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Effects Of Insecurity In Nigeria: The Challenges And Relevance Of The Nigerian Police
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
In
recent times, Nigeria has witnessed an unprecedented plaque of crisis
and insecurity, each leading to loss of lives and destruction of
properties. According to Ezeoha (2011:38) in Causes and effects of
insecurity in Nigeria, “Security means stability and continually of
livelihood, predictability of relationships, feeling safe and belonging
to a social group. Internal security, or IS, which is related to
security can be seen as the act of keeping peace within the borders of a
sovereign state or other self-governing territories. This is done
generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal
security threats. Those responsible for internal security may range from
police to paramilitary forces, and in exceptional circumstances, the
military itself.
Insecurity on the other hand, is the antithesis of
security which is the concept of insecurity. It has 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 vulnerability 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.
In the same token,
Oshodi (2011) argues that one sure way of tackling the insecurity
situation in Nigeria is to accord the field of psychology a pride of
place in policy formulation and implementation to promote national
cohesion and integration.
However it can be clearly stated that
Nigeria has remained more insecure especially during and after the April
2011 presidential elections and has suffered more than ever in history,
a battery of ethno-religious-political crises, taking the shape of bomb
blasts sponsored by the Boko Haram religious sect.
The unparalleled
spate of terrorism, kidnappings and other violent crimes is to say the
least, alarming. Religious leaders, churches, mosques etc are not spared
in this onslaught. There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria is at a
cross-road and gradually drifting towards a failed state if this
insecurity trend continues.
According to Bavier, a writer who is a frequent visitor to the northern region, told CNN that the
Federal
government has completely lost control of the north-east, despite
deploying thousands of troops and establishing a Joint Task Force. Now,
he says, it looks like this insurgency has broken out of the
north-eastâ€. And what’s worrying, he says, is that there’s “not a whole
lot of visible effort from the federal government to calm things down
(Lister, 2012:14).
From the aforementioned one can posit that Nigeria
has witnessed an unprecedented level of insecurity. Inter and intra-
communal and ethnic clashes, ethno religious violence, armed robbery,
assassination, murder, gender-based violence, and bomb explosion have
been on the increase leading to enormous loss of life and property and a
general atmosphere of siege and social tension for the populace
(Ibrahim and Igbuzor, 2002:2). Furthermore between 2009 to date over
3,000 souls both military and civilians have been lost in the purported
“holy†crusade; this have further paralyzed government plans in mapping
out an efficient strategy in combating insecurity. Despite soaring
security budget, insecurity still pervades the country.
Consequently,
Insecurity has taken various forms in different parts of the country.
In the South-West, armed robbers have taken over, while in the North,
cross-border bandits operate with the ease. However in the South-South
there are rampant cases of kidnapping. Also the incessant wave of crime
and armed robbery attacks, all point to the fact that insecurity is fast
becoming a norm in Nigeria and have somewhat suddenly become attractive
to certain individuals in seeking to resolve issues that could have
ordinarily been settled through due process. The end-products lead to
the decimation of innocent lives, disruption of economic activities, and
destruction of properties among others.
Just last year and early
this year, the Emir of Kano-Alhaji Ado Bayero narrowly escaped death by
the whiskers. His driver and two others were not lucky as they were
hacked to death by the assailants. Somewhere in Okene, Kogi State,
gunmen said to be sympathetic to the Cause of Islamic rebels in Mali
were said to have ambushed and opened fire and killed two soldiers on
their way to been deployed to Mali. A faceless new group known as
‘Vanguard for the Protection of Moslems in Black Africa†has claimed
responsibility for this attack. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela’s mother-Prof.
Mrs. Kaneme Okonjo was also kidnapped a while ago. It took a
demonstration of federal might-deployment of troops for her abductors to
free her. Also of recent the mother of Bayelsa State House of Assembly
was also kidnapped. These are prominent cases; so many other incidents
go unreported probably because the victims lack a voice.
In an
interview with Guardian Newspaper in united kingdom, marking late Prof.
Chinua Achebe’s 80th Birthday, he was quoted as saying, “Nigeria is on
the brink of a precipice†and that “we urgently have to face up to our
responsibilities before it is too lateâ€.
Accordingly, Ogebe (1991)
observed that the current problems facing Nigeria is not the only rising
incidence in crimes, but also the gradual shift in the categories of
crimes committed from less serious to a more serious and heinous crimes
of violence. This poses a great challenge to the police as well as
raises questions of the police accountability and effectiveness.
The
Nigerian police have been highly criticized for its inability to stem
the rising tide of crimes in Nigeria because of series of endemic
problems in recruitment, training and discipline and lack expertise in
specialized fields. Corruption and dishonesty is also widespread in the
police force thereby engendering a low level of public confidence by the
public, leading to failure to report crimes, and tendencies to resort
to self-help by the public. Ash (1971) observed that perhaps the police
performance has been entirely dissatisfactory because there is confusion
concerning what police men actually do on the job and what they
reasonably can be expected to do to achieve a more effective police
force. The range of services that police provide are vast and crime
prevention account for only 20 to 30 percent of police work. In many
cities today police work often seem to consist mainly of reaction to
emergencies. It sometimes appears that the original emphasis on crime
prevention has been lost (Awake, 2000). This has greatly accounted for
the alarming rate of crimes in the country.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This research work seeks to reveal the Causes and effects of insecurity in Nigeria and the challenges and relevance of the Nigerian police force as a panacea. It is on this premise that the study bases its emphasis on the Nigerian police force to appraise and ascertain efforts and limitation encountered in providing adequate security to Nigerians. The subject matter is both timely and pivotal in this era when Nigeria’s image and freedom internationally and locally is deteriorating due to ... Continue reading---
