Insecurity in Nigeria: Causes and Resolutions

TODAY, it is news of a bomb blast. Yesterday, it was a suicide bombing, tomorrow; it may be an assassination and the day after, mass murder. Every day in Nigeria, the news seems to get from bad to worse, as the security situation deteriorates further and further.

However, just a few years back we thought we were safe, and would not face security issues in our country. But now, there is Crises everywhere, with dying and properties being lost. The physical and physiological toll on Nigerians is great: People sleep every night with one eye open; no one really feels safe in the country.

Whenever there’s a problem there’s always the cause but the case becomes a bigger problem when the cause is not just one or two but an accumulation of problems. What are the remote and immediate causes of insecurity in Nigerian and how can the situation be resolved? Bad leadership, corruption, illiteracy and many more are all responsible for the state of the country. The leadership of the country has contributed so much to the insecurity Nigeria is facing today.

We create new crime fighting agencies every day and come up with new laws but fail to enforce same and stand by them.

It is ridiculous to know that our government negotiates with terrorists using mobile phones but up till today, our security agencies have not used simple tracking devices to locate them. The world of technology has developed over time but we have refused to move along with technology. Multiple technologies exit that can be used to improve security, but o0ur security agencies may not even be aware of. How can they tackle terror in this age?

The question is, are we not capable of purchasing these devices? This is where corruption comes into the picture. “Public funds” are supposed to be used for the welfare of the public but because of corruption public funds have now being turned into individual wealth.

Every individual in power wants his share of the ‘ national cake’ and put thousands of people at risk. Nigeria is wealthy, but we are not making good use of the funds we have. This is also directly related to the effect of bad leadership.

Illiteracy is one of the major causes of insecurity and is a very strong factor leading people against their own country. Illiterate persons came up with the ideology that education is bad. In the end, we are faced with an existential threat to the nation.

Insecurity has brought about so many negative effects, including millions of internally displaced persons. This has led to political, social and economic disruptions which in turn lead to slow economic growth and development. The world now sees Nigeria as a very violent nation and this has destroyed the reputation of Nigerians across the world.

A lot of measures need to be put in place to resolve insecurity. New security policies, thinking and strategies need to be developed; corruption has to be stopped; the government and the people need to develop trust and work together to resolve the insecurity situation for Nigeria to move forward.

Sani Nadabo, Mass Communication Deparment, Baze University, Abuja.