Dr. Femi Afolabi Peters, UK-trained security consultant, Ibadan
It will be uncharitable and misrepresentation of fact to imply that Nigeria’s security architecture has failed woefully in the face of seemingly intractable challenges to the nation.

It behooves the present political leadership to return to the drawing board as a matter of security emergency and overhaul the existing obsolete and grossly ineffective strategy.

It is obvious even to the blind that our security agencies are overwhelmed by serious crime typologies like cross-border banditry, kidnapping, arm robbery, and bloodletting acts of terrorism. This situation calls for urgent and sincere stakeholders’ rapprochement, lest we find ourselves in dire security straits

Hon. Lanre Jaji, Political analyst, Abeokuta

Government must beef up security, through road, water and aerial patrol. Nigeria’s security architecture needs to change its tactics. They need to be more tactical.

They should be more vigilant. The idea of the criminal investigations department of those days should be reintroduced and empowered.

The police and other security agencies should be retrained and reoriented to fit into the modern way of policing and securing the country.

If the service chiefs will not change their old ways of securing the country, they should be removed while young ones with brilliant ideas should be deployed.

Chief Michael Okocha MD, Mikeoch Chemicals Ltd, Abeokuta

The crime situation in the country has overwhelmed the police and it will continue to be so until the present set of police chiefs are shown the way out. I have never seen any administration in the history of Nigeria that toys with the issue of security as we currently have now.

Also, I am also of the opinion that the country should be restructured appropriately. The police as currently structured have failed the country and cannot fight crime and criminality again. Each restructured area of the country would organize its security.

Mrs. Sarah Agadah, Teacher, Benin

We are praying that the government will use the huge sums of money voted monthly as a security vote to employ qualified persons as policemen, pay them good salaries and get them the very latest security equipment that is used to prevent and detect crimes all over the world.

Government should be more proactive and look at how the rest of the world is dealing with insecurity, banditry and so on.

It is beyond the police, they are overstretched and lack the needed personnel, equipment and funds to do the needful.

Dr Eucharia Dibia, Activist, Benin

The crimes – kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, etc ongoing in all parts of the country are signs that ours is a failed society. The politicians have put the national treasury in their agbada while the rest of the citizens watch helplessly.

The past few months have been sad for Nigeria because all over the country criminals appear to be on the rampage.

Justice Olukayode Ariwoola expected to be sworn-in as CJN

Steve Eguaogie, Lawyer, Benin

It has become very difficult to differentiate between criminals and the innocent in Nigeria because the so-called criminals are engaged in banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping just like the politicians who were elected to make things better for all are looting the treasury and going to courts to stop their trials.

The Police are poorly paid while the politicians budget for security votes which they steal. Many policemen sew their uniforms. They are poorly trained. With the level of crime in Nigeria, policing should be a course in our Universities and polytechnics.

The present system of giving emergency training to a few persons to join the Police will not help them do the job of a lifetime. My take is that the criminality, the robbery, the kidnapping and the looting of our Commonwealth are one and the same.

Citizens are helping themselves to survive.

The way forward is for the government to train the policemen properly.

A Colonel in the Nigerian Army (name withheld)
The current security situation in this country today should be blamed on the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force.

If the police leadership know what they are doing, these criminal elements will have long been taken away from the streets. The current Police leadership in this country should give way to those who know what to do. Honestly speaking, the Inspector General of Police has failed woefully.

Monday Ettisong Isong, a retired Naval Officer

Kidnapping and other forms of criminality can generally be traced to a state of hopelessness of the youths in the face of plenty. However, all security agents should be well kitted and trained regularly with up-to-date remuneration.

Joint Muslim ticket’ll be insensitive at this time – Iduoriyekemwen

Joe Jackso, National president, Niger Delta Youth Movement

Our government should take the issue of these deadly crimes with the seriousness it deserves. When the government and her agencies joke with the issue of security then everyone, I mean everybody ultimately becomes victims.

Dr. Abubakar Umar, Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina

The levels of implementation of government policies and projects are a major hindrance to its initiatives to curb insecurity in the country.

Government should also try to educate Nigerians and ensure they are self-employed or engaged in public service. Enlightened citizens can separate right from wrong and when they are gainfully employed, they will hardly resort to killings, banditry and kidnappings, among others.

Abdulfatai Bimbo Yusuf, Former Senior Special Assistant on Inter-community Relations (South-West) to Gov. Ganduje

The insecurity issue is indeed a problem confronting and threatening all Nigerians; hence it is a national crisis requiring the prime attention of all well- meaning Nigerians.