 |
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com |
Have you been conversant with the dailies? Then you will agree with me when I say the country is in chaos. Insecurity is the new norm of our society. Today, it is the killings in Jos, tomorrow it is the turn of herders to unleash mayhem on a community, and need I mention banditry and kidnappings?
I might not be able to tell the tales of the military era but every democratically elected president in this country has faced one or more security issues. From the Niger Delta militants during Obasanjo’s regime to the Boko Harams and Fulani herdsmen challenges of Jonathan and Buhari’s administration respectively. How did we get this worse as nation? What are the causes of these problems? What are the solutions? These and more are the questions bothering an average sane Nigerian.
When President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015, he promised to protect citizens from terrorists and criminals. However, there are less than two years left of his final term in office and the country is more unstable than it’s been in decades. Definitely, having a completely safe nation is too idealistic. Nevertheless, the country is expected to have attained some level of sanity. There goes the saying “there is no smoke without fire”. Insecurity in Nigeria is as a result of one or all of the following:
POLITICAL INVESTMENT
Everybody is on the move to venture into politics, why is that? Everyone wants in on the national cake. In the quest to conquer opponents, politicians make series of investment. The major of which would be to organize guerilla armies – thugs – that can unleash chaos in case results don’t go their way. They are usually heavily equipped with arms and ammunitions just to manipulate results in their bosses favour. The aftermath result contributes to the insecure state of the country.
A hungry man who has Ak-47 all to himself without check will make the most of it; he either becomes a robber or kidnaps people to demand ransom under the guise of survival.
Asides being the major donor of the machineries of destruction, politicians tend to add fuel to the fire of insecurity to portray their opposition as inefficient. These categories of politicians take advantage of the existing security challenges to destabilize their political opponents. They leverage on these things to get sympathy votes during the polls.
RELIGION
Ideally, no religion should be higher than humanity. That is how it is in a sane world. However, this has never been so in this part of the world. Religion has always been a dividing factor in this great nation. Boko Haram in its initial stage began as a group against western civilization; they believe it is forbidden to partake in any political or social activity associated with the western society. They have since then graduated to wanting an Islamic state for all and sundry. Isn’t religion meant to be what connects one to his God? Why then should there be a compulsion in religion?
SEPARATIST INSURGENCY
The Indigenous People of Biafra led by Nnamdi kanu wants out of the nation. They feel the need to create the independent Nation of Biafra. They will go as far as clashing with security personnel, vandalize government properties and attack civil servants and community leaders to drive home their point.
WHAT IS THEN THE FATE OF THE COMMON MAN?
“We learn the social norm of our society and we modify our behaviors”
Jane Good all
On a daily basis, the common man hears of continuous occurrences of social vices with no oversight mechanism. He or she becomes tempted to follow suit to satisfy their desire to make ends meet. The consequence of that is a recurring cycle of crime, chaos and instability in the nation. Just like Bills Gates has said “rules broken today become norms tomorrow”.
0 Comments