INSECURITY, A THREAT TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The increasing nature of insurgency, terrorism,arm robbery,kidnappings, corruption and ethnic crisis etc in Nigeria constitute a devastating threat to security to life and property. Lack of security of lives and property of the citizenry is a severe hindrance to meaningful development. A climate of fear will frighten domestic and foreign investors. At the heart of many of these conflicts is access to resources and control over the distribution of benefits. This struggle for resources has led to a broad sense of insecurity, opportunism, and the pursuit of self- help strategies across the country. Some of the causes of violence include godfather-ism, poverty, unemployment, money and politics, corruption, small arms proliferation, the rise of armed groups, religious based violence and election fraud. These issues represent dividing lines in communities that have led to heightened tensions between and within groups The effects of violence and corruption etc, on a nation’s economy are damaging. A nation in undated with corruption cannot be viable economically; neither can the system generate enough support/ affection required for the survival of democratic system. This is a situation in Nigeria where corruption has become part and parcel of the political culture. Corruption has indeed robbed Nigerians the benefit of economic development because scarce available resources that should have been deployed to execute development project have gone into private foreign accounts.

Corruption is widespread in Nigeria, not because the people are different from other parts of the world, but because the conditions are ripe for it. There are many reasons why this is so. The motivation to earn income from among the populace is relatively stronger; exacerbated by poverty, unemployment and low wages. In many developing countries Nigeria inclusive, accountability is generally weak. Political competition and civil liberties are often restricted. Laws and principles of ethics in governance are poorly developed and the legal institutions charged with enforcing them are ill-prepared.147,148. The incidence of June 2011 bombing of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters as well as September bombing of United Nations building in Abuja has been seen by many as a daring assault not only on the nation’s intelligence but as pointer to the fact that no one is safe. The general state of insecurity in Nigeria presently lends credence to the report that kidnapping is an of shoot of the Niger Delta crisis. This insurgency has thrown a huge cloak of insecurity not just over the entire south-south geopolitical zone, but also the south east, and southwest. Kidnapping gangs have made the two zones their haven. No person is spared in this new wave of crime that seems to have supplanted armed robbery and other non-contact crimes.

However, the security challenge this poses to the state of Nigeria is better understood against existing evidence that even government officials and traditional rulers are not spared. This has led to some of these officials relocating their families outside the geopolitical zone or outside the country. What the current trend of violence is imprinting on the psyche of Nigerians is that the government security apparatus is incapable of guaranteeing the safety and security of its people. This would, therefore, impact on the human security of the people as the situation promotes fear, while at the same time limiting the peoples’ ability to develop economically. The state’s capacity to attract investors becomes limited as a result of the insecurity. Okolo,B. The State of Insecurity in Nigeria.In Nigeria world.com. 2009. The research intends to investigate insecurity as a threat to national development

1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The increase wave of violence of terrorism, insurgency,arms trafficking, kidnappings, arm robbery, ethnic crisis etc constitutes a devastating threat to the security of lives and property of the citizenry. This research intends to investigate insecurity as a threat to national development.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

1 What is the nature of insecurity in Nigeria? 2 What are the causes and effect of insecurity in Nigeria? 3 What are the measures to mitigate and eliminate insecurity in Nigeria?