Aug 192021PREFACE
One of the greatest challenges facing Nigeria today is the scourge of insecurity and its consequent instability and underdevelopment. It is so enormous that it affects all sectors of her economy and all efforts to develop the nation. The earlier this is addressed the better for the nation.
For over six decades after her independence, Nigeria as a nation has been making steady progress in terms of growth and development. In some few cases, it recorded a giant stride that makes her a point of reference in the global community.
Today, most progress so far made has been reversed by the scourge of insecurity and further complicated by the issues of corruption, bad governance, non-inclusion in governance, poverty, ethno-religious conflicts and lack luster leaders at all levels of her national life.
Today, most of the indices of development which has been use to measure progress in Nigeria show a negative slope of growth. This is sadly not a good omen for our country, and a fear that the country may fail in the nearest future.
A failed Nigeria will not only be disastrous for most of the African countries and the rest of the world, consequently all efforts must be put in place to arrest the situation in the country.
We must thus be very responsive enough in identifying and promptly addressing all related factors that is speeding Nigeria to a failed state.
We must address the roots of insecurity and all other challenges facing the nation. We must strongly put up a robust response to identify and nip in buds all causative factors of insurgency. We must critically analyze and reviewed the consequences of the terror groups on Nigeria, and evolve lasting solutions to address all these challenges, only then can we ever attempt to truly begin our journey to a genuine nationhood. We must all work and partner together to rebuild Nigeria and make it prosperous in the process. We must engage all sectors of the nation in building a truly great and resilient Nigeria and Nigerians.
Boko Haram is a Nigeria’s militant Islamist fighting to overthrow the government and consequently create an Islamic state. The group was established in 2002 by one Muhammed Yusuf, as a Sunni Islamist sect opposed to western education and keen on foisting Islamic authority on the people, especially Northern Nigeria.
Since its establishment and his campaigns, the Boko Haram group has caused series of massive havoc in Africa’s most populous countries, through campaigns of bombings and attacks, since 2009.
The Boko Haram insurgency has no doubt posed the greatest challenges to the peace, unity, and stability of the nation since its foundation, the earlier this is addressed the better for the nation and her development.
There are several causes of Boko Haram insurgency, some of which include
Some of the causes or triggers of Boko Haram are as follows.
Poverty, unemployment, wealth and economic inequality, high cost of governance, budget delay and manipulations, population explosion, massive national debt, corruption, illiteracy, the mismanagement of the almajiri system, ineffective security and defense architecture.
The earlier these challenges are addressed the better for our nation.
The high cost of governance as relates to the maintenance of the public officers, has gulped billions of dollars of the tax-payers money, and remains the source of wastages of the money that could have been used to develop infrastructures or better the lives of the ordinary citizens.
Uncontrolled population and its consequent inability of government to effectively distribute and track projects to the people remain one of the factors that create vulnerable member of the society.
Corruption is an anti‐social attitude awarding improper privileges contrary to legal and moral norms and impairs the authorities’ capacity to secure the welfare of all citizens. Corruption is a constant phenomenon in Nigeria.
In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over $400 billion to corruption since the independence. In 2018, the country ranked 144th in the 180 countries listed in Transparency International's Corruption Index (with Somalia, at 180th, being the most corrupt, and Denmark the least).
Nigeria as a country has extremely porous borders, yet successive governments have done little or nothing to address it.
Porous borders have aided illegal arms proliferation, especially through the northern borders, where criminals from different parts of the world stroll into the country, contributing immeasurably to the frightening level of insecurity Nigeria is grappling with today.
The loosely guarded borders also explain why illegal arms proliferation has continued despite the frequent exercise of mopping them up. Extreme political and religious ideology has been responsible for the incidences of Boko Haram evolution as well as other forms of terrorism.
The proliferation of security agencies in the country is a threat to national security. Creating more security agencies could breed rivalry and fragmentation of resources meant for the existing ones.
Today, one of the factors that have led to the increase in the spate of insecurity is the lack of failure of effective intelligence gathering strategies in Nigeria. The earlier this is remedied the better for the nation.
The broken down of values in the society has resulted in the increased cases of cultism, robbery, corruption, violence, and intolerance.
Illiteracy continues to be a significant problem in Nigeria today. According to the 2008 Global Monitoring Report, the most recent data for Nigeria shows an adult literacy rate of 69 % (78 % for men and 60 % for women). More than 22 million people are illiterate, 65 % of who are women.
The high rate of illiteracy partly accounts for the low level of development in Nigeria because the growth and development of any nation depend largely on the quantity and quality of all segments of its population. Illiteracy fuels conflicts as it despises all the needed platforms for dialogue and reasoning.
Almajiri commonly referred to derives from the Arabic word Al-Mahaajirun, which literally means a learned scholar who propagates the peaceful message of Islam.
Regrettably, the Almajiri culture which has since outlived its purpose has become a breeding ground for child begging and in the extreme cases, potential materials for recruitment into terrorist groups.
Bad leadership and poor governance remain the core cause of Boko Haram and the leadership failure the motivation for the insurgency.
Leadership ought to lead the people well, marshaling both human and natural resources, for the betterment of most of the people
Traditional ruler plays critical roles in the society. In the past they were responsible for helping to uphold and sustain the values and cultures of the people. The absence of clearly defined roles in the constitution makes traditional rulers vulnerable to the abuse of power, victims of blackmail and pawns and punching bags in the political chess game of their respective states.
One of the main causes of Boko Haram insurgency is the ineffective security and defense architectures in the country today. Nigeria’s security architecture is outdated and ineffective is not a doubt, in view of the inability to contain numerous security threats that affects the nation.
The consequences of the Boko Haram are multifaceted and affected Nigeria and Nigerians in so many ways. It has led to death of many people, destructions of properties worth billions of dollars and displacement of many people from the original place of residence. It has destroyed many families and institutions across the country.
Boko Haram has committed serious acts of violence. It has killed an estimated 37,000 and displaced over 4.2 million in the wider Lake Chad region. The psychological impacts of the abductions and kidnapping, has a negative effect on our drive for productivity and national development.
Boko Haram has killed an estimated 2,295 teachers, and over 19,000 teachers have been displaced by the conflict. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that more than 1,400 schools have been destroyed, damaged, or looted primarily in the northeast, and more than 600,000 children have lost access to education. In addition to the abuses committed against female students and teachers as an immediate result of an attack on schools and/or while held in captivity, the suffering and impact does not end once they are rescued or escape.
Attacks on education create a ripple effect, setting in motion a range of negative impacts such as loss of education, early marriage, early pregnancy, and stigma associated with sexual violence and children born from rape, all of which can dramatically affect female students’ futures.
These harms often exacerbate and are exacerbated by pre-existing forms of gender discrimination and harmful practices that negatively affect girls and women.
