Today's Leaders Forum Praise 2019: INSECURITY: A bane to Nigeria's progress - Faniyi Idris Opeyemi

By FANIYI IDRIS OPEYEMI(Kollyhino)

Today's Leaders Forum annual anniversary tagged "Praise 2019.

Introduction

Security is essential for national integration, peace and sustainable development. This is because when we say insecurity, we talk of many things such as national insecurity, food insecurity, financial insecurity and the likes.

      

Oxford dictionary defines insecurity as a state of being vulnerable to harm or danger. Kubiat (2019) defines insecurity as a breach of peace and secuity; whether historical,  religious, civil, social, economic and political.  Insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming rate and has been a setback to the progress of our dear nation. Loss of lives & properties, decrease in population, increased unemployment rate, downfall of businesses, fear among the citizens and many more are the negative effects of this challenge bedeviling our country. 

The economic effect of insecurity in Nigeria are enormous and its menace remains a threat to the growth of the nation (Stewart, 2004). Despite government's expenditure on strengthening the internal security, citizens still spend huge amount of money to provide adequate security for their personal lives and properties. 

Upon all the measures taken by the government and the citizens to curb or reduce insecurity in Nigeria,  the menace keep aggravating. Kidnap cases have been reported in almost all part the country but more prominent in the south-south, southeast, and the northern part of the country.Terrorism (Bokoharam) is another factor that has been on rampage for over a decade. 

Also, ethnic clashes, ritual killings, herdsmen's attack, religious extremism etc are other ingredients of insecurity which has caused more harm to our country than good. These disturbances in its various forms affect the economic growth and simultaneously bring about regression because areas that are prone to insecurities will surely experience low economic activities.

             

The effect of Insecurity on economic growth has been reported to be negative.  Both foreign and indigenous researchers have studied the effect of insecurity on national growth. Among them are Stewart (2004) and Kubiat (2019). Stewart (2004) analyzed the effect of conflict and insecurity on development for twenty five countries between 1960-1995 and found that economic growth was always affected, agricultural sector was badly hit, exports were negative, production fell, there was a shift from international to domestic markets, imports were dominated by military expenditure and essential consumption good, usually leading to shortage of foreign exchange for economic inputs.

Patterns and Dimensions of Insecurity in Nigeria

Terrorism

Armed robbery

Ethnic and religious crisis

Kidnapping and high profile killings

Political violence

Communal land dispute 

Militants attacks etc.

           

Different patterns and dimensions of insecurity poses different risk. In recent times, incidence of kidnapping, terrorism and political violence have gained prominence. The most celebrated of this was the kidnap of 276 Chibok girls that were kidnapped from their school in Borno State and the millionaire kidnapper (Evans) case in Lagos. 

In respect of non-violent agitations for self-determination, the case of the Movement for the actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafia (IPOB) stands out as that of political violence. Persistent bombing of remote areas of Borno state by bokoharam is a typical example of terrorism in Nigeria.

             

A number of reasons have been cited for insecurity in Nigeria, which includes: over dependence on oil, export of primary commodities, social inequality, state failure, human right violations, resource predation, corruption, feeling of marginalization etc. 

Policy to tackle insecurity therefore must first address these root causes of insecurity in other to be successful.

Causes of Insecurity in Nigeria

Porous borders

Weak security system

Do-or-die politics

Terror attacks

Unemployment rate

Illetracy

Corruption

Weak security system is a major factor for high level of insecurity in Nigeria. 

This is as a result of inadequate personnel and funding, lack of sophisticated weapons, poor welfare, corrupt officials etc. 

Every strong nation has a strong defence. 

Our borders are too porous and smugglers carry out their daily activities with ease. Uncontrolled influx of immigrants by immigration office/officers and lack of good checkpoint for inflow of arms, light weapons, expired products and other dangerous materials by the Nigerian Customs are challenges facing our borders. 

Our government has failed us. Without job creation, inequitable distribution of wealth will be among citizens and this will breed rogues among youth. The violent pollitical struggles of our politicians in nothing to be proud of. Moreover, terror attacks is one of the fundamental sources of insecurity in Nigeria. 

          

In recent times, terrorism has assumed a political undertone and is been led by a faceless Islamic insurgents group in the Northern part of the country. Although terrorism has its root in Islamic fanaticism, it is now driven by factors such as inequality, poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy.

Effects of insecurity in Nigeria:

Social effect

Economic effect

Political effect

         

In the absence of security, development is untenable because insecurity destroys economic, human and social capital. For instance, the Boko Haram insurgence in Northern Nigeria has almost crippled economic activities in that region. Similarly, activities, of Niger Delta militants in the oil-producing Southern part of the country pose serious threat to the economic health of the region in particular, and Nigeria in general. 

The security crises in different parts of Nigeria is destroying existing infrastructure and preventing a peaceful environment for the development of further infrastructure, and a safe environment for economic activities by individuals (Kubiat, 2019). Indeed, no nation can achieve sustainable development in an environment of insecurity.

The Solutions to insecurity in Nigeria:

On the whole, a Nation replete with insecurity can never attract investments nor grow its economy. Current trends have shown that insecurity is capable of running down investments, bringing about social unrest, increasing unemployment rate and reducing government revenue. Hence, policies and strategies to combat insecuity in Nigeria must target  the entire population by eliminating or reducing the massive loss of life in areas that are prone to violent activities, target unemployment by creating enabling and peaceful business environment, boosting oil & agricultural sectors, strengthening the country's defence by providing adequate training of security personnel, equipping them with sophisticated weapons to tackle terrorism, curbing pipeline vandalization, reducing communal conflicts, providing useful education and quality health care for the citizens. If these measures are put in place, Nigeria will stand out among her peers.