NAPHER-SD AND NATIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES (original) (raw)
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National security issues and challenges in Nigeria: Which way forward
Nweke Prince Onyemaechi. & Nwachukwu Tochukwu Stephen, 2014
ABSTRACT This paper attempts to examine and evaluate the origin, causes, and suggested solutions to National Security Issues and challenges. The paper highlights the ongoing concerns, challenges and proffers solutions which citing Mr. President as the only authority that should acknowledge the failure of the security agencies and provide complete overhaul of the Security Agencies to pre-empt these security breaches. In particular, the failure of the intelligence services to contain the recurring security breaches. Such as the spate of bombings which has once more brought to limelight the need for a Sovereign National Conference. And until these structural distortions and anomalies are addressed, the monster of insecurity will loom large. The paper recommends that Mr. President has the power to act decisively to execute his office, and this can be achieved by implementing the anti-terrorism law and punish culprits of such heinous crimes capable of causing instability in the nation. This paper also discusses the instrumentality of effective use of the Islamic panacea in tackling moral degeneration and insecurity that have both become the bane of Nigeria. From this paper, we see that it is expressly stated in our Constitution that the Government(s) is ultimately responsible for the security of lives, property, etc of the people of Nigeria. Keywords: Security, National Security, National Development, Boko Haram, Insecurity
This paper analyses whether sport is an effective tool for the military to use to curtail terrorism in the Philippines. It examines the values associated with sport and assesses whether those values could be nurtured to reduce the impact of terrorism. Insurgency and terrorism have plagued the Philippine government for more than half a century. Successive governments have crafted various policies and laws to end the insurgency problem in the country but the threat of insurgency remained, and still is, at the forefront of any president’s security policy. In recent years, units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) posted in communities known to be the lair of insurgents and terrorists have used the game of football as a mechanism to draw members of the community and law enforcement organisations together in an effort to promote understanding, reconciliation and peace. This program is similar to the United Nation's Sport for Development and Peace program and operates within a similar framework, but the AFP's Football For Peace program was instigated entirely separately. This study concludes that the Philippine Marine Corps Football for Peace Program effectively lessens terrorist atrocities, opens development opportunities, imposes good governance in conflict-affected communities, connects people, and creates a peaceful and secure society. The study will provide policy guidelines and a new operational framework for addressing terrorism in the Philippines. Nevertheless, its utility is limited and it requires the support and cooperation of external stakeholders to sustain the program and maintain the desired goal of establishing the right conditions for peace and development into the future.
Security and Governance in North-East Nigeria.pdf
Nigeria has witnessed a deteriorating internal security situation since the return to democratic rule in 1999. This may be seen from the proliferation and involvement of non-state actors in security across the different sections of the country. There are various forms of non-state actors (apart from private security outfits) in different parts of the country ranging from Bakassi Boys in the south-east, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) in south-south to Boko Haram, Sara Suka and Yankalare in the north-east. The military being present in more than thirty-two states of the nation to restore order appears to be virtually overstretched. Many reasons have been advanced to explain the continued deterioration of security in Nigeria. The main causes of insecurity in the country are twofold - remote and proximate causes. These may include: • absence of institutional capacity resulting in government failure; • the gaping chasm of inequality and absence of fairness and justice; • ethno-Religious conflicts; • disconnect between the people and the Government. These and many proximate factors like, porous borders, rural-urban drift, poverty, and unemployment have combined to further aggravate the problem of insecurity in Nigeria. Nigeria has experienced both military and civilian rule at different times of her national development, each with its unique style of maintaining national security. It is generally believed that the management of security under civil rule is also tinted with elements of repression characteristic of military regimes in Nigeria, so that the distinction between the two is very tenuous. Whichever style of government used there is always a correlation between governance and the nature of security. For an effective security system to be fully operational, the leadership must exhibit elements of good governance. Ideally, good governance is the hall mark of credible leadership epitomized in today’s world by democracy. However, while democracy is often associated with good governance, the situation in Nigeria appears to be the reverse. Nigeria’s democratic experiment is characterised by conflicts, political assassinations, unemployment among other challenges. Studies were conducted in the six states that make up the North-Eastern region – Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe – to find out the nexus between governance and insecurity in these states. The research was carried out using a combination of primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data were sourced by administering questionnaires using the purposive sampling system, conducting of focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The secondary data were gotten from the existing literature which includes but not limited to journals, government policy documents, newspapers, academic publications, CLEEN Foundation’s National Crime and Safety Survey reports, social statistics compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics and National Population Commission. Objectives The objectives of the study are as follows: • To examine the relationship between security and character of governance in the North-East region. • To understand major drivers of insecurity in the states. • To identify the gaps in governance and security in the states. • To determine the role of NGOs and civil society organisations in improving governance