For Gen. Ike Nwachukwu, security is not about how many guns a state has.
It is about whether a young man believes he has a future, whether a market woman trusts the police, and whether a citizen believes the government will protect rather than punish.
Speaking at the South-East Regional Security Summit in Umuahia on Thursday, July 30, 2026, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and veteran soldier said Nigeria has spent decades fighting symptoms of insecurity while ignoring the disease: the collapse of trust.
At 84, the GCMG, CFR holder told South-East governors, traditional rulers and security chiefs that the region’s biggest security asset is not firepower. It is trust.
“Security is not simply the absence of violence. It is the presence of justice, trust, opportunity, and legitimate authority. When these pillars weaken, insecurity begins long before the first gunshot is fired,” he said.
Trust Is The Best Intelligence
Gen. Nwachukwu offered six reflections. His first: intelligence, not weapons, wins the fight.
“The most successful operations are those that prevent violence before it occurs. That requires intelligence that is timely, accurate, and locally generated,” he said.
“The greatest intelligence asset any nation possesses is not technology. It is that citizen who believes that the Government will protect rather than punish. Trust remains the most effective force multiplier.”
He urged communities to see security agencies as partners, not occupiers, and called on parents, teachers, traditional rulers, religious leaders and market unions to become stakeholders.
Jobs Are A Security Strategy
The retired general drew a direct line between unemployment and violence.
“Young people who possess hope are less vulnerable to be recruited by less patriotic Nigerians who find them easy tools because of their frustration,” he said.
Listing roads, schools, healthcare, digital infrastructure and industrial investment, he added: “These are not merely development projects. They are strategic investments in national security. Every legitimate job created removes one more potential recruit from the marketplace of violence.”
South-East Needs Equity In Security Architecture
On regional cooperation, Nwachukwu said criminal gangs do not respect state borders, so security planning cannot either. He called for intelligence sharing, harmonised emergency response and joint operations among the 5 South-East states.
He then made a measured case for equity in military presence. Noting that the South-East is “strategically located, economically vibrant, commercially indispensable, and… larger than some regions that currently host three divisional headquarters,” he said the absence of a comparable divisional formation “naturally invites reflection — not as a matter of regional rivalry or grievance, but as a question of strategic planning and national integration.”
“Military divisions are more than administrative headquarters. They strengthen command and control… Above all, they reassure citizens that they are fully represented within the nation’s security architecture. In national security, perception often reinforces capability,” he said.
“Peace Is Won By Legitimacy”
The summit’s most quoted line came at the end.
“Battles are won by tactics. Wars are won by strategy. But peace is won by legitimacy,” Nwachukwu said. “Citizens willingly defend societies they believe belong to them. That is perhaps the greatest strategic advantage any nation can possess.”
He also warned political leaders against using violence to settle disagreements, saying it “weakens the moral distinction between political violence and the criminal violence that threatens our society.”
“Let us reject fear. Let us reject division. Let us reject every attempt to define our future by insecurity,” he concluded. “Because lasting peace is never imposed. It is earned. It is nurtured. It is built. One community. One institution. One generation at a time.”
Governors, traditional rulers, and security agency heads attended the summit convened to chart a coordinated response to kidnapping, attacks on institutions, and violent crime across the region.
Gen. Ike Omar Sanda Nwachukwu served as Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief of Defence Staff. The South-East Regional Security Summit was held in Umuahia, Abia State.
