Security and Economic Challenges in Nigeria - Case Study Example

Nigeria: Security and Economic Challenges

Nigeria remains one of the relatively stable countries in West Africa. It has one of the highest population in Africa, of over 150 million people and is divided into 36 administrative territories, with an additional federal state territory (Uwa & Samuel, 2013). Analysts have placed Nigeria in a group of countries with huge untapped foreign direct investment, collectively referred as NEKS including Egypt, Kenya and South Africa (United Nations Development Programme. 2016). It has a leadership role in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the huge crude oil reserves endowment has empowered the country to occupy an enviable position in the continent. However, historically, Nigeria has relied on the oil industry, leading to a lagged development in other areas of the economy such as agriculture and mining (Akinlo, 2012).

Even with the accumulated oil revenues of over $700 billion since independence, there is little to show regarding development such as infrastructure, health, and education (Akinlo, 2012). The living standards of a significant proportion of the population have remained low, largely due to misappropriation of funds meant for development. Successful military and civilian government have been unable or unwilling to fight the ills of corruption leading to a leakage of revenues that can improve the standard of living for its citizens. Due to mismanagement of funds by the ruling elite, oil wealth is in the hands of a few, justifying the assertions that Nigeria is experiencing economic growth, but fundamentally not sustainable economic development (Ogbeidi, 2012). This is because basic public services such as health and education that could improve the standard of living for the common citizen are grossly underfunded.

Nigeria security policy is founded on safeguarding the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the state as well as promoting African unity and independence. Moreover, the policy seeks non-intervention mechanisms for affairs of other states and economic development, cooperation and attainment of military self-sufficiency and regional leadership. In cursory perspective, Nigeria has not achieved all the missions laid in its policy as micro security issues within its boundaries continue to thwart their achievement (Akinlo, 2012). The safety of the significant population of Nigerians is under threat from military groups, and the protection of the territorial integrity of the Nigerian state was until recently threatened by the activities of the militant group, Boko Haram that sought to establish a Caliphate in the northern states (Thomson, 2012).

However, in the recent times, Nigeria has increasingly become unstable as armed militia take control of its northern frontier. Coupled with the external economic problems due to heavy reliance on oil revenue, the economic hardship for the country has continued to surge. The insecurity in the north has been fueled by religious strife as the Boko Haram seeks to establish a caliphate through cold-blooded killings, bombing and hostage taking (Thomson, 2012). Other militant groups in the Niger Delta seek to interfere with oil flow from the Delta citing unequal distribution of oil wealth by the central government. The increasing security challenge results in a swelling budgetary allocation to meet the security challenges, shrinking an already small budget allocated for development. The current economic and security challenges facing the country do not create an environment for sustainable economic development in Nigeria. Data gathered from Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, and the Central Bank indicate that budgetary allocations for security have risen at a disproportionately relative to the spending on education, health, agriculture and infrastructure (Ajiye, 2014). In the context of reducing oil prices as the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) and Iran pump huge amounts of oil into the market to compete for the market share, Nigeria reliance on oil revenue is at a disparaging situation (Antonakakis, Chatziantoniou, & Filis, 2014).

As embezzlement of funds continue, peace and security are being threatened by militant groups that have opposing political and socio-economic agenda such the Boko Haram. Apart from Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, there is the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and O'odua People's Congress (OPC) among others. The religious and ethnic divide in Nigeria leads to the emergence of the militant groups with some targeting key oil installations in the south, kidnapping foreign oil workers with the aim of stopping the flow of oil from the country. These activities are a threat to the sustainability of the Nigeria economy and with increasing scale, they continue to become a threat to national security.

However, the environmental impact as a result of oil exploration has also fueled the animosity towards oil installations as witnessed by the oil spills that affected the livelihoods of Niger Delta inhabitants. These internal economic and security challenges place Nigeria in the path of a failing state unless there are urgent efforts to remedy the situation. The Fund for Peace report has ranked Nigeria as one of the top ten failed states in Africa due to the growing wave of violence and insecurity (Adebakin & Raimi, 2012). The threat to security, just like corruption, continue to raid the national coffers, further compromising the development goals of the country as funds are diverted to maintain internal security. With the rising security challenges, there is a growing appetite to commercialize national security spearheaded by bureaucrats and security actors, leading to loss of funds. Tactical fueling of insecurity in the 36 states with the aim of getting more security votes in the states has increased. Insecurity has become a tool for covering up political intrigue, where unscrupulous politicians and security elements continue to fund militancy in the guise of assisting the oppressed, whereas they are subverting nation's security and heating up the system.

The challenges facing Nigeria national security are also attributed to the paucity of well-trained security personnel that can physically and intellectually meet the dynamic security challenges in Nigeria (Denécé & Rodier, 2012). An estimated population of 500,000 police officers cannot adequately meet the security needs and challenges in Nigeria. The ratio of security officers to the citizens is low and mismatched relative to the over 150 million people (Dada Ojo, 2014). There is also an increase in the flow of weapons from unstable countries in the region. The country’s borders are porous making the flow of illegal weapons and infiltration of terrorists in the country rampant. The increasing infiltration of militant groups such as Boko Haram by foreigners increases their sophistication and their firepower. They are better trained and have been witnessed to overpower the Nigerian security operatives.

