NSECURITY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND RESOLUTIONS

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

2.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Security

Security could be defined as the relative freedom which individuals, groups and nations enjoy from danger, risk, or threat of harm, injury, or loss to personnel and/or property. The cause, whether deliberately or by accident or for the state of being certain, adverse effects by some agent under defined conditions. It is also seen as the degree of resistance to, or protection from, harm and it applies to any vulnerable and valuable asset, such as a person, dwelling, community, nation, or organization. According to the Institute for Security and Open Methodologies (ISECOM) in the OSSTMM 3, security provides "a form of protection where a separation is created between the assets and the threat." These separations are generically called controls, and sometimes include changes to the asset or the threat. However, if whatever went contrary to the above, this shows that there was insecurity.

Insecurity

Insecurity, in a general term, refers to a state of being subjected to fear, threat, danger, molestation, intimidation, harassment etc in all aspect. For example, insecurity can be conceived as threats to the state which often accounted for the race for arms and nuclear weapons to defend the state as opined by AjodoAdebanjoko and Ugwuoke (2014). The state of insecurity became prominently featured during the postCold War era as well as post September 11 world trade center bombing when people views and attentions are more centered about security. According to Saliu, Luqman and Abdullahi (2007) human threats of life emanate not only from situation of violent conflicts but also other non-conflict sources. Thus; insecurity is a situation of fear or anything that causes fear, harm, or has the capability to cause fear or harm, injury, destructions to an individual, group or nation.

The Web stairs international dictionary (2000) defined insecurity as being unsure, unstable, shaky, apprehensive, or lacking in self-confidence. This can be anything from upbringing, unsettling circumstances, mistreatment, to individual fears. Perception of security may be poorly mapped to measureable objective security. For example, the fear of armed robbers in the north has been reported to be less common compared to fear of Boko-Haram. The presence of security protections may even be taken for security itself. For example, the presence of security men in the north-east could be interfering with each other and even cancelling each other's effect and became counterproductive yet the civilians still believes s/he is getting double the protection than no presence of security personnel. This means, insecurity is a critical term employed as a measure primarily aimed at raising subjective security without a genuine or commensurate concern for the effects of that measure on objective security. Perception of security can increase objective security when it affects or deters malicious behavior such as the insurgency and terrorist attacks as with visual signs of security protections as obtained most in developed countries. They include such as video surveillance, alarm systems in a home, or an anti-theft system in a car such as a vehicle tracking system or warning sign. Since some intruders will decide not to attempt to break into such areas or vehicles, there can actually be less damage to windows in addition to protection of valuable objects inside.

SECURITY CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA

Attempting to assess the security situation in Nigeria, Omoyibo and Akpomera (2012) further posit that security in Nigeria can be compared to an individual who put iron bars across his or her windows which aimed to protect only turn around to prevent the individual from escaping a fire outbreak. For them, the only condition for the maintenance of peace and the guarantee of security is by upholding law and order. By this, state could be secured against threats which may include low-level civil disorder, crime, organized violence, or even an armed insurgency (El-Rufai, 2012). Agomuo (2013) commented on the nature of insecurity in Nigeria that at different times in the past and observed that: Insecurity has held the Nigerian nation to ransom. For example, Boko-Haram held the region into ransom and reined the nation’s security agencies useless at one point or the other. Lamenting the level of security deterioration in the north, Falana (2013) blamed the government for allowing things to get out of control before declaring the state of emergency.However several security challenges as thus has bedeviled the polity of Nigeria such as:

Niger Delta Crisis

According to Nwagboso (2012), the Niger Delta conflict arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between international oil companies (IOCs) and some representatives of Niger Delta minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited without due compensation from the IOCs (Osungade, 2008). Thus, ethnic and political unrest continued in the region throughout the 1990s and persisted despite the enthronement of democracy in 1999. However, competition for oil wealth in the region gave rise to agitations, violence and subsequent extra-judicial killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and nine Ogoni leaders by the Abacha regime (Urim, 1999). This extra-judicial killing of Ogoni leaders by the Abacha regime was condemned both within the country and by the international community. This was followed by sanctions placed on Nigeria during the period. As Nwagboso (2012) observed, the inability or failure of the government, particularly during the military era, to address the root causes of the agitation (environmental problems, poverty, unemployment, lack of basic amenities, etc.), in the Niger Delta region, resulted in the spawning of ethnic militias of Niger Delta origin leading to the militarisation of nearly the entire region. Thus, the foundation was laid for the wave of insecurity that beleaguered the entire region and spread throughout the tentacles of power. Although in order to ameliorate the environmental degradation and the absolute poverty in place, the government established some institutions or agencies to douse the tension in the area such as the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Ministry of Niger Delta (MND); these intervention remedies, notwithstanding, the conflicts and insecurity in the Niger Delta region persisted. In fact, the region witnessed severe security threats and the emergence of other agitating groups affiliated to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) like the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) led by Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and the Niger Delta vigilante (NDV) led by Ateke Tom. These groups purportedly joined the struggle to address the injustice by the Federal Government against the region and this move exacerbated the security problems not only in the region, but also in the entire Nigerian state (Nwagboso, 2012). While the leaders of the agitating groups were from the Ijaw nation, the two groups (NDPVF and NDV) eclipsed a plethora of smaller militias supposedly numbering more than one hundred in the Niger Delta region. These groups comprised mostly the disaffected young men from Warri, Port Harcourt, Yenegoa and their sub-urban areas (Aderoju, 2008). The Federal Government used a mixture of carrot-and-stick approach and force to cower the militants into accepting its proposal for amnesty which happened under the leadership of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who had announced the granting of Amnesty and unconditional pardon to militants in the region (Rotimi, 2009). The militants were given between August 6 and October 4, 2009 to surrender their weapons to the federal government in return for training and rehabilitation. During the 60-day period, the militants led their groups to surrender their weapons which included rocket-propelled grenades, guns, explosives, 202Glo bal Journal of Human Social Science Volume XIII Issue WII Version I ( ) F 562 Year 2013 © 2013 Global Journals Inc. (US) Addressing the Insecurity Challenge in Nigeria: the Imperative of Moral Values and Virtue Ethics ammunition, gunboats, among others. Although the federal governments' Amnesty Programme reduced the rate of militancy in the region, the incessant kidnapping activities in the Niger Delta region eventually spilled over into some states in the South-East geo-political zone of the country.

KIDNAPPING IN THE SOUTH-EAST ZONE

The history of kidnapping in the South-East zone of Nigeria could be traced to hostilities, conflicts and violence in the Niger Delta region (Nwagboso, 2012). Kidnapping, which is the act of abducting somebody and keeping him/her as a prisoner in order to get a ransom for his/her release, suddenly took on a whole new economic attraction in the South-East of Nigeria. This new black economy thrived in the SouthEast zone, especially in Abia and Imo states, where prominent indigenes and residents of the states were easy targets. Following the 2007 general elections in Nigeria, this social problem became virulent in the South-East as youths that were used as political thugs by politicians during the 2007 general elections subsequently diverted their guns, skills and energy into the ugly trade as a new means of economic survival after the elections. As Nwagboso noted, confessions by those apprehended indicated that some politicians in these states supplied guns to youths for the purpose of rigging the 2007 general elections. Unfortunately these guns were not retrieved at the end of the elections. Consequently, kidnapping transmuted into a profitable business mostly among the youths in Abia, Imo, Ebonyi and other states in the zone. Thus, the increasing rate of kidnapping activities in Abia state, particularly in Aba metropolis, resulted in several foiled attempts to kidnap the Abia state Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, in 2008 (Nwogu, 2008). Thus, from 2007 to 2010, several prominent residents and indigenes in Aba and its environs were kidnapped for ransom. This adversely affected the economy of Abia state as many businessmen and manufacturing companies relocated to other states like Enugu and Anambra. Kidnappers went as far as abducting school children, traditional rulers, innocent citizens while attending church services or village meetings. According to Nwagboso (2012), the kidnapping of school children forced all the commercial banks in the area to close down for several days in 2010. It is pertinent to note that prior to this period, many commercial banks were robbed in Aba which is the commercial fulcrum of Abia state. To address the spate of kidnapping in the South-East zone particularly in Abia state, the federal government, by the invitation of the state government, deployed soldiers to Aba metropolis and its environs and this action minimised the reported cases of the menace, especially in Aba and its environs. This was partly as a result of intensive attacks launched by the army at the hideouts of kidnappers in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State (Sampson, 2010).

