Insecurity Affecting Our Retirement Plans, Diasporas Lament

The delicate insecurity in Nigeria as well as infiltration of illegal aliens, arms and ammunition, religious conflicts, politically based violence, economic-based violence, were central to stakeholders’ submissions at a Diaspora conversation held over the weekend virtually.

The webinar organized by Naija Times had in attendance, Mr. Femi Oyawale, President of, National Association of Online Security Reporters (NAOSRE), Toju Ogbe, Communications Strategist. 

The Security conference drew discussants from London, Canada, United States, and other countries in the world.

In his opening remarks, the convener Ehi Braimah noted that it was the publication’s maiden conference that aims to re-examine Nigeria’s security challenges and offers implementable solutions for a safer country.

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Titled ‘Nigeria’s Security Challenges And The Way Forward,’ discussants admitted that the country is gravitating towards a failed state as a result of downward curves of economic indexes and food shortage arising from the debilitating activities of kidnappers, armed robbers, and of course, insurgents. 

Toju Ogbe, a London-based Communication strategist highlighted causes of insecurity in Nigeria which, according to him,  includes improper training of security personnel, inadequate funding, and lack of political will to deal decisively with perpetrators and insurgents.

Ogbe lamented that the negative impacts of insecurity are affecting economic growth.

Specifically, Ogbe disclosed that Nigeria’s unsafe environment is discouraging Diasporas from investing at home.

He maintained that he has refused to heed his sister’s advice on the important need to build a home in Nigeria saying it would not translate to any tangible gain when citizens build homes they cannot safely live in.

“For those of us in the Diaspora, we always look forward to a time when we would get old and relocate home to spend the rest of our lives peacefully in our country. But that retirement plan doesn’t exist anymore because how does one retire into an unsafe environment at old age?

“That principally accounts for Diasporas’ delay in building houses at home which has eroded enormous economic advantages of generating employment.

“The consequence of the growing insecurity is that Diasporas are being disconnected from home. I know of some who have sworn never to go back to Nigeria because of their bitter experiences,” he stated.

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Various speakers and other discussants who added voices to the growing insecurity in Nigeria commented that Nigeria may not remain the favoured destination for Foreign Direct Investment inflows into Africa.

Some pointed lack of commitment, insincerity, and complicity of highly placed individuals as reasons that have hampered the fight against Boko Haram, a development that devalues Nigeria as the leading economic heavyweight on the continent.

As a remedy, Braimah noted that the current anxiety can be overcome if leaders across strata collaborate to tackle insurgency.

He called on security agents to up their game in wholesale intelligence gathering and urged the government to re-assess its security policies and deploy innovative strategies to check the menace.