By Hassan Zainab U14MM1041
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria specifically states that “The
security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. Unfortunately,
government on this constitutional responsibility has failed to provide a secured and safe
environment for lives, properties and the conduct of business and economic activities. The
alarming level of insecurity in Nigeria has fuelled the crime rate and terrorists attacks in different
parts of the country, leaving unpalatable consequences for the nation‟s economy and its growth.
To address the threat to national security and combat the increasing waves of crime the federal
government in the 2013 budget made a huge allocation to security, and the national assembly
passed the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2011. Despite these efforts, the level of insecurity in the
country is still high, and a confirmation of this is the low ranking of Nigeria in the Global Peace
Index (GPI, 2012).
Amidst the deteriorating security situation in the country, Nigeria is also confronted with
daunting developmental challenges which pose serious threat to socio-economic development.
These developmental challenges include endemic rural and urban poverty, high rate of
unemployment, debilitating youth unemployment, low industrial output, unstable and
deteriorating exchange rate, high inflation rate, inadequate physical and social infrastructure,
very large domestic debt, and rising stock of external debt. Within the last few years, heightened
social insecurity in Nigeria has arguably fuelled the crime rate, leaving unpalatable consequences
for the nation’s economy and its growth. The socio-political and economic landscape in Nigeria
has been blighted by the endemic twin evil of crime and violence.
Dimensionally, “the pattern of Insecurity in Nigeria has been regionalized. Militia
groups’ Insurgency in the north, kidnappers in the eastern and southern part of the country, ritual
killing in the west, political and non-political calculated assassinations across the nation. The
regionalized structure of Insecurity has also given rise to regionalized unlegislated security
formation in the country in a bid to curtail the alarming rate of insecurity. The implication of this
is that, it send signal to the rest of the international community that Nigeria is not a safe and
secure place and as such not suitable for economic Investment and activities. Little wonder or no
wonder, investors particularly foreign, are leaving the shore of Nigeria for other African
countries with relative peace. Even as Nigeria struggles with the teeming youth unemployment,
companies in their numbers are closing down operations in the north and relocating to other
African countries for fear of loss of lives and properties. And the few remaining companies
operate on skeletal bases. Workers, both local and expatriates had fled the region. This
development has multiplied the number of unemployed youth roaming the street and has become
an easy tool for violence. This scenario has not only deepened the existing unemployment rate
but also paints a gloomy picture of poverty. while other countries are showing commitment in
tackling insecurity, Nigeria may be described as being lackadaisical in this regard for so many
reasons such as poverty, unemployment, imperative good leadership etc.
In Nigeria, it will be imperative to know that the country face both internal and external
insecurity challenge. However, the internal causes of insecurity such as Ethno-religious
Conflicts, Politically Based Violence, Systemic and Political Corruption, and Economic-Based
pose major challenge to socio-economic development than the external causes of insecurity and
without a good place for market, there cannot be peaceful coexistence in the state. Governments
at all levels should ensure that rising poverty indices are reversed and a realistic social security
programme is pursued and systematically implemented to ensure that the populace meets their
basic needs.
Since one of the major causes of insecurity in the country is the failure of successive
administration to address challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequitable distribution of
wealth among ethnic nationalities. The elimination of these threats should be the number one
goal of governments in Nigeria at all levels as the country cannot achieve any significant
development amidst insecurity and violence. Government must be proactive in dealing with
security issues and threats, through modern methods of intelligence gathering, and intelligence
sharing, training, logistics, motivation, and deploying advanced technology in managing security
challenges.The remedy for solving insecurity challenge in Nigeria is for government to
accelerate the pace of development. Development in this context consists of creating an economy
with relevant social, economic and physical infrastructure for business operations and industrial
growth, to provide gainful employment, high level of educational facilities, and medical care for
the people.
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