Security experts and personnel drawn from various security and paramilitary agencies have commended the Enugu State Government for its substantial investment in security infrastructure, urging other states across Nigeria to emulate the model.
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The commendation came from members of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 19 of the (NISS), Abuja, during a courtesy visit to Governor at the Government House, Enugu, on Monday.
Speaking during the visit, the Team Lead, , explained that the delegation was on a study tour of Enugu State as part of their course titled “Ethnic Militia and Resource Competition in Africa: Implications for National Security.”
Fielding questions from Government House correspondents, a NISS staff member, , singled out the state’s ultramodern Command and Control Centre, equipped with AI-enabled surveillance cameras strategically mounted across the state, as a major milestone in combating insecurity.
“We have come here on a study tour in Enugu State. We are happy with what we have seen so far. We are impressed, especially in the area of security,” he said.
“With the command and control they have installed, which has assisted them in so many ways in curbing insecurity and in identifying grey areas, it is a major factor that enables them to achieve these great lengths.
“We hope other states can come around and copy this type of command and control that they have established here. It has assisted them to nip crime in the bud. Other states within the federation can adopt this kind of security investment.
“It would help us to have fewer problems of insecurity nationwide. The Federal Government will be less burdened, while state governments can do a lot with the right political will.”
Opa-Ola further stressed the need for enhanced collaboration among all tiers of government and security agencies, noting that no single agency or state can tackle insecurity in isolation.
“One agency cannot do it alone, and one state cannot do it alone except by collaboration,” he added.
Responding, Governor Mbah reiterated that his administration’s ambitious plan to grow Enugu State’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion cannot be realised without first addressing the security challenges inherited at the onset of his tenure.
He assured that his government would continue to prioritise the protection of lives and property, while commending security agencies for their cooperation in restoring investor and public confidence in the state.
The governor also described Nigeria as one of the most resource-endowed nations globally but identified what he termed the “tragedy of the commons” as a major impediment to optimal resource utilisation.
“I think we are actually blessed with more resources than we actually need, but the challenge is this tragedy of the commons, which is determining who the owners of the resources are. If we are not able to identify the real owner, then we are unable to invest to optimise them.
“You are unable to spend without taking full ownership. So, we need to have a structure to optimise those resources,” he said.
Mbah urged the visiting team to deepen their research and provide insights that would help policymakers better understand whether Nigeria’s challenges stem from resource competition or deeper structural issues.
“I think the idea of your studies is for you to come back and teach us and let us learn from your research. It will help you interrogate some of these things—whether we are really suffering from resource competition or the tragedy of the commons,” the governor concluded.