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Security Challenges In Nigeria And The Implications For Business Activities And Sustainable Development
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1. The Concept of Insecurity
The concept of
insecurity would be best understood by first presenting the concept of
security. In the view of Akin (2008) security refers to “the situation
that exists as a result of the establishment of measures for the
protection of persons, information and property against hostile persons,
influences and actionsâ€. It is the existence of conditions within which
people in a society can go about their normal daily activities without
any threats to their lives or properties. It embraces all measures
designed to protect and safeguard the citizenry and the resources of
individuals, groups, businesses and the nation against sabotage or
violent occurrence (Ogunleye, et al, 2011). According to Igbuzor (2011)
it demands safety from chronic threats and protection from harmful
disruption.
Security however, can be described as stability and
continuity of livelihood (stable and steady income), predictability of
daily life (knowing what to expect), protection from crime (feeling
safe), and freedom from psychological harm (safety or protection from
emotional stress which results from the assurance or knowing that one is
wanted, accepted, loved and protected in one’s community or
neighbourhood and by people around. It focuses on emotional and
psychological sense of belonging to a social group which can offer one
protection). This description structured the concept of security into
four dimensions. However, these dimension can be weaved together to give
a composite definition of security as the protection against all forms
of harm whether physical, economic or psychological. It is generally
argued however that security is not the absence of threats or security
issues, but the ability to rise to the challenges posed by these threats
with expediency and expertise.
Insecurity on the other hand, is the
antithesis of security. However, because of the very many ways in which
insecurity affects human life and existence, the concept of insecurity
has usually been ascribed different interpretations in association with
the various ways which it affects individuals. Some of the common
descriptors of insecurity include: want of safety; danger; hazard;
uncertainty; want of confidence; doubtful; inadequately guarded or
protected; lacking stability; troubled; lack of protection; and unsafe,
to mention a few. All of these have been used by different people to
define the concept of insecurity. These different descriptors, however,
run into a common reference to a state of vunerability to harm and loss
of life, property or livelihood. Beland (2005) defined insecurity as
“the state of fear or anxiety stemming from a concrete or alleged lack
of protection.†It refers to lack or inadequate freedom from danger.
This definition reflects physical insecurity which is the most visible
form of insecurity, and it feeds into many other forms of insecurity
such as economic security and social security.
Two views are of
essence to this paper. These are (1) Insecurity as the state of being
open or subject to danger or threat of danger, where danger is the
condition of being susceptible to harm or injury, and (2) Insecurity as
the state of being exposed to risk or anxiety, where anxiety is a vague
unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some
misfortune. A major point about insecurity implied in these definitions
is that those affected by insecurity are not only uncertain or unaware
of what would happen but they are also not able to stop it or protect
themselves when it happens. It is in this view that we would describe
insecurity in this paper as: ‘not knowing, a lack of control, and
inability to take defensive action against forces that portend harm or
danger to an individual or group, or what make them vunerable’.
‘Vunerability’ is the situation that we do not know and we cannot face
or anticipate. It is also something we may know would happen but we are
not able to face it.
2. Sources of Insecurity in Nigeria
To
tackle insecurity, a key starting point should be to understand the
causes of insecurity as well as to investigate their sources of social
disorder and instability. As Andrew and Kennedy (2003) pointed out, it
is necessary to distinguish between different causes as each may require
different remedy. Besides, it is to provide a holistic view to the
suggestion or recommendations of solutions. More often, however, policy
makers are disinclined to isolate and clarify particular causes. They
prefer blanket references, with the consideration that the causes of
insecurity are interwoven and contributory to one another. Like in many
other societies, the sources of insecurity in Nigeria have been traced
to a number of factors and explained by different people. These factors
have been classified or grouped into external and internal factors.
Beyond the external-internal dichotomy, sources of insecurity have also
been classified as either remote or proximate and immediate
sources/causal factors. In Nigeria, the challenge is not so much about
insecurity of external sources, but rather that of internal sources.
Hence, our focus in this paper is on the internal sources. We recognize
that some internal factors have been enhanced and strengthened by the
presence of external forces, but, there is no doubt that, if the
internal situations did not present themselves, the external forces
would be unable to infiltrate. We present the internal causes of
insecurity in Nigeria using the dichotomy of remote and immediate
factors.
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