Government needs to put in place a policy and programmed that will genuinely address poverty and underdevelopment. It must constantly review and update all these policy and programmed to meet up with global best practices and be very impactful. Government needs to create more jobs, by establishing new industries or reviving moribund ones.
Government must strive to reduce or redress the high cost of governance in Nigeria which has become a very disturbing phenomenon of late. It must trim the bogus allowances and salaries of our public office holders and plug all loopholes that aided the leaking or wastages of public fund.
Uncontrolled population explosions have the tendency to lead to a fragile state because of unemployment and scarce resources. Government needs to partner with stakeholders to ensure their participation as regards the need for family planning, child spacing and resource managements.
Corruption is killing Nigeria and her economy. Government needs to boost its anticorruption campaigns and enforce stricter regulations such as death penalty for those found liable.
The security at Nigerian borders must be tighten up, couple with the deployment of satellite tracking technology to monitor, track and apprehend smugglers of goods and arms.
Government must work with all relevant stakeholders to regulate the importation of radical foreign ideology or indoctrinations to the country. The Nigerian intelligence community should be more proactive in these aspects.
The law enforcement agents and agencies must be empowered and well trained to meet up in containing the unfolding security challenges in the nation as well as repositioning to tackle terrorism and Boko Haram insurgency. The number of security agencies available should be kept at minimal level yet highly motivated and structures to seamlessly work together and to efficiently fit into the overall security architecture of the nation, to achieve stability and security.
Federal government must train and empower the intelligence community, to enable them to perform maximally and to boost their intelligence gathering initiatives across the country. Government needs to put in place policies and laws that will help to strengthen family values and bonding, without compromising the morality of the nation. Government needs to address all manifestation of social injustices and impunity in the state. With these done, it will go a long way to starve off all forms of discontents that led to ethnic nationalism and branded agitation and militancy.
Government needs to place priority on the development of education and national manpower, even as its reform and modernized the Almajirai systems. Government needs to build more educational institutions to empower the people with much needed skills and increased budgetary allocations to education as a way of boosting the sector.
The place of credible leadership in addressing the myriads of challenges facing the nation cannot be over emphasized. Government must ensure the emergence of a credible and trustworthy leadership instead of greedy and selfish leaders. Here in lies the need to put in place and sustain a robust electoral system that will transparently promotes the emergence of leadership that reflect the choice of the people.
Government must ensure that there is a constitutional role for the traditional rulers so as to enable them to perform optimally and assist in development of the nation.
The royal fathers play critical roles in the promotion of peace and unity and the security of their domain, hence the imperatives of their engagements.
With these strategies in place, the challenges of insecurity will be reduced to the barest minimum and the people will experience renewed vigor and better welfare as the nation witnessed growth and development.
1.0-INTRODUCTION
One of the greatest scourges to have infected Nigeria is the scourge of insecurity and its consequent instability and underdevelopment. Since the time of amalgamation till the present day, no single events have shaken Nigeria to her very foundation and threaten our collective existence as the issues of insecurity and insurgency.
If we must continue to progress and develop as a nation, we must be proactive enough to address these big threats. If we as a people must ever be taken seriously as with other members of the respected global citizens, we must realize that no security is as assured as our collective security.
For over six decades after her independence, Nigeria as a nation has been making steady progress in terms of growth and development. In some few cases, it recorded a giant stride that makes her a point of reference in the global community.
Today, and sadly so, the gains of the past years have been brutally reversed by the scourge of insecurity and further complicated by the issues of corruption, bad governance, non-inclusion in governance ,poverty multiple taxation, ethno-religious conflicts and lack luster leaders at all levels of her national life.
Today, all indices of development concerning Nigeria, has not given hope for rejoice, rather, these indices are pointing to the worrisome facts that Nigeria is on the verge of becoming a failed state. This realization should ginger all stakeholders to be proactive enough to evolve far-reaching, forward-looking strategies and reforms that will restore Nigeria and her lost glory.
A failed Nigeria will not only be disastrous for most of the African countries, that will witness a massive spillover of millions of displaced Nigerians but will catalyze an unimaginable misery and disrupt the global workforce supplies and Diaspora remittance and other engagements.
We must thus be very responsive enough in identifying and promptly addressing all related factors that is speeding Nigeria to a failed state.
We must address the roots of insecurity and Boko Haram insurgency across Africa. The Boko Haram insurgency has indeed metamorphosed to a Frankenstein monster that threatens to consume our nation.
The increasing lethality of its operations against both Muslims and Christians has been a source of concerns. The unrestrained spread of insurgence across Africa is a cause for concerns.
The damages of property worth billions of dollars and killing of innocent and in most cases defenseless Nigerians has been the topmost concerns of all security agents or agencies across the nation.
We must strongly put up a robust response to identify and nip in the buds all causative factors of insurgency. We must critically analyze and review the consequences of the terror groups on Nigeria, and evolve lasting solutions to address all these challenges, only then can we ever attempt to truly begin our journey to a genuine nationhood.
We must all work and partner together to rebuild Nigeria and make it prosperous in the process. We must engage all sectors of the nation in building a truly great and resilient Nigeria and Nigerians.
1.1-HISTORY OF BOKO HARAM
Boko Haram is a Nigeria’s militant Islamist group, fighting to overthrow the government and consequently create an Islamic state. The group was established in 2002 by one sheik, Muhammad Yusuf, as a Sunni Islamist sect opposed to western education and keen on foisting Islamic authority on the people, especially Northern Nigeria.
Since its establishment and its campaigns, the Boko Haram group has caused series of massive havoc in Africa’s most populous country, through campaigns of bombings and attacks, since 2009, including the 2011 bombing of the United Nations Building in Abuja.
Although it has strong ties to other African terrorist groups, it has few jihadist ambitions beyond Nigeria.
1.2-CAUSES OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA
The Boko haram insurgency has no doubt posed the greatest challenge to the peace, unity, and stability of the nation since its foundation, the earlier this is addressed the better for the nation and her development.
To be able to address a problem, one must know its causes or roots.The same with the present ravaging Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and of late, some other neighboring African countries.
There are several causes of Boko Haram insurgency, it is not limited to only a cause, thus we must identify, detailed and document all these causes for our articulations that will give us a clear appreciation of the problems at hand.
Some of the causes or triggers of Boko Haram are as follows.
POVERTY
Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty means that the income level from employment is so low that basic human needs can't be met. Poverty-stricken people and families might go without proper housing, clean water, healthy food, and medical attention.
Poverty is one of the economic factors that caused the Boko Haram Insurgency. Other factors include wealth-inequality, unemployment, joblessness, deindustrialization, and economic downturn in the nation. When people are deprived of certain resources and opportunities, poverty can create resentment and cause some individuals to turn to terrorism or Boko Haram in order to express their outrage against the state.
