Insecurity: A Great Retardation to Peace and Progress (Part 2)

BY Dr. MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN

Introduction
In any civilised society, one of the primary responsibilities of government, if not the most important, is the safeguarding of the welfare and security of its people. However, this ‘security monopoly’ trend is fast changing. On this note, we shall continue our discourse on this vexed issue, having commenced with armed conflicts and the role of the civil society.

Armed Conflicts and the Role of the Civil Society
(Continues)
More interestingly is that, armed conflicts in Africa can be traced back to the post-independence era as far back as 1967, the Igbo section of the Nigerian community, led by the unbreakable Biafra Warlord, Lt. Col Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, raised arms to secede from the Nigerian State. All over Africa, from Lagos to Luanda, Mali to Maputo, conflicts were the order of the day. African countries experienced decades of devastating wars including the Congo war, Somali War, Rwandan Genocide, Northern Mali Conflict, Angolan Civil War, Sudanese War, East African Campaign, to mention but a few, and these wars crippled governance and development in several African States.

With the proliferation of armed conflicts which reached their peak in the 1990s, and together with the burden of peace building on the shoulders of the international community, the attention of donors and peace building practitioners turned to the potential role to be played by civil society.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa and arguably its most economically advanced country, has been a theatre of various conflicts recently, and one of the most unstable environments in terms of insecurity to human lives and properties.
Another sad truth is that, the federating units making up the country are yet to truly recognise each unit as constituents of one nation, and owing to other factors such as religious, economic, political, social, among others; therefore, the Nigerian environment is unnecessarily prone to conflict. Even government interventions and international support, is proving inadequate in addressing this malaise.

Conflicts Everywhere
Again, the Boko Haram sect which started in the early 21st century Nigeria with the rejection of western education, later metamorphosed into a deadly group that declared war on Nigeria and socalled infidels, killing thousands of Nigerians in the process. The peak of their gruesome attacks, was the abduction of around 276 school girls from their school in the hitherto unknown ancient town of Chibok. Women and children were regularly molested, tortured and killed. Though the present government of Muhammadu Buhari was able to free some of their captives, including some of the Chibok girls, the activities of the sect have been on the upsurge. The people living in the North-East region of Nigeria are still in danger of frequent attacks from members of the sect.

The deadly clash between indigenous farmers and herdsmen in many parts of Nigeria, is another security challenge in Nigeria. In Benue State, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Ekiti, Katsina, etc. Many people have been killed, maimed, raped and suffered untold destruction of their properties to what has been generally termed cattle rustling. Violence has become a pastime between attacking herders and host farmers leading to loss of lives, priorities and displacement of farmers and cattle thefts.

Piracy on the Nigeria waters, especially in the Gulf of Guinea coast off Nigeria, militancy in the Niger Delta for resource control; violent secessionist agitation for the sovereign State of Biafra in the South-East, kidnapping and high level robbery in South-East, South-South and South-West Nigeria; the call for restructuring by some segments of the Nigerian society, as well as pockets of ethnic conflicts in several parts of Nigeria, all certified Nigeria as one of the most volatile places to live.

Rule of Law and Corruption
According to the International Labour Organisation, 2012, Unemployment is among the biggest threats to social stability in many countries, using Nigeria as a case study. It is germane to know that rule of law is a key principle in good governance, which fosters equality and respect for fundamental human rights which are the motor towards development. It is well known that, development cannot flourish where people cannot make their voices heard, human rights are not respected, information does not flow, and civil society and the Judiciary are weak. There is no excuse for any country, no matter how poor, to abuse its citizens, deny them equal protection of the law, or leave them victims of corruption, mismanagement or economic irrationality. It is dizzying that what we have in opposite in our darling Nigeria is mayhem, bloodshed, lack of trust in government, unemployment, abject poverty, mismanagement of public funds and grand corruption. Corruption has denied millions of Nigerians access to education, housing, health, food and infrastructure. Despite our human resources, material resources and natural endowments, geographical location and population, we are nowhere to be found on the march towards sustainable development.

Some Known Causes of Insecurity
1.Unemployment
The overwhelming unemployment rate in the country, has become a sorry affair. The issue becomes more despondent, as it affects most the Nigerian youths. According to available statistics, every tenth young citizen of the country, is officially unemployed. The resultant effect of this is that, youths look at illegal ways of making money. Such ways are what have directly/indirectly caused a spike in the kidnapping rate in Nigeria.
Statistics provided by the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as of the later part of 2020, show that the unemployment rate in the country has risen to 27.1%. With the devastation on the economy due to Covid-19 pandemic and the Government’s ban regulations on the Fin Tech industry, the economy has gone through an unprecedented decline. The combined effect of this is that the youths have had to struggle with loss of jobs, and also struggled with making ends meet.

