UGORJI JOINS SCHOLARS AT AFRICAN CHIEFS OF DEFENCE STAFF SUMMIT 2025. …Says Security Must Remain Job Number One in Imo State

By Chinenye Ukpabia

Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, the former Commissioner for Homeland Security in Imo State, was among several scholars and military personnel (serving and retired) invited to the maiden edition of African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit 2025. Attended by all fifty four African nations and their Defence Chiefs, the summit was hosted by the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The opening plenary session for the conference took place on Monday, August 25, 2025. The Special Guest of Honour was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, represented by Vice President Kashim  Shetima.

According to General Musa,  “For too long, we have been seeking solutions from outside, and that has prolonged our issues. The reality is that our challenges are within us, and it is only within us that we will create the solutions.” The theme of the conference was “Combating Contemporary Threats to Continental Peace and Security.”

Ugorji was invited in recognition of his pioneering stint as commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs in Imo State, as well as in his capacity as a published international scholar in security and peace studies.

During a chat with journalists in Abuja, Ugorji who served as Imo State Commissioner from 2021 to 2024, said that most of the issues addressed at the conference can be found in the security challenges Imo State has faced and which Governor Hope Uzodimma has handled superlatively. “From cross-border criminal syndicates, to insurgencies, and politically motivated violence, Governor Hope Uzodimma factored all of these challenges in creating the Ministry of Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs,” he said. He commended General Musa for the great success in getting African nations to look inwards for solutions to their security challenges.

The former Commissioner also commended Governor Uzodimma for “pulling Imo State from the precipice of anarchy and loss of sovereignty during his first term as governor.”

As someone who coordinated security architecture with the governor, Ugorji said that Uzodimma made security a top priority of government and still maintains it as a top priority in Imo State. He suggests, however, that security needs to move from being a top priority to being The Top Priority.

“Without security, there would be no meaningful development in any state. And without development, security and peace cannot be sustained,” Ugorji asserts. He said that he will share with the governor, an updated security and peace plan that “would be far reaching and global in outlook, Igbo-centered in philosophy, and community based, with commitment to human rights and civil liberties.”

Dr. Ugorji went on to say that if it was up to him, he would elevate the Ministry of Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs to be one of the top three ministries, if not top ministry) because of the security needs in Imo State. “We must, as a matter of urgency, gain control of all ungoverned spaces in Imo State. And we must, through peace orientation programs,  return our people to what used to be our exemplary value for human life.” This, he suggests, cannot be the job of government alone.

When Ugorji established the Imo State Ministry of Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, the ministry adopted a logo that has a dove with olive branches, clutching arrows. The dove stands for peace, which is the ultimate goal of the ministry; the olive branches symbolize the readiness of the state to engage in dialogues for peace; and the quiver of arrows represent the readiness of the state to neutralize threats by force if necessary.

“A state or nation is as strong as its security agencies,” Ugorji opines. “Even our economic activities of production, manufacturing and service provision are dependent on security and safety,” he added.

The former Commissioner, who is the author of the book “Securing the Homeland: Essays in Security Leadership, Intelligence Analysis, and Crisis Management,” also took the opportunity of the chat with journalists to commend the men and women of the armed forces and other security agencies in the country and on the African continent. “We cannot thank our service men and women enough for their sacrifices. They forego their sleep so that we might sleep safely. And they put their lives on the line so that we may stay alive.”