Although some past research concludes that there is no connection between poverty and terrorism or Boko Haram Insurgency, the correlation between the two only exists where significant variables such as ethnic and religious differences and political freedom were excluded.
However, poverty can still have an important, if indirect, role in contributing to an individual or group's predisposition to participate in terrorism and Boko Haram Insurgency. One of the most apparent ways in which Boko Haram can capitalize on poverty is by exploiting the lack of social safety net that characterizes impoverished countries.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment is the state of being without any work yet looking for work. Unemployment in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy surged to the second highest on a global list of countries monitored by Bloomberg in 2019.
The jobless rate in Nigeria rose to 33.3% in the three months through December 2019, according to a report published by National Bureau of Statistics. That’s up from 27.1% in the second quarter of 2020, the last period for which the agency released labor-force statistics.
The number of people looking for jobs will keep rising as population growth continues to outpace output expansion.
Nigeria is expected to be the world’s third most-populous country by 2050, with over 300 million people, according to the United Nations.
Unemployment leads to slack hands for many people who desire to work but have none; hence in some cases they may resort to crime and criminality.
It is a fact that unemployment is the key driver of many youth who joined Boko Haram insurgency, and these must continue to be a source of concern to every stakeholder in Nigeria.
WEALTH AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
Income inequality is often accompanied by wealth inequality, which is the uneven distribution of wealth Distribution of wealth and incomes the way in which the wealth and income of a nation are divided among its population, or the way in which the wealth and income of the world are divided among nations. Such patterns of distribution are designed and studied by various statistical means, all of which are based on data of varying degrees of reliability.
There is high economic inequality amongst Nigerians to the extent that it is motivating resentment from the poor against the rich in the society.
Nigeria has an expanding economy with abundant human capital and the economic potential to lift millions out of poverty. Economic inequality in Nigeria has reached extreme levels, despite being the largest economy in Africa. The combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest men - $29.9 billion - could end extreme poverty at a national level yet 5 million face hungers.
More than 112 million people are living in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man would have to spend $1 million a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune.
Inequality in wealth and income distribution rarely leads to conflicts and of the cause of Boko Haram Insurgency, rather, Boko Haram insurgency or any form of conflict is three times more likely to break out where inequalities between different ethnic, religious, or regional groups are high than where they are average.
HIGH COST OF GOVERNANCE
The high cost of governance in Nigeria which has become a very disturbing phenomenon and has been widely acknowledged by many both within and outside the corridors of power as one of the points of unnecessary wastages of the nation’s resources and the increasing call to cut the cost of governance at this time.
The high cost of governance as relates to the maintenance of the public officers, has gulped billions of dollars of the tax-payers money, and remains the source of wastages of the money that could have been used to develop infrastructures or better the lives of the ordinary citizens and reduce the abject poverty that are snuffing life ordinary Nigerians,
The suffocating impact of the high cost of governance on our national life has made it to assume a national emergency dimension. With this high cost of maintaining the bureaucracy, the economic fortunes of the country has recently been pronounced as uncertain with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgrading the growth prospects of the economy for 2018 and 2019.
In addition, the minister of finance recently cried out that insufficient revenue has been the major problem in the effective implementations of the federal budgets.
Despite this hue and cry about revenue shortfall, not much has been seen to be done by the authorities to address this unsustainable level of the cost of governance, which invariably has not reduced despite these clearly identified revenue challenges. Thus, something drastic needs to be done in this regard to arrest this undesirable trend.
In this regard, Nigeria needs to borrow a leaf from many developed and developing countries that are making frantic efforts at reducing the cost of governance so as to conserve funds for infrastructural development that would impact positively on the lives of the citizens.
For instance, India introduced e-governance in administration in order to reduce the cost of running its government. Other countries such as Ethiopia, Thailand, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, have further resorted to reduction in the number of political appointees involved in the act of administration in their country. This has become imperative for Nigeria too.
BUDGET DELAY AND MANIPULATIONS
A budget is a preparation of an estimate of government expenditures and revenues for a specific financial year.
It is a key tool of economic planning and fiscal policy and for the government to control the direction of the economy and attain greater efficiency.
In Nigeria, according to tradition and for ease of implementations, the public budgeting and implementations is supposed to start on January 1 and end on December 31. This means that a budget proposal should have been approved by the National Assembly and accented to by the President before the beginning of a New Year.
Sadly, this has not been so; our budget has been manipulated and unnecessarily delayed, leading to un-desirous effects or adverse implications on the Nigerian economy.
A delayed or manipulated budget has dire consequences on the economy of the country as it’s among other effects, promotes corruption, stifles the economic growth, brings about uncertainty in the government fiscal policy direction and affects capital expenditure such as infrastructural development.
MASSIVE NATIONAL DEBT
One of the factors that cause Boko Haram insurgency is the mounting national debt in Nigeria. The growing public debt in Nigeria, which stood at USD 87.29 Billion, has been a source of concerns to all stakeholders in the country.
In essence, the nation’s debt is about where it was in 2005-06, just before Nigeria benefited from massive debt relief as part of a program coordinated by the Paris Club, IMF, World Bank and the African Development Bank.
To have squandered the debt reduction in just fourteen years and have no tangible economic progress to show for it is beyond disappointing. Public debts of the country have resulted in the inability of government to effectively respond to the yearning of the people, as regards the provision of infrastructure and establishment of industries, which could have created jobs for the unemployed citizens.The higher the debt, the more the numbers of people that would not have access to development or government palliatives.
POPULATION EXPLOSION
Uncontrolled population and its consequent inability of government to effectively distribute and track projects to the people remain one of the factors that create vulnerable members of the society.
Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, and it is growing at 3.2% a year. The U.S. Census Bureau says that at that rate, there will be an estimated 402 million people in Nigeria in 2050.
The major triggers for population increase include early marriages, high birth rates, religious doctrine, cultural values and lack of family planning access. Uncontrolled population explosions have the tendency to lead to a fragile state because of unemployment and scarce resources.
CORRUPTION
Corruption is an anti‐social attitude awarding improper privileges contrary to legal and moral norms and impairs the authorities’ capacity to secure the welfare of all citizens. Corruption is a constant phenomenon in Nigeria.
In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over $400 billion to corruption since the independence. In 2018, the country ranked 144th in the 180 countries listed in Transparency International's Corruption Index (with Somalia, at 180th, being the most corrupt, and Denmark the least).
Corruption remains a priority concern to the Nigerian Government and People. Corruption affects all aspects of public life, continues to undermine the social, economic, and political development of the country and is a major obstacle to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Corruption in governance and democratic space resulted in electoral manipulations, thuggery, vandalism, and cultism.
