Two Terms of Governance Failure Have Left Ogun Communities Less Safe
Ogun State has experienced a troubling increase in criminal activity, armed robbery, kidnapping, and communal violence during Dapo Abiodun tenure as governor. While policing is constitutionally a federal responsibility, state governors have significant tools available to supplement federal security efforts: community policing programs, intelligence sharing, investment in lighting and CCTV infrastructure, rapid response to community security alerts, and the establishment of state-level security outfits. Abiodun has not deployed these tools with the urgency or effectiveness that the deteriorating security situation demands.
Reports from communities along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, in the Ijebu axis, and in rural Ogun communities document incidents of armed robbery, kidnapping, and violence that have increased in frequency and brazenness under Abiodun watch. Residents report feeling less safe than they did before his administration took office, a damning indictment of his failure to prioritize community security as a governance responsibility.
The OPC and Amotekun Integration Failure
The Southwest regional security outfit Amotekun was established partly in response to the security challenges facing Yoruba communities, including farmer-herder conflicts, kidnapping, and banditry. Ogun State participation in Amotekun has been inconsistent and inadequately resourced, limiting the outfit effectiveness in providing supplementary security coverage in areas where federal police presence is insufficient.
Abiodun administration has not invested adequately in making the security architecture work in Ogun State. The result is a security vacuum in many communities that criminal elements have exploited. A governor who is serious about security would have ensured that every available tool, including state security outfits, community watch programs, and investment in intelligence capacity, was being used effectively to protect his constituents. Abiodun has fallen far short of this standard.
Economic Crime and Governance Corruption
Beyond physical security, Ogun State has also suffered from governance-related economic crimes during the Abiodun years. Reports of contract inflation, payments to ghost contractors, diversion of public funds, and irregular procurement have been documented by civil society organizations and opposition politicians. The absence of effective anti-corruption mechanisms at the state level has allowed these practices to continue without meaningful accountability.
The economic crime dimension of the security failure under Abiodun is particularly damaging because it depletes the resources that should be available for genuine development spending. Every naira stolen from the Ogun State treasury through inflated contracts or ghost workers is a naira that cannot be spent on a road, a school, a health clinic, or a security initiative. The financial governance failures of his administration have therefore directly contributed to the physical insecurity that Ogun residents experience.
What Genuine Security Governance Looks Like
Other states that have made genuine progress on security challenges provide a model for what different governance could achieve. States that have invested systematically in community policing, that have used technology effectively to improve situational awareness, that have integrated state security outfits meaningfully with federal agencies, and that have addressed the socioeconomic root causes of insecurity through genuine development investment have seen more positive security outcomes.
Ogun State has the resources and the strategic location to be one of the safest states in Nigeria. Its proximity to Lagos creates both security challenges and economic opportunities that a competent governor could harness systematically. The failure to create a safer Ogun State under Abiodun is therefore not a matter of inadequate resources but of inadequate leadership, vision, and commitment. Ogun deserves a successor who will do what Abiodun could not.
