Funmi Ogundare
A Professor of Religion and Society at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey, United States, Afe Adogame, has called for holistic and interdisciplinary approach to insecurity in Nigeria that considers its political, economic, religious, social, historical and structural dimensions.
Adogame made this call Monday at the 2026 conference of African Universities Seminar Series Nigeria ( AUSS-NG) hosted by the Institute for African and Diaspora Studies (IADS), University of Lagos, themed ‘Citizenship, Belonging and Geographies of Conflict in Contemporary Nigeria.’
He argued that the country’s security challenges were shaped by multiple interconnected factors that required deeper investigation, stressing the need for researchers to move beyond disciplinary boundaries and examine insecurity from multiple perspectives.
“No one theory, no one approach can best explain this variety of conflicts and violence that we find,” he said.
In his keynote titled, ‘Holy Violence, Unholy Embrace: The Intersection of Religious Conflict and Insecurity,’ Adogame identified kidnapping as one example of the complexity of Nigeria’s insecurity, noting that the phenomenon could not be attributed to a single factor.
He called for research into both the remote and immediate causes of kidnapping, as well as the endogenous and exogenous factors contributing to its persistence.
Examining the historical evolution of kidnapping and related practices, he noted, would provide deeper insight into the contemporary security crisis.
The professor said researchers should pay greater attention to specific case studies and the social and cultural contexts in which conflicts occurred, noting that the same incident could have different meanings in different environments.
“Context matters,” he said, urging scholars to examine specific cases before making broader theoretical conclusions about conflict and violence.
He also challenged conventional perceptions of security, arguing that some measures presented as evidence of security could instead expose the depth of insecurity in society.
He described the phenomenon as the securitisation of insecurity and the insecuritisation of security, saying society needed to rethink how it understood both concepts.
He cited the heavy security arrangements often deployed around political leaders as an example.
“If President Tinubu was to come to UNILAG today, I can tell you for the past three weeks, security would be everywhere to control traffic, who comes in and who goes out,” he said.
He added that the use of armoured vehicles, heavily protected residences and large numbers of security personnel by political leaders did not necessarily mean that they were secure.
“The fact that you are guided by 20 police and army operatives actually does not make you secure. This is not security. This are acts of insecurity or evidences of insecurity,” he stated.
According to him, genuine security should provide the conditions under which citizens can live without fear.
He argued that the widespread deployment of security personnel should also prompt questions about the underlying conditions that make such protection necessary.
In his remarks, the Director of the African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) Programme of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York, Cyril Obi, said the proposed entity, comprising former and current APDD fellows, would advance an intellectual agenda reflecting Nigeria’s national context while building on research supported by the SSRC.
According to him, “The initiative would facilitate stronger collaboration among Nigeria-based and other African scholars and practitioners, enabling them to develop their research expertise and contribute to national, regional and global scholarly discourse, publications and policy practices in peace, development and security.”
He said the development was part of efforts to consolidate a cohesive scholarly community in Nigeria and ultimately expand the model to other parts of Africa.
“From here, it will be launched in other parts of Africa,” Obi said, adding that the national and independent entity would emerge from the AUSS-NG network of former and current APDD fellows.
Also speaking, Co-Chair of AUSS-NG and lecturer in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr. Joyce Onoromhenre, called for inclusive governance, responsible institutions and greater community participation as part of measures to address the grievances and underlying causes of conflicts across the country.
She stated that the gathering was particularly relevant given the prevailing security challenges and grievances in the country.
Onoromhenre said the theme was designed to deepen understanding of the different dimensions of conflict in Nigeria and explore ways of transforming conflicts and building sustainable peace.
According to her, the discussions would examine the grievances and underlying issues responsible for conflicts in different parts of the country, including resource, land and grazing-related conflicts.
“This theme for us is very important because it raises so many issues regarding governance. It raises issues regarding insecurity and grievances, especially geared towards peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
“There is no better time for us to talk about these issues based on the happenings in Nigeria,” she said.
An Associate Professor at the University of Jos, Dr. Jimam Lar, called for a fundamental redefinition of citizenship in Nigeria, urging the government to replace the concept of indigeneity with residency as the basis for citizens to enjoy rights and access opportunities across the country.
He argued that a Nigerian citizen should be entitled to the benefits and rights available in any part of the country where he or she resides, irrespective of ethnic or ancestral ties to the area.
According to him, the approach should be applied uniformly across the country rather than having different interpretations or practices in states such as Lagos, Kano and Plateau.
He said: “Rather than using indigene as a means of citizenship, you should use residency. So wherever you’re resident as a Nigerian, you should be able to enjoy the benefits of being there and not necessarily to be an indigenous.”
Lar cautioned against the politicisation of ethnicity, saying Nigeria’s cultural and ethnic diversity should be treated as a strength rather than manipulated to promote exclusion or violence.
“Diversity is a blessing, but it shouldn’t be manipulated,” he said, adding that the country’s different ethnic groups and cultures should be celebrated as the basis of its diversity.