Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy and Senator representing Ogun East, has identified rapid population growth and uncontrolled migration as the primary security threats facing Nigeria’s Southwest region, even as he acknowledged the area’s relative success in managing broader security challenges.
Speaking at the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee On National Security Summit held in conjunction with the Lagos State Government on Friday in Lagos, Daniel highlighted the paradox facing the region: while the Southwest has weathered national security crises comparatively well, internal demographic pressures pose an unprecedented threat.
“When we look at the state of security in the nation, I think the South West has done considerably fairly, and that I believe is commendable,” Daniel stated, placing the region’s security performance in a positive light relative to other parts of Nigeria grappling with insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping.
However, the former Ogun State Governor cautioned that beneath this relative stability lies a ticking time bomb. The region’s rapid development and economic opportunities, he explained, have attracted unprecedented migration flows that often lack proper documentation and integration mechanisms—creating fertile ground for criminal activities.
“Population explosion remains the biggest challenge that plagues the Southwest,” Daniel stressed, noting that while the region continues to battle kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts, terrorism, and banditry, the unaccounted-for migration wave poses a distinct and mounting threat to public safety.
The Senator pointed to Lagos State as the epicentre of this migration challenge, describing it as “the most volatile” in terms of population pressure. However, he warned that Ogun State is increasingly experiencing similar pressures, signalling that the challenge extends beyond Nigeria’s commercial hub.
To address this multifaceted challenge, Daniel called for strategic deployment of modern technology and enhanced infrastructure development. These measures, he suggested, are essential for better population management, tracking, and integration while simultaneously addressing the underlying factors driving uncontrolled migration to the region.
The summit, chaired by Senator Tokunbo Abiru, brought together a diverse array of stakeholders committed to strengthening Southwest security. The gathering included lawmakers, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and heads of major security agencies. Represented at the high-level meeting were officials from the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Lagos Neighbourhood Watch, and the Peace Corps of Nigeria, among other security and community organisations.
The convergence of these institutions underscores the gravity with which leadership views the security landscape and the recognition that sustainable solutions require collaborative, multi-sectoral approaches that extend beyond enforcement to encompass technology, infrastructure, and community engagement.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
