Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia has called on participants at the 2026 North-Central Regional Security Summit to fully identify with the objectives of the summit and commit to implementing its operational outcomes.
Governor Alia made the call Monday in his address at the North-Central Regional Security Summit organised by Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement and held at Government House, Makurdi.
Speaking on the theme of the summit, “Collaborative Approaches to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability,” the Governor said it could not have come at a more critical time as its focus on banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, kidnapping, violent extremism spillover, organised crime and community resilience speaks directly to the realities confronting communities across the North Central region.
According to him, “Benue State, and indeed other parts of the North-Central, are facing a unique security challenge that requires a collaborative security strategy. It is my considered position that our diversity should be a source of strength rather than weakness. What are those things that unite us, and what are those things that divide us and breed insecurity?
“The issues are multidimensional, and as such, the solution must be collaborative. I have said this in different rooms and I will say it again here: The moment we set aside our differences to confront the enemy of insecurity, half the battle is already won. But collaboration can not just live in communiqués. It must reach our traditional institutions and our community leaders-the custodians of our land. They know things we do not know. They hear things before we hear them. Any strategy that leaves them out is, frankly, incomplete.
“The North Central has the highest level of ethnic diversity in the country. Regardless of our plurality, our underlying culture remains aligned toward peace. Our heritage does not breed violence, which is reflected in the proud sobriquets of our states: Benue as “The Food Basket of the Nation”, Kogi as “The Confluence State”, Kwara as the “State of Harmony”, Nasarawa as the “Home of Solid Minerals”, Plateau as the “Home of Peace and Tourism”, Niger as “The Power State”, and Abuja as the “Centre of Unity”.
Describing the convergence is long overdue, Governor Alia revealed that when he got wind of the summit, he moved decisively towards securing Benue as the host state. According to him, “I am glad I took that initiative because the Benue–Plateau axis has historically been a critical reference point for insecurity in the North Central region.”
“This initiative by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement is indeed laudable. It is a strategic effort at localizing the framers of insecurity. What does localizing even mean, one might ask? It means we stop pretending that a soldier with a rifle can do the whole job alone. It means intelligence sharing that actually reaches the people who need it. It means engaging our border communities, not just patrolling past them. And it means confronting, honestly, the poverty and idleness that hostile elements are only too willing to exploit.
“The Ministry of Defence provides the strategic leadership, coordination and operational framework necessary to safeguard our national security, and over the past three years, the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, North Central, has also been working deliberately to strengthen community-level security and peacebuilding mechanisms across the region.”
Governor Alia who noted that the North-Central holds a strategic place in the socio-economic configuration of Nigeria, described the position as sacrosanct saying it is not merely a function of landmass but a function of the people’s plurality and the vast economic potential embedded across their territory.
“I will say something plainly here. When the North Central is insecure, it is not only our problem-the whole country feels it on its dining table. Our farms feed this nation. Our roads carry the yams, the rice, the tomatoes that end up on tables from Lagos to Maiduguri. Our hills hold minerals that other regions depend on. So, when we talk about securing Benue and Plateau and Kogi and the rest, we are, in truth, talking about the food security of over two hundred million Nigerians. That is not an exaggeration. That is the arithmetic of it.
Acknowledging that the gathering is a testament to the unflinching resolve of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address security challenges across the nation, the Governor assured that, “For us in the North-Central, this opportunity is golden, and I do not use that word lightly. I have sat through enough summits in my time to know how easily a good speech can substitute for a good outcome. Let this not be one of those. Let it be remembered, instead, for the security architecture it leaves behind — something Benue, and the North Central, and indeed Nigeria, can still point to five years from now,” he stated even as he expressed appreciation to the organisers for the privilege granted to Benue State to serve as host.
Also speaking, Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on stakeholders in the North-Central region to strengthen collaboration with government and the various security agencies in tackling insecurity and building lasting peace in the region.
The President who was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), also called on citizens to provide useful information to security agencies and desist from shielding criminals because of family, ethnic or religious sentiments.
According to the President, “Military operations alone can not provide lasting peace. Government must also address problems associated with land and water competition, climate change, unresolved land-use disputes, weak dispute-resolution mechanisms and illicit weapons.”
He further assured that the Federal Government would, through the Renewed Hope Agenda, enhance security operations through development initiatives.
On his part, Minister of Defense, General Christopher Musa (Rtd) said President Tinubu was committed to strengthening and improving the welfare of security personnel, intelligence sharing and collaboration among security agencies to deal with all the issues that undermine the peace and development of the country.
General Musa who noted that security and development were interwoven stressed that the summit was aimed at providing an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss these challenges with the aim of providing lasting solutions.
Participants at the summit included key government functionaries as well as religious leaders and traditional rulers across all the North-Central state of Nigeria.
