Leveraging On Emerging Technologies for Security Management by Traditional Rulers in Highly Volatile Areas in Kwara State

The rate of insecurity in Kwara State is a major concern to individuals. This study investigated leveraging on emerging technologies for security management by traditional rulers in highly volatile areas in Kwara State. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in this study. The sample for the study consisted 150 adults (Traditional leaders inclusive) selected through purposive and stratified random sampling techniques. A researcher-designed instrument entitled: "Leveraging on Emerging Technologies for Security Management Questionnaire" (LETSMQ) was used to elicit relevant information from the participants. The research instrument was validated by five experts in the related areas. A reliability coefficient of 0.87 was obtained. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the conduct of the study. Descriptive statistics of frequency, mean and rank ordering were used to answer the research questions raised, while inferential statistic of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the research hypothesis formulated at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that proliferation of small arms and porous borders ranked highest (Mean = 2.89) as a major cause of insecurity. Lack of timely security information ranked highest (Mean = 3.10) as a major challenge. Digital communication platforms ranked highest (Mean = 3.01). There was no significant difference in the perceptions of traditional rulers in leveraging on emerging technologies for security management in Kwara State based on location. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended, among others, that capacity-building and training programmes should be designed for traditional rulers on the use of emerging technologies such as drones, GIS mapping, CCTV systems, and mobile-based alert systems to enhance local surveillance and intelligence gathering.