Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, who served as the pioneer commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs in Imo State, has called on the governors in the Southeast to be resolute and Igbo-centered on the issue of security in the region. These remarks were made by him in response to a double honour that was done to him by the Institute of Criminology and Penology. The institute inducted him as a Fellow for “having satisfied all requirements as a crime prevention and control strategist.” They also presented him with an award for his pioneering and productive tour of duty as Commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, Imo State.
The honours were issued on September 27, 2024 while Dr. Ugorji was away in the United States to monitor the general elections that took place on November 6, 2024. However, the formal presentations were made to him on January 10, 2025, after his return from the US. Chief Richard Njoku, the Acting Registrar of the Imo State Chapter of the institute, and Sup. Charles Obi, a member of the institute, did the honours. A similar award was presented by the same group to the Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma.
Ugorji, who wrote the book titled “Securing the Homeland” (in addition to eleven other books) said “the governors in the Southeast must think Igbo first, and act Igbo in all matters of security in the region.” He added that in all things concerning the protection of lives and properties in the Southeast, the specific interests and sensitivities of the Igbo must take precedence.
“I understand that we are in a federation, but the proliferation of false flag operations in the Southeast calls for an Igbo-centered approach to the task of protecting our people,” he opined.
Dr. Ugorji called on Igbo governors to make it a priority in 2025 to gain control of all the ungoverned spaces in Igbo land, especially the forests. “I don’t know any helpful reason why any ordinary citizen or any group of ordinary people would go settle or set up camps in communal forests,” Ugorji said. He called for the formation of Forest Rangers in alliance with hunters to patrol every forest in the land, some of which have become dens for criminal syndicates.
Dr. Ugorji also recommended that all the commissioners and special advisers handling internal security in all the states of the region, must begin to meet regularly to discuss, plan and implement regional security strategies. “Cross border activities of criminals and the impact of globalization in cross border security challenges, means that the states can no longer afford to stay or act in silos,” he stated.
The scholar activist says he interacts with Ndi Eze and Vigilante groups across Imo State almost every week, as they seek ideas on mitigating their security challenges. “The police don’t have enough manpower to adequately protect all. Our young people are eager to protect our communities – their communities. They just need the political will of their political leaders to deputize them, train them on acceptable codes of conduct, and equip them to match the firepower of the criminal syndicates,” he said.
Beyond firepower, Dr. Ugorji who made peace a central goal of the Imo State Ministry of Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, called for collaboration between clergy of all religions and our authentic traditional institutions, to recalibrate our moral compasses. “Many of the things we appear to have normalized, have the effect of encouraging criminality, which in turn exacerbates our security challenges,” he said. He added that the reckless exhibition of ostentatious living sends the wrong signals to our young, impressionable minds, especially when the sources of these stupendous wealth are opaque at best.
On the national and Continental level, Dr. Ugorji said he no longer has faith in foreign powers running peace missions or anti-terrorism missions in Nigeria or on the continent. According to him, open source intelligence suggests that some of these foreign powers are actually sponsoring some of these terrorist groups. “How does a man set a fire in your community and turn around to ask to be hired or invited as the firefighter?” he asked rhetorically. “If we can’t protect ourselves, we might as well give up all pretenses to sovereignty,” he stated .
Dr. Ugorji thanked the institute for the recognition of his service. He said he remains grateful to Governor Hope Uzodimma, CON for the opportunity to serve in his administration. “It was that opportunity that brought me to your attention,” he told the representatives of the institute. He assured them that he will meet the expectations of him as a Fellow of the institute.