and security in the states. • To explore the various mechanisms employed by the government at state and local levels with a view to enhancing security and governance. • To recommend remedial measures with a view to strengthening security and good governance. • To assess Government’s response to insecurity challenges in the states. Limitations/Challenges The limitations encountered in the course of carrying out the study were as follows: • Reluctance on the part of identified respondents particularly the civil servants. There seems to be a lack of interest on their part on the subject matter of the study. • There was reluctance on the part of women to be part of the interviews; there was a high sense of mistrust and unwillingness to respond to questions posed to them. • Insecurity challenges in the field also affected the time frame within which the study was conducted. Findings • Elected representatives have abused or misused their powers and authority. Nepotism, ethnicity, religion and regionalism are strong influencers of politics and governance in the region. • Corruption is endemic among government officials’ particularly political office holders. The judicial system was found to be non responsive to the plight of ordinary citizens in the region because it is also bedevilled with corrupt practices. • Citizens’ participation in governance is low and in some places it does not exist. Organised civil society engagement that could galvanise citizens’ engagement is also weak. Most of the groups that exist were involved in health related advocacy and mobilisation. This has created poor accountability and service delivery processes at the local government and community levels. • Accessibility of the citizens to public officials or government functionaries does not exist. Gombe State was the exception where the findings showed that 60 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that public official and /or government functionaries were accessible to the citizens. • Security challenges in the region were high. There were incidents of theft, burglary, gang attacks and communal clashes. Some of the security challenges are traced to skewed policies by government, discriminatory processes in allocating resources and distribution of opportunities. • Security challenges were also traced to weak state institutions and lack of capacity of the institutions to respond to the security challenges. Recommendations • Promotion of positive cultural, religious and social values that would build national cohesion and development. This should be adopted across the region. • Elected representatives should be made accountable to their constituencies. Periodic report back/feedback dialogues should be carried out with their constituencies and other stakeholders. Transparency and accountability should be encouraged at all levels. • There is an urgent need to facilitate and ensure community participation in the governance process at the state and local government levels in the region. Marginalised groups such as women and youths should be encouraged to take keen interest in the governance processes in the region. • Skills acquisition programmes and other employment opportunities should be identified and scaled up to get more youths irrespective of gender and other interest. This is to curb the trend of young persons joining insurgent groups in order to secure means of livelihood. • Credible leadership should be encouraged in the region. Development of the region should be at the core of any strategy to curb the wave of insurgency in the region. • Appropriate capacity building and re-orientation for the security and law enforcement agencies working in the region particularly the police so as to build community confidence and foster partnership. • Capacities of the civil society organisations need to be strengthened to enable them function effectively in the area of holding the government accountable and to be more responsive to the citizenry. Conclusion The governance challenges in the north-east region of Nigeria seem to be a microcosm of the larger country which has been characterised by poor leadership. Although insurgency was identified as the most important cause of insecurity facing the region, there are still threats of armed robbery, and communal clashes. The perception that the security agencies are unprepared for the challenges in the region leaves more to be desired. The general dissatisfaction with the various dimensions of governance performance of electoral officials at all levels, lack of transparency and accountability, endemic corruption created opportunities that were exploited by insurgents to recruit socio economic vulnerable persons to join their cause. This shows an indication of interconnectivity between governance and security.
NIGERIA 'S CHANGING SECURITY FRAME WORK
Readings in Post-colonial Borders and Economy in West Africa, 2018
Nigeria, a developing and a strategic country in West Africa which assumed to be the giant of Africa, has in recent time, been enmeshed in deep-rooted crises and insecurity that relate to the porosity of its borders. The rising insecurity lingered higher in the border areas of Northern part of the country, particularly with the Boko Haram insurgency. North-Western border frontier of Nigeria comprises communities that are strategic in the calculation of national and international interest, defence and security as they continue to maintain a long established historic, socio-cultural and economic ties, despite the colonially inherited lines of demarcation in their midst. This paper, therefore, examines the existing Nigeria’s security framework; it delves into the major security problems that face border communities in North Western Nigeria with the hope of providing strategic pro-active solution to the current trends of violence in the country. Quantitative and qualitative data obtained from questionnaire, interviews and focused group discussions with the community leaders as well as documentary sources reveal that security problems relating to Boko Haram terrorist activities (constituting 25.26 % of the responses) and cattle rustling (constituting 20.64% of the responses) have been the major security concerns of border communities of North Western Nigeria. The paper also discovers that community-based security strategies such as use of community vigilante and hunters groups (‘Yan Kato-da-Gora and Mafarauta), community relations and collaborative efforts help significantly in minimizing security problems in that part of the country. Therefore, the paper recommends that the existing Nigeria’s security framework should be reviewed to integrate community-based proactive strategies so as to complement the country’s effort in particular as well as international efforts in general in handling any future insurgency in that part of the country and world over.