By Farida Abdulwahab Oyedele 
Former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has stated that Nigeria’s security challenges require a holistic approach, combining economic empowerment, inclusive governance, and military force.
Speaking at an interactive session with youth members of the African Democratic Congress Coalition on Sunday, Amaechi emphasized that poverty and inequality, not religion or ethnicity, are the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria.
Amaechi argued that relying solely on military force without addressing economic deprivation fuels instability.
He stressed that true national security begins with policies that expand opportunities and restore citizens’ trust in government.
“During my tenure as Rivers State Governor, my administration implemented a four-pronged approach to restore peace, including law enforcement, capacity building for security agencies, community policing, and social and economic development.” He said.
The former governor highlighted the importance of creating alternatives to crime, citing his administration’s strategy of providing jobs, building infrastructure, and engaging citizens in community development projects. This approach, he said, weakened the incentive for young people to turn to crime and restored public confidence in the government.
“I personally went out at night to places that had once been unsafe, like nightclubs, not for recreation, but to test the effectiveness of the strategies we had put in place to combat insecurity and to confirm that our security measures were restoring public confidence,” he revealed.
Amaechi concluded that Nigeria’s leaders must adopt a similar approach, prioritizing economic empowerment and inclusive governance to secure livelihoods and build peace. “You can’t police hunger,” he said. “You build peace when people have work, dignity, and faith in government.”