2.Imbalance in Security Decisions/ Solutions
Recently the Southern Governors, in a bid to reduce or eliminate the reign of insecurity in Southern Nigeria, saw it fit to effect an Anti-Grazing Ban policy in States in the Southern parts of the country. What this would achieve is that, it would put an end not only to farmers/herders conflicts (an euphemism for unprovoked herders attack on unarmed indigenes), but also to the influx of arms and ammunition by unknown Fulanis in the name of grazing. It is no news that this development has been fought back to date, with leaders of the North viewing this more as a move to separate than a need for security.

Section 176(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that:
“The Governor of a State shall be the Chief Executive of that State”.
What this means is that, each Governor as the Chief Executive of a State, has the priority to secure, protect and work for the progress of their States, and for its citizens.
3.Border Control and Poor Security Infrastructure in Nigeria
Smugglers use porous coastal borders of the country to sell arms, they provide all sorts of guns and explosives used against the people and military forces, and have become easy for the average individual to acquire in Nigeria.

This is one of the reasons why a huge part of the Nigerian Government’s budget, is diverted to Security in Nigeria. In the 2021 budget, N840.56 billion was set aside as security votes, in the hopes of combating national insecurity in Nigeria.
This has left other parts of Nigeria’s infrastructure to be under- budgeted, and have little funding from the Government. With an increase in checkpoints, border patrols and recent schemes to increase the pay of security personnel and get more people to join the agencies, the crime situation in Nigeria is still to see any astronomical decline. With help sought out internationally and from private security agencies in a bid to stop this poor border crises and heighten or countries security, one would be hopeful for change, but the situation so far gets worse.

A Problematic Status Quo
Under the current system, suspected Boko Haram members captured during military operations are subjected to an internal military screening process, and those deemed to pose a security risk are placed in military detention. Yet, the screening criteria and evidence used to detain these suspects, are opaque. Human rights groups have criticised the Nigerian military’s approach for being too indiscriminate, particularly before 2015. Nigerian security forces often arbitrarily arrested villagers, in areas suspected of harbouring Boko Haram fighters. Individuals caught in areas not secured by the military are automatically considered suspects, partly because of the operational difficulties of verifying information about their backgrounds. Mass trials of suspects began in late 2017, but the large caseload and insufficient or unreliable evidence against many detainees, has slowed the court process considerably.

Since 2016, the Nigerian Government has also operated “Operation Safe Corridor”, a small intergovernmental program aimed at rehabilitating low-risk, “repentant” Boko Haram fighters. This program is currently the only sanctioned mechanism, for combatants to exit the group. Men who are deemed eligible undergo several weeks of religious reeducation, psychosocial support, and vocational training at a military-run facility in Gombe State. In Maiduguri, the Government has also set up a rehabilitation centre for low-risk women, children, and elderly individuals associated with Boko Haram—a group that in practice, includes both former Boko Haram members as well as those who had been abducted by the group, or were arrested for living in an area controlled by the group.

From the onset, Operation Safe Corridor generated controversy. For example, it is unclear what criteria the military uses to categorise individuals as “low-risk” versus “high-risk”- a distinction that determines who is cleared for rehabilitation, who is kept in detention, or who is informally released. As a result, Boko Haram affiliates have no way of knowing whether they will be deemed eligible after surrendering. Those familiar with the program suggest that it has a very narrow scope, as the military is cautious in classifying any suspected Boko Haram affiliates as low-risk. Moreover, to date only those deemed to be “defectors” have been cleared for entry, although it is possible that those released for rehabilitation by the courts may also be transferred to the Gombe Facility in the future. Many others who were arrested in the earlier years of the insurgency remain in detention, even though large numbers likely had little or no connection to Boko Haram.

Operation Safe Corridor currently also lacks a clear reintegration strategy in part, because Politicians fear being seen as lenient towards extremist groups, the government has done little to build popular support for the scheme, or clarify the misconceptions surrounding it. As a result, many people view Operation Safe Corridor with frustration. They are sceptical that those who surrender are truly repentant, and resent that the government provides assistance to former insurgents, while neglecting the victims of the conflict. Fears of community retribution have repeatedly delayed plans to release the class of ninety-six individuals who have completed the program. Women and children who have returned to their communities from the rehabilitation centre, have faced ostracism and rejection. (To be continued).

Serious and Trivial
There are two sides to every coin. Life itself contains not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. Let us now explore these.
“The test of integrity isn’t how often you shift your stance. It’s why you change your mind. Revising your words to gain approval is flip-flopping. Rethinking your views based on new facts is learning. Integrity isn’t fidelity to seeking the truth”.- Adam Grant.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Insecurity, commonly regarded as a weakness in normal people, is the basic tool of the actor’s trade”. (Miranda Richardson)