UNREGULATED MIGRATIONS
The term unregulated population migration has been adopted from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to mean movement of people that takes place outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit, and receiving countries.
Drivers of unregulated population migration include nontraditional security challenges such as changing environmental and climatic conditions, disaster management, food and water scarcity, and pandemics.
Other drivers include manmade stresses such as civil conflict and fragile and unstable governments, growing interest from external actors, and organized crime. When several factors converge, they act as a multiplier causing instability among nation states as affected populations seek other sources of food, resources, stability, or safety. Unregulated population migration in the context of an interrelated system can lead to instability in the country as many terrorists are allowed free movements within and outside Nigeria.
POROUS BORDERS
Nigeria as a country has extremely porous borders, yet successive governments have done little or nothing to address it
Porous borders have aided illegal arms proliferation, especially through the northern borders, where criminals from different parts of the world stroll into the country, contributing immeasurably to the frightening level of insecurity Nigeria is grappling with today.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has repeatedly, since the inception of his regime in 2015, blamed the festering insecurity in the country on the influx of illegal arms from Libya and close associates of the country’s former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed since 2011. In 2018, for example, Buhari said on April 11, during a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Webby, in London that gunmen trained and armed by Gaddafi did not only escape with their arms to countries like Nigeria after he was killed, but they also infiltrated the herders.
Interestingly, Libya does not even share a border with Nigeria, but it borders two countries – Chad to the South and Niger Republic to the South-West, both of which share an enormous land border with Nigeria.
While the northern part of Nigeria borders Niger Republic by about 1,497km; the North-East borders Chad by about 87km; the eastern part borders Cameroon by about 1,600km, and the western part borders the Republic of Benin by about 773km.
The then Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr David Parradang, revealed the number of illegal routes in 2014, adding that Nigeria had only 84 approved land border control posts.
`Across the over 4,000 square kilometers coverage, we have many illegal routes which are not manned.
As a result of this, many people have been killed, kidnapped, and displaced, while some are simply nowhere to be found. Most Nigerian citizens live in fear, except a few who could afford heavy protection.
The loosely guarded borders also explain why illegal arms proliferation has continued despite the frequent exercise of mopping them up.
BOUNDARY DISPUTES
A boundary dispute is a dispute that arises between owners or occupiers of neighboring community or states.
Inter- state boundary clashes are part of the raging insecurity challenges in Nigeria that have been recurring between states such as Abia and AkwaIbom; and Cross River and Ebonyi, leading to loss of many lives.
Boundary disputes promote easy access to arms and ammunitions that help to further fuel other forms of insecurity. It also leads to the hiring and retaining of mercenary, who had helped the concerned community to procure war in the past.
EXTREME POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS IDEALOGY
Extreme political and religious ideology has been responsible for the incidences of Boko Haram evolution as well as other forms of terrorism. Most of those involve in the motivation of Boko Haram insurgency got the Salafist ideology from some foreign Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and propagate it in Nigeria.
FEUDALISM
One of the key causes of Boko Haram insurgency is the feudalistic and oligarchic disposition of the supposed Nigerian leaders to the led. The feudal lords, who toady has transformed to a parasitic elite has been in the forefront evolving policies and programs that kept the poor poorer and the rich richer.
The elite would rather evolve policies that will make the less privilege in the society, lacks access to education and necessities of life, so he can be manipulated for the parochial interests. No wonder the failure to reform and address that intractable Almajirai problem, as the armies of poor homeless youths are good only for winning election.
The major inducements for governors who have for long lived in denial are the social challenges associated with continued ‘perpetuation of poverty, illiteracy, insecurity and social disorder in all the northern states.
LACK OF MOTIVATION OF THE SECURITY AGENTS AND AGENCIES
The security agents may not have been responsible for the evolution of the Boko Haram, but the way and manner it handles the killing of Mohammed Yusuf is the cause of the Boko Haram till date. A security agent that promotes extra judicial killings or impunity and brigandage is bound to get an equal measure.
A vulnerable Law Enforcement Agencies and agents cannot be efficient in helping to address insecurity or the Boko Haram insurgency. The worrisome spate of insecurity across the nation, most especially, kidnapping is a manifestation of the level or degree of neglects which the law enforcement agents and agencies has suffered neglects from government.
PROLIFERATION OF SECURITY AGENCIES
The proliferation of security agencies in the country is a threat to national security. Creating more security agencies could breed rivalry and fragmentation of resources meant for the existing ones.
The Federal Government should put in more energy towards strengthening the Nigeria Police Force, rather than creating more security outfits. The police force was the principal security agency in the country and needed to be strengthened to effectively carry out its statutory responsibilities.
The issue of sharing intelligence information is not mandatory; it is discretionary. If there is a law that makes it mandatory, there wouldn’t be conflicts among the security agencies. When there is proliferation of security agencies, the criminals might explore and exploits the weaknesses of inter security engagements to engage in crime and criminality.
LACK OF EFFECTIVE INTELLIGENCE GATHERING STRATEGIES
An intelligence collection plan (ICP) is the systematic process used by most modern armed forces and intelligence services to meet intelligence requirements through the tasking of all available resources to gather and provide pertinent information within a required time limit.
Collecting intelligence to build up a detailed knowledge of threats to the country is at the heart of Nigeria’s security agencies. The assessment and investigation process helps them to make decisions about how to respond to these threats and what protective measures to take.
It then anticipates some problems the ICP is likely to encounter—problems ranging from technical interoperability, secrecy and security, and cultural obstacles—and proposes solutions before making recommendations for how the ICP can leverage business analytics to improve its value and performance in achieving Nigeria.
Today, one of the factors that have led to the increase in the spate of insecurity is the lack of failure of effective intelligence gathering strategies in Nigeria. The earlier this is remedied the better for the nation.
WEAK FAMILY STRUCTURE
Family stability, defined as the consistency of family activities and routines. The family performs several essential functions for society. It socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, it helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction, and it provides its members with a social identity.
Families, believe it or not, are the strongest building blocks in any community. If families are proactive and stable, communities would be just as proactive and stable in return.
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse on the part of individual parents occurs continuously and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions.
The impacts of westernization and globalization has made the world a global village and thus imported bad or contrary values that is violent-prone.
CRUMBLING NATIONAL VALUES
Value can be said to be principles and ideas we hold and cherish as important and worthwhile, and which have positive effects. Values are important part of our lives because they influence and determine what we believe, hold to and stand for Understanding and recognizing our societal values helps us to resist the pressure to conform to other people’s values that are not acceptable.
There are various levels of manifestation of values in the individual, community, and society. The manifestations of values are seen in our lives, actions, conduct or character. The broken down of values in the society has resulted in the increased cases of cultism, robbery, corruption, violence, and intolerance.