TERRORISM IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

This is another major security challenge in Nigeria which has adversely affected the Nigerian economy. According to Olugbode (2010), the word “Boko” is a Hausa word meaning “Animist”, “western”, otherwise non-islamic education; and the Arabic word “Haram” figuratively means “sin” or literally something “forbidden”. The Boko Haram is a controversial Nigerian militant Islamist group that has sought to impose Sharia law or its radical interpretation of Islam on the northern states of Nigeria and then to other parts of the country like what the Malians Islamists almost succeeded to do in Northern Mali. Dunia (2010) rightly holds that the group opposes not only western education, but also western culture and modern science. The ambiguous goal of the group (and this point to their level of education) became evident when they kicked against the widely held opinions that the world is sphere and that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun (Nwagboso, 2012). The Boko Haram group also promotes a radical form of Islam which makes it “haram” or forbidden for Muslims to take part in any political or social activities in the society. This includes voting in election, wearing of shirts and trousers or receiving secular education (BBC News Africa, 2010). Founded in 2002 in Maiduguri by Utaz Mohammed Yusuf, the death of their leader in 2009 turned the group into a killing machine that has put paid to the economic development of the Northern geopolitical zones. The activities of Boko Haram have constituted a serious security challenge in contemporary Nigeria as the group has even been linked to the dreaded Al-Qaeda terror group. It has been accepted in many quarters that the criminal and evil agenda of the Boko Haram terror envoys in Nigeria, including the introduction of suicide bombing on Nigerian soil, has not only paralysed economic and social activities in Maiduguri, Abuja, Suleja, Damaturu, Minna, among other cities, but has also made Nigeria unsafe for investment and tourism (Imhonopi & Urim, 2012; Onifade & Imhonopi, 2012; Nwagboso, 2012).

2.2 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

The theories guiding the study id structural functionalism theory and conflict theory.

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM THEORY

Structural functionalism theory offers some insight on the subject matter because of its broad perspective. Scholars like Emile Durkheim, Malinoskiwi, and Talcott Parsons among others have contributed to the development of the theory. The theory addresses the society as an organic whole in which each of its institutions work together to maintain the other. Various parts of the society are seen to be closely related and taken together as a complete system. The various security agencies like the Nigeria Police Force, Directorate of State Security Servive, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Custom Service and Nigeria Immigration Services and even the Military work to support the existence of government’s structures and machineries by providing internal security for the lives and property of the Nigerian people. Therefore, lapses in any of these security agencies of the state or government directly or indirectly impact on the well-being of the people and national development which in the long run leads to a State of general insecurity as presently experienced in the North-East. The terrorist attacks by Boko-Haram have led to dramatic consequences resulting in the destruction of lives and properties. This has also affected the effective delivery of Government services and efficiency of most security agencies in the country. Hence, the proper functioning of each part of the society ensures the well being and the survival of the whole society. The implication of the structural functionalism is that internal security can only be guaranteed if there exists inter-agency cooperation with the necessary synergy to ensure that units work in tandem for the overall security of Nigerians.

KARL MARX'S CONFLICT THEORY

Karl Marx's conflict theory on the other hand recognizes society as a theatre of contestations between the two main classes in society namely the owners of capital (bourgeoisies or the property class) and the workers who sell their labour in exchange for wages (proletariat). According to Marx, the force transforming class membership into a struggle of classes is class interest. He posits that individuals form classes to the extent that their interests engage them in a struggle with the opposing class. At the onset, the struggle between classes was confined to the factory floor but with the development of capitalism, the disparity between the life conditions of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat crystallizes into a conflict at the societal level. Class consciousness is thus increased, common interests and policies become manifest and the use of and struggle for political power occurs. The distribution of political power is determined by the property class which in turn is used by them to legitimize and protect their property and consequent social relations. The property class, the intellectual elite, comprador contractors and the military elite have coalesced into the bourgeoisie who control political power and State resources to the exclusion of the working class and the army of the unemployed. The corruption of the political elite with the concomitant inequality and attendant poverty have polarized the two classes in Northern Nigeria especially in the North-East of Nigeria, where the majority who are mainly peasants, unemployed or landless proletariats sought liberation from inequality, injustice, corruption, social dislocation and underdevelopment through alliances with people who are expressing their disdain with government and governmental structures as typified by Boko-Haram view itself as pragmatic and better suited to change the decadent social order.