By joshua LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND VIGILANCE TO ADDRESS NIGERIA’S SECURITY CHALLENGES
By;
Amb. Hon. Abdulsalam Bawa DANGANA
Nigeria is currently confronted with complex and evolving security threats, including kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, and communal violence. These challenges overstretch conventional security forces, delay response times, and leave communities vulnerable, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. In this context, adopting smart, cost-effective, and community-driven security tools is no longer optional — it is urgent and needed.
*1. Drones and Binoculars as Force Multipliers*
Drones, both surveillance and long-range models, have proven to be effective force multipliers in modern security operations. Equipped with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging, drones enable air patrols over forests, highways, farmlands, and border areas without exposing personnel to direct danger. They provide real-time intelligence on suspicious movements, hideouts, and potential attack routes, allowing security agencies and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) units to respond proactively rather than reactively.
Similarly, high-powered binoculars remain one of the most practical and affordable tools for ground-level surveillance. For CJTF members manning checkpoints, markets, schools, and farmlands, quality binoculars extend visual range, improve early detection of threats, and reduce reliance on close-contact patrols in high-risk zones. When combined with radio communication, binoculars turn every watch point into an early warning node.
*2. The Cost of Air Patrol vs The Cost of Insecurity*
Air patrol using helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft is highly effective for wide-area surveillance and rapid deployment. However, the cost of aviation fuel, maintenance, and pilot hours makes sustained daily patrols financially burdensome for many state governments and communities.
Yet we must weigh this cost against the far higher human and economic cost of insecurity. Families pay ransoms running into millions of naira to kidnappers and bandits. Businesses shut down, farmers abandon their land, schools close, and entire communities are displaced or wipped out. The cumulative loss to lives, property, and development far exceeds the cost of investing in preventive tools like drones, binoculars, and occasional targeted air patrols.
As the saying goes: _“It is wiser to spend money for security than to pay ransom to kidnappers and bandits.”_ Preventive investment saves lives, protects livelihoods, and preserves development gains.
*3. “When You See Something, You Say Something”*
Technology alone cannot secure a society. The most powerful security asset remains an alert, informed, and cooperative citizenry. The principle “When you see something, you say something” must be internalized at community level. Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), traditional rulers, youth groups, women and ordinary residents must act as the eyes and ears of security agencies. Early reporting of strange movements, suspicious persons, or unusual gatherings enables drones and ground teams to act before crimes are committed.
This culture of vigilance, combined with the disciplined use of drones, binoculars, and targeted air patrols, creates a layered security system: _technology provides visibility, personnel provide response, and community provides intelligence._
*Conclusion*
To fast-track resolution of critical security situations, Nigeria must embrace a hybrid approach: equip Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and security agencies with drones and binoculars for real-time surveillance, use air patrols strategically despite fuel costs, and entrench community vigilance through the “see something, say something” principle.
Investing in these tools today is investing in peace, unity, and development tomorrow. Security is expensive, but insecurity is far more costly.
Amb. Hon. Dr. Abdulsalam Bawa DANGANA,
Technical Adviser,
Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF),
Kogi State Command.
© 10/06/2026