Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has said that democracy and good governance remain the most sustainable solutions to the security challenges confronting African nations.
He argued that democracy begets good governance, which in turn ensures quality healthcare, sound education, and employment opportunities for citizens. According to him, when good governance thrives, the conditions that breed insecurity are drastically reduced.
Speaking as a keynote lecturer to participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 18 at the National Institute for Security Studies, Abuja, on Thursday, Uzodimma urged African leaders to adopt the good governance model evident in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. He said the Tinubu-led government has significantly reduced the disruptive activities of non-state actors in Nigeria.
The Imo governor explained that Tinubu’s model ensures that the government leaves no vacuum for non-state actors to exploit or use to destabilize the country.
Delivering a lecture on the topic, “Non-State Actors and Entrepreneurship Development in Africa: Challenges, Responses, and the Way Forward,” Uzodimma stressed that African leaders must embrace democracy and good governance to defeat insecurity.
“Non-state actors, both constructive and destructive, thrive in spaces where the state is absent or ineffective. The more capable the state, the less space exists for malign actors to operate,” he said.
He noted that President Tinubu had long discovered this strategy, which has resulted in progress in combating insurgency and banditry across the country.
According to Uzodimma, “African nations must embrace good governance because it delivers education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and justice — the very foundations that deny disruptive non-state actors the conditions they need to thrive.”
Citing his own experience in managing insecurity in Imo State, the governor said his administration’s focus on infrastructure, youth empowerment, and skills acquisition created alternatives to criminality. “Young people who are gainfully engaged do not find crime attractive,” he said.
He emphasized the need for African leaders to explore more effective ways of economically empowering communities to discourage participation in insecurity. He also urged them to balance containment and engagement in tackling security threats, stressing that “governance and security are inseparable.”
“Military operations create temporary stability, but good governance creates lasting peace,” Uzodimma noted. He further charged the intelligence community to recognize that “security is inseparable from governance, economic opportunity, and justice,” and to understand that non-state actors “are not anomalies to be eliminated but realities to be managed.”
The event was attended by intelligence chiefs from various African countries.