ELITE CONSPIRACY
Elites are groups of persons who by virtue of position or education exercise much power or influence.
In Nigeria, elites are highly educated Nigerian government appointees or external critics that are good with problem analysis but often detached from reality and the Nigerian masses.
They are, through their manipulations, have been responsible for many challenges facing the nation, including ethno religious riots. Their manipulation as well as their intra-fighting’s to protect their greed and selfish interest foisted Boko Haram on the nation today.
NATIONAL FAULTY FOUNDATION
The founding fathers of this nation built a strong foundation for greatness and prosperity, sadly such vision was compromised on the altar of nepotism and sectionalism.
The introduction of the unitary system of government and the subsequent political manipulation of elections and the structures of the country was part of the faulty foundation that has made true development elude the nation.
It continues to promote exclusion, social injustice and ethnic nationalism that has manifested in ethnic agitations we are witnessing today.
The faulty foundation only makes many Nigerians swore allegiance to foreign countries with similar religious or political ideology instead of a faith in one indivisible Nigeria.
INDIGENE-SETTLER SYNDROME
The term settler referred to migrants who moved to areas outside their original homes and settled for the purpose of engaging in farming to improve their economic needs. Indigene refers to the original inhabitants of areas of economic exploitation.
These issues remain on the drivers of conflicts and motivations for the evolution and growth of Boko Haram insurgency, as the thrust of indigene-settler sub consciousness is influenced by religious intents and self-preservation
ILLITERACY
Illiteracy continues to be a significant problem in Nigeria today. According to the 2008 Global Monitoring Report, the most recent data for Nigeria shows an adult literacy rate of 69 % (78 % for men and 60 % for women). More than 22 million people are illiterate, 65 % of who are women.
The high rate of illiteracy partly accounts for the low level of development in Nigeria because the growth and development of any nation depend largely on the quantity and quality of all segments of its population. Illiteracy fuels conflicts as it despises all the needed platforms for dialogue and reasoning.
THE MISMANAGEMENT OF THE ALMAJIRI SYSTEM
Almajiri commonly referred to is derived from the Arabic word Al-Mahaajirun, which literally means a learned scholar who propagates the peaceful message of Islam.
Regrettably, the Almajiri culture which has since outlived its purpose has become a breeding ground for child begging and in the extreme cases, potential materials for recruitment into terrorist groups.
The pupils who were meant to be trained to become Islamic scholars have now had to struggle to cater for themselves, begging rather than learning under the watch and supervision of some semi-literate Quranic teachers or Mallams who themselves lacked the requisite financial and moral support. Hence, the system runs more as a means of survival rather than a way of life.
POOR LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE
Bad leadership and poor governance remain the core cause of Boko Haram and the leadership failure is the motivation for the insurgency. Leadership ought to lead the people well, marshaling both human and natural resources, for the betterment of most of the people.
Sadly, the leadership failures have the biggest impacts of poor governance and continue to undermine the much-needed development. Thus, the permanent state of need, poverty and not being able to bring about the required change in a country.
It keeps a country in a constant “developing” state, meaning that there is no job creation, improvement of the education system and a continuous state of poverty.
LACK OF ROLES FOR TRADITIONAL RULERS
Traditional ruler plays critical roles in the society. In the past they were responsible for helping to uphold and sustain the values and cultures of the people.
At a point in the history of the nation, they had defined constitutional roles, sadly today; it is a different kettle of fish.
They have become a mere observer and limited in their ability to promote peace, unity, and security.
The absence of clearly defined roles in the constitution makes traditional rulers vulnerable to the abuse of power, victims of blackmail and pawns and punching bags in the political chess game of their respective states.
Without constitutional protection, traditional rulers will continue to be forced by their governors to behave like party executives or political appointees or be dethroned.
CLOSE DOWN OF VIBRANT INDUSTRIES
Economy of a country is sustained by vibrant industrialization policies and strategies. Nigeria was making effort to be truly industrialized until policies and foreign collusions that came and stifles such efforts.
Nigeria had one of the best textile industries in the world with more than 180 functional factories in the early 1980s. The country then was vibrant, and it used to be the second largest in Africa, after Egypt, providing more than 800,000 direct and five million indirect jobs for Nigerians.
Sadly, most of the industries have been closed or functioning at minimal capacity. Statistics also revealed that the nine textile mills in Kaduna were closed down by the end of 2007and their workers were thrown into the labor market.
INEFFECTIVE SECURITY AND DEFENCE ARCHTECTURE
One of the main causes of Boko Haram insurgency is the ineffective security and defense architectures in the country today. To say Nigeria’s security architecture is outdated and ineffective, is not a doubt, in view of the inability to contain numerous security threats that affects the nation.
Federal Government needs to adopt Threat Vulnerability Integration in improving the security conditions of the country.
Threat Vulnerability Integration involves the mapping of terrorist threats and capabilities both current and future against specific national assets and the vulnerabilities that could be explored by the threats to exploit the assets.
While government has expanded the number of security agencies – many with overlapping functions – the publicly available analysis of the threats shows that the risks are not mitigated.
1.3-CONSEQUENCES AND IMPACTS OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA
The consequences of the Boko Haram are multifaceted and affected Nigeria and Nigerians in so many ways. It has led to the deaths of many people, destructions of properties worth billions of dollars and displacement of many people from the original place of residence. It has destroyed many families and institutions across the country. Boko Haram has committed serious acts of violence. It has killed an estimated 37,000 and displaced over 4.2 million in the wider Lake Chad region. The psychological impacts of the abductions and kidnapping, has a negative effect on our drive for productivity and national development.
A key component of Boko Haram’s ideology is hostility toward secular education, and it has gained notoriety for its repeated attacks on schools and universities, as well as teachers, administrators, and students, wreaking havoc on an already fragile educational system.
Boko Haram has killed an estimated 2,295 teachers, and over 19,000 teachers have been displaced by the conflict. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that more than 1,400 schools have been destroyed, damaged, or looted primarily in the northeast, and more than 600,000 children have lost access to education.
In addition to the abuses committed against female students and teachers as an immediate result of an attack on schools and/or while held in captivity, the suffering and impact does not end once they are rescued or escaped. Attacks on education create a ripple effect, setting in motion a range of negative impacts such as loss of education, early marriage, early pregnancy, and stigma associated with sexual violence and children born from rape, all of which can dramatically affect female students’ futures. These harms often exacerbate and are exacerbated by pre-existing forms of gender discrimination and harmful practices that negatively affect girls and women.
Poverty has been the single greatest obstacle to education in northeastern Nigeria, and parents’ ability to pay for school expenses has been further impeded by the conflict.
