The Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Bamitale Omole has pleaded with historians to make recommendations on the right institutional and policy strategy to help improve on the state of security in the country.
Delivering an address at the Conference of the Department of History and the Network of Nigerian Historians on the theme: “Nigeria and Security Challenges,” held at the university’s Conference Centre, Prof. Omole urged historians to dwell less on the obvious facts of security challenges in all parts of the country because, according to him, they are already well presented in the press. He added that they should pay more attention to what the lessons of history can offer in ameliorating the country’s current security problems.
Continuing, he said that the security problems and the huge resources invested in solving them are, perhaps, some of the most daunting challenges that any state built on the foundations of personal freedom and egalitarianism can ever have.
He said the conference was in tandem with the long-established traditions of the Department of History since the days of one of the country’s most celebrated icons, Isaac Adeagbo Akinjogbin (Professor Emeritus of History), to identify, interrogate and confront head on, some of the most topical issues in nation-building in Africa.
He said: “In fact, the first inaugural lecture that came from the Department and which was delivered by. Prof. Akinjogbin in this hall on November 28, 1977, was entitled: “History and Nation Building.”
“This testifies the character of such long-established traditions and the tenor of scholarship in our Department of History.
“The significance of security in nation-building is further underscored by one of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Constitution, in its section 14 sub-section 2, paragraph (b) declares that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government…
“In other words, that fundamental law of Nigeria makes it imperative for the government to ensure that no other purpose of state should supersede the security of the people. That is why I take liberty to commend the organisers of this conference for attempting to intellectualise the most important purpose of government in Nigeria, security.”
Scholars, who spoke in turn at the conference organised by the Department of History, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in collaboration with the Network of Nigerian Historians, identified the need for social re-engineering, responsible and good governance, updating and total overhauling of the various security apparatus of the country as necessary tools for combating the security challenges which the country is experiencing.
They also agreed that, in the face of security threat occasioned by violent activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, policing and intelligence-gathering mechanism of the state are imperative to effective security operations.
They recommended the deployment of and effective use of modern technology in the provision of physical security.
The scholars also advised the government to address other forms of insecurities like food insecurity, environmental insecurity, including flooding and desertification, economic insecurity, socio-religious insecurity among several others.
Advocating a brain-bank in the country for the articulation of all the various researches and knowledge-production of the country, the conference concluded that henceforth, intellectuals should begin to stand up for the actualisation of their discoveries.
In the first keynote address entitled “History in Security and Security in History,” Dr. Abiodun Alao from King’s College University of London, provided a comparative appraisal of nationhood and security challenges.
In his analysis, he traced the root cause of national insecurity in Africa to the European penetration of Africa.
Also, Prof. Isaac Olawale Albert of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, in his second keynote address entitled: “Nigeria’s Security Challenges in Historical Perspectives,” argued that Nigeria’s security problems are diverse, putting the greater blame on the masses.
Albert, who identified the inadequacies of historians in addressing the problem, also emphasised the problem of historiography in addressing issues in Nigeria, saying despite the end of colonialism, African people still put the blame on colonialism.
According to the organisers, the purpose of the conference was to discuss the pressing state of security challenges in Nigeria, noting that the conference was organised to identify the problems and ways to address them.
The conference attracted scholars from different academic backgrounds both nationally and internationally.
