A Professor of Comparative Politics, Strategic Studies, and Conflict Resolution at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nnaoma Iwu, has urged Nigeria to prioritise technology and merit over ethnic considerations in its fight against insecurity.
Iwu warned that the country risks falling further behind in global competition if it continues to allow ethnicity to drive critical decisions.
He made the call while delivering the institution’s 61st inaugural lecture on Tuesday, a copy of the lecture was made available to The PUNCH on Thursday.
Titled, “Killing the Gods of Ethnicity Inhibiting Nigeria’s Journey Towards Technological Innovation: Football Theory of Scientific Development to the Rescue,” the lecture argued that technology had become both the weapon of insecurity and its most potent antidote.
“Technology is indispensable in tackling insecurity because insecurity itself uses technology to attack man. So, as a counter, we need more sophisticated technology, intelligence-gathering systems, long-range precision-targeted capabilities, and even technology that can profile and identify people,” Iwu said.
He warned that without adopting cutting-edge innovations, efforts to curb insecurity would remain ineffective and outdated.
Central to his argument was what he described as the “football theory”, a principle he urged governments at all levels to adopt in addressing Nigeria’s challenges.
Drawing from the world of sports, he argued that just as football rewards skill and talent regardless of a player’s background, Nigeria must apply the same logic to governance, science and technology.
“It is only in football that ethnicity, colour, race, religion or background do not count. What counts is skill and talent. That is the same principle Nigeria must apply, we must scout for competence wherever it exists, across all ethnic nationalities,” he stated.
He was particularly critical of the practice of appointing individuals based on ethnic affiliation rather than ability, saying, “When you bring in someone who has no competence simply to represent an ethnic group, of what benefit is that to national development? We should be thinking of Nigeria in relation to global competition, especially in technology.”
Iwu also charged universities to move beyond their traditional roles and become active drivers of national transformation through talent discovery and innovation.
“Universities must become centres for scouting and grooming individuals with exceptional skills, whether they are found within or outside the system, and prepare them for global competitiveness,” he recommended.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Professor Olugbenga Ige, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Adebisi Adaramola, praised the lecturer for a presentation he described as deeply insightful and solution-driven.
“That was a well-analysed presentation by a political scientist who has consistently shown interest in using technology to solve societal problems. He (Prof Iwu) has demonstrated mastery in his delivery,” the Vice Chancellor said.
Nigeria’s security crisis has deepened significantly over the past decade, with the country grappling simultaneously with Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency in the North-East, banditry and mass kidnappings across the North-West and North-Central regions, separatist agitation and sit-at-home enforcement in the South-East and cult-related violence and oil theft in the South-South.
The cumulative toll in lives, displacement and economic losses runs into the hundreds of thousands, with millions of Nigerians living under daily threat.