Many schools were also closed for significant periods due to insecurity, or because the school had been destroyed or seriously damaged during the attacks. Nigerian government forces and pro-government militia have also used schools for military purposes.
While this report documents numerous abuses that female students and teachers have suffered during an attack on their schools and/or as a direct consequence of such an attack, there are also numerous risks for teenage girls who are not in school, including early marriage, early pregnancy, and lost opportunities for personal autonomy, employment, and economic independence.
Many survivors are also reported as suffering from mental and physical health problems because of the abuses they have suffered.
1.4-WAY FORWARD-SOLUTIONS TO ENDING BOKO HARAM POVERTY,
Government needs to put in place a policy and programmed that will genuinely address poverty and underdevelopment.
It must constantly review and update all these policies and programmed to meet up with global best practices and be very impactful.
One of the most apparent ways in which Boko Haram can capitalize on poverty is by exploiting the lack of social safety net that characterizes impoverished countries.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Government needs to create more jobs, by establishing new industries or reviving moribund ones. The place of development of skills must be taken into consideration as part of the overall strategies for job creations.
WEALTH AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
In as much as government cannot forcefully take the wealth of the rich and give to the poor, it must be conscious to the level of reducing the increasing widening wealth and inequality gaps between the rich and the poor, deploying incentives of taxation, subsidies, and waivers.
HIGH COST OF GOVERNANCE
Government must strive to reduce or redress the high cost of governance in Nigeria which has become a very disturbing phenomenon of late. It must trim the bogus allowances and salaries of our public office holders and block loopholes that aided the leaking or wastages of public funds.
BUDGET DELAY AND MANIPULATIONS
Government must ensure that there is consequence for the manipulations of delay in the budgeting process, Ministries, department’s sand Agencies that failed or defend their budget late must be made to face penalties that range from suspension to termination of appointment. Strict timeframe must be set by all stakeholders to ensure that the budget cycle rhyme with national planning.
MASSIVE NATIONAL DEBT
Compounding Nigeria’s debt problem is its Nigeria’s significant contingent liabilities.
Government must ensure fiscal discipline, put in place economic environment that will promote and sustain foreign investment drive and prioritize national aspiration in line with the desired expenditures.
POPULATION EXPLOSION
Uncontrolled population explosions have the tendency to lead to a fragile state because of unemployment and scarce resources. Government needs to partner with stakeholders to ensure their participation as regards the need for family planning, child spacing and resource managements.
CORRUPTION
Corruption is an anti‐social attitude awarding improper privileges contrary to legal and moral norms and impairs the authorities’ capacity to secure the welfare of all citizens. Corruption is killing Nigeria and her economy. Government needs to boost its anticorruption campaigns and enforce stricter regulations such as death penalty for those found liable.
UNREGULATED MIGRATIONS
In as much as there are protocols supporting regional and global movements, there is need for respective government to put in place policy and laws to monitor and regulate unregulated population migration into the country or out of the country. Because this has the tendency to encourage the movement of terrorist into the country, without notice or with little resistance.
POROUS BORDERS
The security at Nigerian borders must be tighten up, couple with the deployment of satellite tracking technology to monitor, track and apprehend smugglers of goods and arms.
BOUNDARY DISPUTES
Federal government must ensure a proper boundary delineation to avoid cases of inters and intra state boundary disputes. Those who live along the border corridor have most things in common.
Not until these boundaries are finally delineated, we can’t have an end to the boundary clashes.
EXTREME POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS IDEALOGY
Extreme political and religious ideology has been responsible for the incidences of Boko Haram and other forms of terrorism.
Government must work with all relevant stakeholders to regulate the importation of radical foreign ideology or indoctrinations to the country. The Nigerian intelligence community should be more proactive in these aspects.
Prioritize support to build inclusive, tolerant, and resilient communities. Promoting, supporting, and protecting the role of communities to address the challenges of violent extremism is critical.
Empowering the role of women, engaging youth, and faith leaders, and creating safe spaces for communities to develop authentic and local solutions to the problem of violent extremism is essential.
FEUDALISMs
The life saving realized the damages they have done to the nation must undergo soul searching, have a rethink and patriotically worked towards repositioning the nation for renewal and greatness. The civil society organization must be proactive in helping the serve as check and balance the centrifugal and divisive tendencies of these selfish and self-serving elites.
LACK OF MOTIVATION OF THE SECURITY AGENTS AND AGENCIES
The law enforcement agents and agencies must be empowered and well trained to meet up in containing the unfolding security challenges in the nation as well as repositioning to tackle terrorism and Boko Haram insurgency.
PROLIFERATION OF SECURITY AGENCIES
The number of security agencies available should be kept at minimal level yet highly motivated and structures to seamlessly work together and to efficiently fit into the overall security architecture of the nation, to achieve stability and security.
LACK OF EFFECTIVE INTELLIGENCE GATHERING STRATEGIES
Federal government must train and empower the intelligence community, to enable them to perform maximally and to boost their intelligence gathering initiatives across the country.
WEAK FAMILY STRUCTURE
Government needs to put in place policies and laws that will help to strengthen family values and bonding, without compromising the morality of the nation.
The national orientation agency along with other civil society groups must be empowered to be very proactive in achieving these nationalistic goals of building a patriotic, formidable, and good family with high moral standard and fidelity.
ETHNIC MILITIA AGITATAIONS
Government needs to address all manifestation of social injustices and impunity in the state. With these done, it will go a long way to starve off all forms of discontents that led to ethnic nationalism and branded agitation and militancy.
This will help to mitigate the fall out discontents and agitations, arising from the faulty foundation of the country. The issues of the indigene-settler syndrome must also be addressed as much as the issues of illiteracy.
ILLITERACY
Government needs to place priority on the development of education and national manpower, even as its reform and modernized the Almajirai systems. Government needs to build more educational institutions to empower the people with much needed skills and increased budgetary allocations to education as a way of boosting the sector.
POOR LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE
The place of credible leadership in addressing the myriads of challenges facing the nation cannot be over emphasized. Government must ensure the emergence of a credible and trustworthy leadership instead of greedy and selfish leaders.
Here in lies the need to put in place and sustain a robust electoral system that will transparently promotes the emergence of leadership that reflect the choice of the people.
LACK OF ROLES FOR TRADITIONAL RULERS
Government must ensure that there is a constitutional role for the traditional rulers so as to enable them to perform optimally and assist in development of the nation.
The royal fathers play critical roles in the promotion of peace and unity and the security of their domain, hence the imperatives of their engagements.
The scourge of the Boko Haram insurgency is undermining national security and integration to the extent that it calls for urgent interventions, to arrest the lethal trends.
REFERENCES
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2. Dunn, G, [2018], the impact of the Book Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria on childhood wasting; a double difference study conflict and heath journal, 12[1]1-12.
