In this podcast, I joined the BBC World Service to discuss the State of Emergency imposed by Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, in three northern states of the country, after weeks of violence. In the conversation, I reflected on the different times in which a similar state of emergency had been declared in the country, and how these hardly helped to quell the violence. Nigeria needs a much stronger approach to anticipating bouts of sectarian violence, strengthening its military response and importantly building a cohesive society founded on socio-economic independence of citizens.