The Chancellor of Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, and former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, has blamed the increasing insecurity in the country to collapsing family structures.

Chidoka stated this in a keynote presentation in Abuja, during a 2025 Legacy Award, Empowerment and Fund Raising, organised by an Abuja-based Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Sure Smiles Women and Children Advocacy Initiative.

He noted that the community is the buffer between the individual and the nation, adding that communities must reclaim mentorship, communal responsibility, apprenticeship systems, and neighbourhood accountability.

Chidoka maintained that the country must create policies that level the playing field—schools that work, safety nets that protect, and economic systems that empower.

“Nigeria’s rising crime is rooted partly in collapsing family structures. The community is the buffer between the individual and the nation. Communities must reclaim mentorship, communal responsibility, apprenticeship systems, and neighbourhood accountability. This is how we saved boys in the 1980s; it is how we must save them now.

“The Country must create policies that level the playing field—schools that work, safety nets that protect, and economic systems that empower. When these three legs are strong, society stands firm. When one collapses, the whole structure tilts – towards poverty, violence, and instability. Today, Nigeria is wobbling because all three legs are under strain,” he said.

Represented by the Media and Communications Officer, Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, Paul Liam, Chidoka also recommended Mekaria philosophy to the Nigeria society.

“We must anchor it in a philosophy, one that speaks to our history, our culture, and our future. That philosophy is Mekaria. Mekaria is not a slogan. It is a worldview. It means relentless improvement – continuous betterment – constant elevation. Japan calls it Kaizen. Southern Africa speaks of Ubuntu.

“Mekaria is our own contribution to global thought: the belief that individuals, families, institutions, and nations must continually improve and strive to rise above themselves. If Nigeria wants an equitable future, Mekaria must become our cultural software – our default setting,” he said.

Earlier in her welcome address, the founder and president of Sure Smiles Women and Children Advocacy Initiative, Dr. Chioma Uzo-Udegbunam, had noted that for over a decade, Sure Smiles Women and Children Advocacy Initiative has been that catalyst for change, adding that in the last four years alone, the collective impact of the organisation has echoed from the rural communities of Nigeria to the global halls of the United Nations.

Uzo-Udegbunam revealed that the organisation has trained over 450 women to run for office because we know that sustainable nations are built when women have a seat at the decision-making table.

“We have bridged the digital divide, inspiring over 1,200 girls to embrace science and technology… because a sustainable nation is an innovative one. We have empowered over 1,200 women through our cooperative society, generating millions in sales… because a sustainable nation is built on a foundation of economic justice.

“And we have taken the stories of African women to the world—to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, to the UN General Assembly Science Summit—proving that our local solutions are answers to global challenges,” she said