3. Galula, D,[1964]counter –insurgency warfare theory and practice, London.
4. Akinwotu,E,& Sahabi,H,[2020 June ,3]waves of ‘bandit ‘massacres rupture rural life in north –west Nigeria ,the Guardian Nigeria.
5. Gurley, S.M.[2012],Linkage between BokoHaram and Al-Qaida; a potential deadly synergy Global security studies ,3[3],1-14.
6. Black RE,Victoria CG ,WALKER SP,etal ,maternal and child under nutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries ,lancet 201338[9890]427-51.
7. Buvinic m ,DAS Gupta m,Casabonne U,Verwinmp p. violent conflict and gender inequality and overview, world bank RES-OBS,2013,28[1];110-28
8. Brewer m, crossly TF, Joyce R, Inference with difference in differences
9. Rutsein SO, Johnson k, the DHS wealth index Calverton; the DHS program; 2004.
10. Mohammed K, the message and methods of Boko haram ,in Perouse montclos M.A, editor .Boko haram; Islamism, politics security series ,leiden Netherlands ;Africa studies centre ,institute François de recherché en Afrique ,2014,p,9-32.
11. ACAPS, secondary data review -24 august 2015 northeast Nigeria conflict, -Adamawa,Borno,Gombe,and Yobe state,2015.
12. Reinert M,Garcon L,Boko Haram ; a chronology in ;Perouse de montclos M,A. editor, Boko haram Islamism ,politics security, and the state in Nigeria Vol 2,west African politics and society series ,Leiden, Netherlands ;African studies centre institute François ,de Recherche en en Afrique ;2014,p,237-45.
13. Liolio, S.(2014).Rethinking Insurgency: A study of Boko Haram in Nigeria. A thesis submitted to the European Peace University, Austria.
14. Iyeke kpolo, W.O.(2019).The Political process of Boko Haram insurgency: Critical studies on terrorism.
15. Moore, R.S (2007).The basics of counter insurgency. Small wars journal, pp 1-24.
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17. Aljazeera News.(2018, February 28).110 Nigeria school girls still missing after attack: Minister said. Aljazeera Media Network.
18. Adewunmi, A.(2014).The Battle of the minds; the insurgency and counter insurgency in Northern Nigeria. West Africa insight, May 2014.
19. Abolurin ,A,[2011]Terrorism ;Nigeria and Global Dimensions, Ibadan Gems unique multi ventures.
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21. Achodo C.C [2019],Boko haram insurgency ;A rethink in strategic and tactical response toward resolving the crisis ,special report, nastier issues 23 January
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23. "Boko Haram at a glance". Amnesty International. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
24. Helen Chapin Metz, ed. "Influence of Christian Missions", Nigeria: A Country Study, Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
25. Penney, Joe (24 March 2015). "Boko Haram kidnapped hundreds in northern Nigeria town: residents". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
The book is dedicated to all my passing off’’ mentees and mentor’s of chief Sunday Awoniyi the [Aro of Mopa ] Alhaji Maitama Sule, chief Gani Fawehinmi S.A.N,S.A.M.N. Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chief Chuba Okadigbo the [Oyi of Oyi] and the innocent Nigerian’s citizen’s of youth and children, adult that are being killed by insurgency of Boko H
Sep 272017
THE STATE OF NATION’S CITIZEN SETTLERS CHALLENGES; IMPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE PAIN OF CHANGE AGENDA ON AVERAGE CITIZEN OF NIGERIANS.
Keeping mute or staying indifference in the face of the uninspiring leadership of any government amounts to demeaning complicity. Keeping mute in the face of the life – threatening misery and anguish that had been foisted on average Nigerians amounts to betrayal of posterity and the very essence of humanity. It is thus reasonable and understandable why we find it imperative to lend our voices of concerns & reasons against the increasing hopelessness in the nation as well as the slide into maladministration.
The utmost desire and aspiration of Nigerians is to see that their beloved country grows and develop in leaps and bounds. Regrettably, this desire is hampered by series of challenges; one of which is the issue of citizen-settler syndrome. Today, one of the most disturbing trends in the polity today is the issue of indigene-settler syndrome, a sad situation where places of origin are designed to give strategic advantage to those who wield this weapon of mischief. BY Nigerians politicians that use citizen –settlers as ATM for electorate victory in Nigeria.
If Nigeria is to achieve the so much desirous integration, it must properly deemphasize the issue of indigene/citizen-settler state of origins syndromes. in Nigeria.
The term “citizen” typically refers to any person who owes allegiance to a sovereign state and there by receives certain afforded legal status and certain rights. No connection to the area or land is required and those born outside of the country can often apply to become citizen.
The word “Indigene” has no place in the nation’s constitutions. There is no explicit or implicit definition of indigene. The word ‘indigene ‘use to qualify a citizen of Nigeria whose tribes is “native” to a given territory, cannot be referred to as an “Indigene” as widely abused and distorted in Nigerians to segregate and discriminate the other Nigerians living in state or local Government where their lives are not “Indigenous” to that given area.
In a sense, an “indigene” is only an “older settler” of a particular sociocultural space, while a “settler” is a more recent occupier of the same space.
The word “settler” referred to a citizen whose tribe is regarded as alien to a particular state or local government and for which no matter how long the people or their protégé have lived there in, cannot be regarded as indigene to a particular state or local government.
Today, Nigeria is one of the few nations that had series of controversies regarding citizenship status. Local and state government within a nation requires a person to be indigenous to a particular area before he can run for office in that locality, leading to a series of division. The issues of citizen -settlers have been on in Nigeria, exacerbated by struggle for limited space, couple with nepotism, favourism, tribalism, and selfishness. Corruption,
The British colonialism in northern Nigeria through its infamous indirect rule system, merely consolidated and systematized approach of the Minority was further enhanced by feudalism.
As long as the struggle for resources of the nation continues, the issue will continue to be engage for the advantage of those who wield it, regrettably this is a recourse to primordial and senseless perpetuation of rent-seeking behavior that retards nation progress.
The syndrome competes in diametrical opposition to our constitutional right as Nigerians and remains a big cankerworm that not only denies our institution high caliber leaders, but also militates against the collective development arising from individual competitiveness in the polity.
There are series of cases of abuse of citizen-settler that had undermined degree of patriotism in Nigerians. This issues affected late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe 1957 when the population of Nigeria Is [42, 656 million] in political participation in the predominantly Yoruba south west, that is the beginning of division as settlers and indigenes syndrome among Nigeria. The citizen indigenes issue led to unexpected controversies that trailed the nomination of Mr. Olusegun Aganga, the former minister of Finance as a Ministerial nominee to represent Lagos state in the federal executive council (before his eventual confirmation on July 6th by the senate).
