoordinated and unharmonised intelligence among security agencies often prevent neutrality and professionalism in the coverage of crises and security issues by the media.”

“Human security challenges, including poverty, hunger and unemployment make Nigeria citizens susceptible to crimes and criminality. Also, porous borders and xenophobia escalate conflicts and crises in Nigeria,” the experts noted.

As a way out, the participants emphasised the need for a virile, efficient and effective collaboration between the grass roots and security agencies, as that way, critical grass roots support will be achieved.

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