Yes, Nigeria has had one "near" "emperor"- Sani Abacha. An aberrative apology to my likes, the "Khalifa" to some others. A man who was able to impose his severely challenged dreams and ambition on our nation, our bete noire really. So it isn’t the arch-typical "emperor" I’m inferring but a leader with the heart of an "emperor".

A leader truthfully willing to untie his hands, one willing to task himself with reforming Nigeria’s security sector to facilitate sustainable human security which is totally eroded in today’s Nigeria.

Agreed, that the topic of national security is a politically sensitive one, more so in an African context where there’s a constant effort to mystify rather than simplify the concept of security.

However, issues and challenges facing the Nigerian security sector are so pressing that these issues must be addressed as part of a grand national strategy firstly to facilitate sustainable human security thus facilitating national development and growth. Without reforming the Nigerian security sector, security, which is a required pre-condition for investment and sustainable growth even with so much capacity, is eroded (Alleged security concerns of one of the initial bidders for NITEL is a case in point)

It would be rhetorical to list incidents of threat or lawlessness especially as directly concerning Human Security. Not with months going by and the law enforcement agencies still clueless as to whom killed the former justice minister Bola Ige etc.

However, these are real issues we can’t ignore, except as is with Nigeria, there’s a totally different definition for security, which sometimes is the case in most New South countries.

I’m terming Smiths sacking challenged not in the sense that Smith was a prefect fit for the Inspector Generalship-really how many perfect fits do we have in public positions in Nigeria? Where merit and qualification has always been a non-factor in considering capacity for effectiveness and productivity and choices are made based on primordial whimsical considerations, sentiments and the constant need for ethno-political balancing all in negation of ethical and professional practices and developmental principles.

That Smith wasn’t the problem as head of a very strategic component of Nigeria’s security mechanism shouldn’t be in doubt to most informed and educated minds. That the real issue is with the "Security Superstructure" and rulerships perception of security to the very survival of the Nigerian state.

As I’ve maintained time and time again except in the case where the likes of Christopher Kolade are ideal fits, our rulership is mostly constituted of "old-thinks". Challenged minds totally disconnected from trends and development who have no clue of concept or application thus initiate faulty policy response initiatives.

The sacking of Smith and appointment of a new Inspector General won’t resolve the issue of national internal security. The challenges with Nigeria’s security sector as a whole is strategic-policy centered thus ad-hoc responses aren’t the solution.

It is true and I’ve argued that attributes transcend, maybe Smith’s sense of professionalism, competency, capacity for effectiveness, aura, presence or even carriage just wasn’t right for the Nigeria police force? Then again we have to question the judgement call of the person who appointed Smith in the first place. That becomes a moral issue as per what criterion was applied in appointing Smith or the current inspector General?

Unfortunately today, these negativity’s have become institutionalized and part of our cultural identity. Added to this, rulership has traditionally responded with ad-hoc interest serving initiatives without consideration for the larger society or entity-Nigeria.

In reform modes, opportunist and individuals charged with the task of studying and suggesting reform policies have mostly as an end-state attempted to strengthen their material potential in readiness for future opportunities. Totally defeating process thus exacerbating conditions by initiating response initiatives, which further ambiguities and discrepancies.

Today more and more, the Nigerian people live in a state of fear and terror. At the mercy of the criminal elements of society both rogue and state. As government directionally gropes in the dark with so much capacity but without a will to initiative.

Nominally, I would suggest rulerships taps into agreements-MOU’s, treaties etc with Western states-UK and USA etc to build and strengthen capacity for Nigeria’s whole security sector. But the trade off involved is a little too much from a strategic-threat perspective. I mean, "ideally" you don’t want to make foreigners kingmakers in your country, because that becomes the case when you burden them such sensitive real national issues.

Real national issues i.e. Sovereignty which as a concept I admit is undergoing redefinition as per globalization, the WTO treaty vis-avis National Security & Survival becomes a sticky point (Note: this doesn’t change my stance, having supported the U.S.A led capacity building initiative for the Nigerian Armed Forces. Here I’ve logically segmented Nigeria’s Security Mechanism into components.