While that was done, issues of marginalization of Lagos state in the ministerial portfolio was raised by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila(ACN), Lagos state who kicked against the nomination of Aganga because he reportedly hailed from Ora in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo state, while he is married to Abiodun Awobokun, a Yoruba woman.
Fred Agbaje, a constitutional lawyer also described his nomination as marginalization of Lagos and advised him to “simply step down and allow the people to choose a representative of their choice”
During the 2007/2008 gubernatorial election in Lagos state, some elements rose up against the candidature of Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, saying that he was not a Lagosian, the matter was not resolved until the election was concluded.
The 1999 Nigeria constitution which is the exact ground norm of the land contains various aspects with regards to citizenship.acquisition of Nigerian citizenship, Namely through birth, by registration and by naturalization.
By whatever way the Nigerian citizenship is acquired, once declared a Nigerian person, a person automatically enjoys constitutional rights guaranteed by the constitution. Why then must we continue to refer to the discriminatory tendencies of the citizen -settler syndrome?
The issue of citizen-settler has generated too much bad blood in the nation’s political history thereby undermining the oneness and development of the nation. In the nations economy and infrastructural development, such an issue has prevented the emergence of the best brain to help solve our economic challenges, giving room to mediocrity. The abuse of the word “indigenes” has led to conflict and crisis as seen in Jos pogrom of 2001, 2004, 2009, Bauchi in 2009, 2007, 1999, Kano in 1981/1991, 2001 and Zango Kataf in 1991, in Ife Modekeke in 2001, in Aguleri- Umuleri in 2002 and in Kuteb/Jukun and Tiv conflict of 2001/2002.quit notice given by arewa youth to igbo residence in the northern region /hausa by ijaw youth at south south
This said manipulations must not be allowed to continue; for instance, Olusegun Aganga who was born and has stayed for over 40years in Lagos cannot be said to be a settler again, if not for mischief and self-preservation.
If this is allowed to persist, then our desire for peaceful coexistence will be truncated.
The 1999 constitution of Nigeria provides, inter alia, in 42(11), a citizen of Nigeria of a particular communities, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not be by reason only that he or she or practical application of any law in Nigeria over any executive or administrative action of the government, to restriction to which citizen of Nigeria or other communities, ethnic groups, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion are made subject.
This is sad, particularly when viewed against the background of decline in critical sector of the nation’s economy vis – a – vis, security, power, economy and rule of law.
As the nation marks her independence anniversary, our hearts are heavy but the obvious failure of leadership at all level of governance in Nigeria. When other nations of the world celebrates giant landmark they had been able to achieve in previous year, we continue to celebrate mediocrity.
Amidst rising insecurity is total gloom of epileptic power supply and national darkness rising cost of living and blatant violation of human rights and impunity – this must not be allowed to continue again.
Under Babtunde Fashola leadership of the power sector has become equivalent to publics heath centre where emergency ward section has no drug for treatments of patient’ total national blackout remains a constant but sad failure of our reality and living.
In the face of non availability of prepaid meters today, many Nigerians groan under the crushing burdens of estimated billing or over billing-in the face of non availability of prepaid meters- by the operators in a circle of corporate inefficiency and laxity in handling the perennial power problems in the nation.
Although, the sustainable electricity supply in Nigeria has been very elusive due to ominous reasons that are not exclusive to Nigeria, but the way and manner the present Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has so far clearly shows underperformance.
The nation’s economy is no doubt under siege, particularly, under the present governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The economic indicators pointed to the fact. In the first quarter of 2017the nations GDP contracted by 0.52% according to statistics from the national bureau of statistics as released on May 23, 2017.
What it clearly translates for many Nigerian is the high economic hardship that its snuffing life out of ordinary Nigerians, occasioned by high inflation, high cost of food prices in the market, depreciation of the values of the naira and high cost of living.
Under the central bank governors inconsistent economic policies, the manufacturing and services businesses struggled with many shutting down as they were unable and find it difficult to access the regular and cushioning streams of foreign exchange needed for operation.
It is clear the Godwin Emefiele has failed in his job as his policies are not only killing industries but also the patriotic efforts to diversify the economy. He has proven to be clueless and lack the grasp and confidence needed to challenge the meddling in the affairs of the apex bank as his predecessors.
Under his leadership, the CBN supervises illegal recruitment of children of influential Nigerian POLITICIANS without recourse to due process while thousand of qualify able graduate Nigerians of both the old and new generation banks are been sack with their deceit of cooperate inefficiency consultant to recruit inexperience as incompetent that will accommodate their
Nigerians. Under his inconsistent policies, the operators of bureau de change were banned from accessing foreign exchange and stop the banks from selling forex to even students ,essential commodities and open forex for highly place exposed corrupt persons of politicians for medical missions abroad, thereby making naira to lose value. He fixes currency exchange rates without considering the market forces. This inconsistent policies have caused untold hardship on ordinary citizen of Nigeria, we need competent hand to run the CBN,to address the abysmal economic failure in the nation and to help stabilize the rule of law.
THE ANTTHORNEY GENERAL
The observance to the rule of law remains the robust catalyst to drive the nation fight against in security, corruption, nepotism and promote economic stability in the polity. Sadly under the present dispensation, the rising culture of impunity is celebrated as well as disobedience of court order. This no doubt is a threat to the judiciary as it continues to threaten it independence. Several high profile cases of criminal charges withdraw and some in which court has ruled that the federal government release the subject had been glaringly disobeyed, yet the attorney general has not been able to stamp his influence and compelled the federal government to respect the rule of law.
The position of attorney general and minister justice is too important to be subjected to partisan politics or citizen-settler syndromes and indigene as non indigene tribal sentiment, regrettably under the present minister of justice and attorney general, Abubakar Malami, SAN, the chief law officer of the federation, we have seen a tend towards primordial cleavages.
Instead of him to abide by the oath of his office and stop pandering to the whim and caprices of a section of the country to the detriment of national security interest. The position is too prestigious to delegate to charge and bail attorney general or to project into low level of incompetence. Of’’ CJN’ judgments before trials’ It must continue to truly serve as a liaison between government and the legislatures; to pander on sectional interest is to continue to lose the confidence of the generality of Nigerians in the nation’s judiciary. It must not promote any ethnic or tribal agenda, else the stability of the nation will be further compromised and negatively impact on the ability of government to fulfill its electoral promises within the remaining time it issue of citizen –settler in our nation. We call on all other NGO’S organization of patriotic activist and prominent Nigerians to joining us’ in campaign, and championing for an equitable citizenship bill for adoption into our constitution where every Nigerians will be equal.
COMRADE, BATURE JOHNSON,
President [IAADHR] international association for advancement and defense of human rights.
