More security systems is being deployed in the human space. The subject of security keeps evolving. It now goes beyond just the physical. The subject has broadened to include health, food, environment and even cyber security. Experts at the Securex West Africa Conference 2022 say every single element of humans’ wellbeing and daily operations have security imperatives within it.
The nature of security interventions must now change to follow trends of evolution of the world’s security needs.
According to Wale Adeagbo, Chief Operating Officer, Academy Halogen, technology is the missing link and without technology, Nigeria’s security industry will not be able to touch on each of the paradigms as the country now lives in security endemism.
“Insecurity is becoming a norm in Nigeria. It is becoming part of who we are, what we are, that in itself tells us again the way we do security. The requirements we need to get it right, and the cost must be put in place,” he said.
Adeagbo highlighted the need for Nigeria’s security industry to standardise the way it operates. Also, there is a need to rethink the role and place of the private sector within the national security architecture. Technology is said to play a role in fusing together the function of the statutory sector, the voluntary sector and that of the private sector where there is a unified, cohesive approach to the interventions and the solution that it brings to bear.
“If we fail to do this, the current security challenges we have will never go away. So it is important that we are much more cohesive, is important that we share more data and intel about those agencies across sectors and divide, and support them. It is also important we employ and engage more with technology as an instrument or tool to ensure the effectiveness of our security to patients,” Adeagbo said.
Research shows that out of the eight billion people in the world today, 36 percent have no access to the internet. In Africa’s largest economy, smartphone penetration rate is about 24 percent.
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Disun Vera-Cruz, Chief Operating Officer, Towntalk Solutions said the world’s population without access to the internet and the 76 percent Nigerians live in places that are most remote and vulnerable, and are more likely to engage with events surrounding insecurity.
“So we need to think of technology as a double sided coin, what it is doing, it’s gaps. However, we also must recognize that sometimes technology is also capable of filling some of those gaps. So if you look at the fragmentation that was mentioned, it’s in the simple ability to gather and absolutely verify information. The first point that comes to mind is how we bring all of these people together to be able to share information, and there’s technology that appeals to different layers of the value chain,” Vera-Cruz said.
Nigeria being a diverse nation calls for different measures. There are different languages that are spoken in different parts of the country, as well as different ways and means that people share their information. Experts say being able to build solutions that everyone can tap into, the right information and data for the industry to be able to access at any point in time is another way to bridge the gap.
Speaking on the benefits of technology to the security industry, Adeagbo stated the paradigms on how security should be done to address the endemism on the securitisation of human space. They include predictive security, preventive security and responsive security.
“When you have data, that tells you the trends and patterns of events and incidents, and you have a good repository where you can start to analyze this data, you can predict what will and not happen. There are certain tools you can employ that will enable you to do this,” he said.
Secondly, predictive analysis like in retail involves one going to a shopping mall and they can predict the pattern of how one buys certain products on certain days of the week. “We can do the same with security when we have data that is shared across, we start to predict what will happen. The second level now is where you think you can start to prevent, because the beauty of prediction is that, not only can you predict multiple times, you can even predict where it’s going to happen.
“You can predict the individuals that are perpetrating crime, I can predict the nature of what the crime could be. So we need to become much more scientific about security.”
Finally, responsive security is what security-solutions providing companies like Halogen and Towntalk, among others should see to. Beyond the calling of policemen, Adeagbo noted that innovations created around technology to provide solutions to the security challenges is the future of security.
However to achieve this, he calls on key industry players to have a common technology platform or system. This translates to every single security operative, statutory or private will become a data point, as well as a change in their name and nomenclature.
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