Defining spheres of security as internal and external and though there’s apparent convolution of thought as government insists on using the Armed Forces for internal peace enforcement, law, order and keeping the peace. It’s most expedient in this context to keep the definition rigid because in an ideal situation possibly non-applicable in the contest of the New South countries you’d have the armed forces limited to constitutionally defined duties only in challenging situations, assist in humanitarian relief task due to its vast skill-spectrum. Except in cases of a national state of emergency the armed forces are kept away from everyday non-traditional policing duties.

The point remains that even for "regime"/rulership survival (I refer to Audu Ogbe’s bellowing that the PDP will rule for many years to come) the issue of reform for the Nigerian security sector must be initiated now. However I warn., that will and sufficient mutual trust is a prerequisite to ensure sustainable and comprehensive reform.

Ideally, security-sector reforms encompass the political, the economic, social and institutional dimensions or facets of a countries composition (Brzoska 199).

In the Nigerian context, the immediate desired end-state for any security sector reform would be actual guarantee of security for self and property of citizens-Human security and adequate civil control of security sector.

In initiating such security sector reforms, conceptual considerations should determine the substantive objective. Expediently, in a democratic setting such as Nigeria’s there’s the informed need to involve civil-society because the various societal components which ferment to form the entity- Nigeria, posses needs and potentials.

The core theme thus in reforming Nigeria’s security sector should be the creation of a professional Civil-Military security sector. One appropriately sized and based on appropriate use of national resources, with a precise mandate, and subject to democratic and constitutional control.

NB: My pun isn’t that security sector reform takes precedence over more expedient ventures Abuja is involved in, like building a new stadium in Abuja, preparing to host the All Africa games and purchasing vehicles for the Ghanaian police in the face of scarce resource. But rational prioritized thinking dictates we-Nigeria operate in a self-preservative mode for now.

Historically, many of Nigeria’s policy responses and initiatives have defied the rational behind self-preservative strategic national projection centered thinking. The motivation for policy response initiatives has nominally centered on the thinking of self-individual above state-collective and an attempt to project a "muscularly egocentric" image (Purchase of vehicles for Ghana’s police force is a case in point), which leaves my likes confused because though with immense capacity Nigeria is a debt cancellation seeking New South country without defined understanding of self, interest and or national priorities.

As per security sector reform, the central prerequisite for an effective and systematic reform of the security sector should be all encompassing, for It will effect every sphere of the Nigerian polity. But that’s just the reality of the situation Nigeria today finds herself in.

For rulership, It is strategically expedient to reform the whole security sector especially as the election year nears.

I’m thinking though, that required reform will truly take the will of an "emperor:" to initiate and see through. The benefit for this initiative being a governable and stability attractive Nigeria. But then again who says the current status quo of near anarchy and lawlessness doesn’t benefit certain rogues and criminal elements in the society?

As for "ordinary Nigerians" like me, sadly it has become a way for life. To accept that, "armed robbers"-sic will write a letter informing of an impending visit and might even suggest what you or your family should prepare for their welcome.

I remember my friend’s niece Ehinose, then eight years old, once dramatically describing how armed robbers raided houses on an adjacent street. She was happy their house wasn’t attacked that night and her instincts were to peep through their second floor apartment window "to catch the action", to which her father screamed, and she gleefully demonstrates. "Nose don’t look out, if you do, armed robbers will catch you, if they don’t the police will catch you"… then it was funny, especially coming from a rather melodramatic eight year old. Retrospectively, its isn’t funny at all.

The moral is that decay is so much, and with capacity for law enforcement severely compromised the only logical alternative is for a wholesome security sector reform. As noted it will require policy coherence thus the need for a leader with an "Emperors" heart.

For reform can only succeed with good accountable governance, which ultimately impacts a nations security sector. In situations where the armed forces, police, judicial and penal systems are challenged as applicable to Nigeria the task is obviously more daunting. But with Nigeria’s tremendous capacity and the will of an "Emperor" it is achievable especially if we don’t want to leave ourselves running up a cull de’sac

NB- For conceptual designs and better illustrations and elaboration, see the various levels of security sector reform projects developed for the British government by Nicole Ball (Ball1998, section 2) and Malcolm Chambers analysis for the European Union (Chalmers 2000, section 2)