The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Engineer Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1, has advocated urgent need to integrate traditional institutions and native intelligence into the country’s National Counter-Terrorism Strategy as a necessary component of a holistic approach to address the country’s complex security challenges.
He also said unless and until development challenges are seriously addressed via
genuinely people-oriented development ethos and strategy, enduring optimum security is likely to continue to be elusive in the country.
Addressing combined security forces, comprising of the Police, Civil Defence Corps personnel, Amotekun, and some local security outfits put in place by the Monarch to to check infiltration of bandits in the villages and forests within the vicinity of the metropolis and Oke Ogun areas and flush them out, Alaafin stated that traditional rulers and native intelligence are crucial, yet often underutilized, assets in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts, primarily through community engagement and intelligence gathering.
According to him, “their deep local roots and implicit trust among the populace enable them to access information and foster cooperation that state security agencies often struggle to achieve.
“Traditional rulers are well-positioned at the grassroots level to gather “native intelligence” (human intelligence) on the entry and exit of unknown persons, suspicious activities, and potential threats.
“”Native intelligence complements formal intelligence mechanisms by providing crucial local context, knowledge of the terrain, and insight into local customs and nuances, which is vital for effective counter-terrorism operations””.
He pointed out that it is important for government to take holistic view on information gathering as a system for addressing insecurity, adding that it must take into consideration the need to harmonise the roles of law enforcement and
security agencies and the need to deploy technologies required for
identification of criminal suspect.
“Nigeria is not the only country facing security challenges today. The fundamental thing is how you deal with these challenges. We can sustain national security operations or options by using native intelligence gathering as a response to national security threat.
“The Old Oyo Empire lasted more than 600 years because of effective native internal security.
“Three quarter of the universe is in a state of unrest due to lack of effective internal security.
“Though the country is abundantly resourced and has progressively witnessed phenomenal growth over the years. lt is incontrovertible that there has been a patent increase in the manifestation of the absence of real development, in terms of the quality of social existence and of social relations of majority of the populace”.
Oba Owoade’s security-consciousness in ensuring safety of lives and properties of the people in his domain, and blending the traditional virtues of leadership with the practical skills of modern security management has been eliciting eulogies from elated residents who can now go to beds with their eyes closed.
Constantly aware of his surroundings and the broader geopolitical landscape, the Paramount Ruler has been proactive in identifying potential threats and take actions to mitigate risks through composition of a combined security forces.
The combined security forces is headed by the Oyo Area Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner , Olufemi Abaniwonda.
The combined security forces are not only properly equipped to handle any criminal onslaught, but engage in proactive planning and training to ward off banditry from villages, forests within Oyo metropolis and Oke Ogun areas.
According to cross section of residents interviewed, “our Paramount Ruler’s ability to quickly and effectively assess security situations, determine their legitimate threats, and make rational decisions on how to address them is a laudable and welcomed development to us
“This reinforces paramountcy of trust in Kabiyesi’s leadership role, as we see our Royal Father as truthful and sincere””.
Alaafin not only holds regular meetings with the special combined security forces, but get feedbacks on situation reports necessary for further strategies.