To effectively meet the security challenges facing Nigeria today, there is need to have a competent legal framework for national security that facilitates efficient budget allocation to meet the defense and national security needs. The prevailing security vote that is anchored on state and local governments is unsustainable since it tends to inflate security budget. Budget allocation for security needs and challenges should be streamlined to government spending to meet the needs not only of the present but the future generations. There is needs to create community preventative policing that can seek to have a lasting solution for some of the security challenges in Nigeria. For example, the militants groups that continue to steal crude oil on transit in the Niger Delta. This will require the interaction of the security operators with communities in such areas. There should also be persistent and focused efforts to reduce the swelling costs of administration and security which if uncontrolled will continue to burden the nation and weaken its economy. The rise of the militant groups may be blamed on the availability of a significant proportion of the population which is frustrated and unemployed and can easily be swayed by the ethno-religious ideas being spread by the groups. It is therefore assiduous for Nigeria to provide direct and indirect employment opportunities for the unemployed youth to instill stability and hope in the population. This will considerably reduce the proportion of Nigerians willing to be recruited in the ranks of the militant groups.

Several factors have promoted the security challenges that bedevil Nigeria today. First among these factors is the internal security disorganization. Although, there is a clear framework in regards to the coordination of security from the national government headed by the internal security minister, governors and states', security heads tend to ignore their duties and responsibilities as violence and strife reign within their jurisdictions. There is an overall lack of diligence among the security agencies leading to the flaring of security challenges which could otherwise have been neutralized at their initiation phase. Secondly, Nigerian state is riddled by a poor system of governance that seeks to concentrate political power such that security organs are under control of political heads rather than institutions. This leads to an ineffective administration of policy and programmes meant to protect the population. This perspective presents a poor attitude and negligence that seeks to concentrate power and security issues at federal, state and local government headquarters. It implies that there may be adequate security at headquarters of the three layers of government whereas a significant population at the hinterland is exposed to insecurity.

Security and economic challenges facing Nigeria state are largely due to a system that, for a long period, has tolerated bribery and corruption (Dike, 2014). Influential people in positions of power use their position to loot rather than benefit the population leading to cases of inflated security contracts and incompetence in executions of such contracts. There is wastage of funds and overstaffing as well as unproductivity is rampant in the security sector. Corruption and bribery imply that justice can be bought and a culture of impunity characterized by injustice and nepotism is promoted. Those in leadership and citizens commit crimes and atrocities, and due to a weak criminal and justice system, they can purchase justice or even their freedom. This makes insecurity thrive under the banner of anarchy in the justice system. There is the existence of personal aggrandizement that promotes those in political office such that they can get state contracts and get paid without executing them. This attitude underlines the wastefulness in Nigeria.

Religious fanaticism has been a major source of security and economic challenges being experienced in Nigeria. While most religious groups will promote peace and unity to their followers, some religious extremists will preach violence (Dike, 2014). For example, Boko Haram is an extremist group that seeks to establish a caliphate in Nigeria based on ‘pure’ Islamic teachings. Boko Haram believes in complete removal of the western styled way of living, which is ridiculous for a modern and religiously diverse country such as Nigeria. This points to the existence of religious fanaticism as the bedrock of insecurity in Nigeria.

Unemployment is also a source of the security and economic challenges in Nigeria. Educational institutions continue to turn out thousands and thousands of graduates without any increase in employment opportunities in the economy. The graduates must survive, and some may end up participating in criminal activities such as armed robbery, kidnapping, as well as human and drug trafficking. These activities, in turn, cripple the economy as investors and foreign direct investments reduce in areas that investors perceive as insecure to set up their business activities (Dike, 2014). Such is the state of Nigerian security and economic challenges that make the country which is endowed with significant human and physical resources, lag behind in development. Insecurity makes the state unable to provide basic social amenities such as health and education to the population because the environment is not conducive or funds have been diverted to meet the insecurity challenges (Dike, 2014). This underpins the narrative that impact of insecurity should not be underestimated.

The security and economic challenges have given rise to other challenges that Nigeria faces, such as loss of revenue since the property is destroyed and productive population is displaced from their livelihoods. Human capital development is compromised in regions facing strife as state and local government divert funds meant for development of security organs and reconstruction efforts. Kidnappings and other crimes lead to loss of income and may have potential negative implication to the overall national economy. As the effect of insecurity in Nigeria continues to bite, more companies continue to close shop or reduce their operation due to declining productivity leading to an increase in unemployment rates in the country. Educational institutions that play a significant role in human capital development continue to shut down as the threat of insecurity increases especially in the northern states facing the scourge of Boko Haram Crisis. Due to the reduced capacity of educational facilities, the ability to produce adequate human resources to promote the structural development of the country may be compromised. As the insurgency in the north continues, it affects other sources of foreign exchange such as tourism since countries will issue travel advisories against Nigeria to their citizens. This advisory not only affects the tourism sector but may be a source of fear for foreign investors leading to loss of confidence among investors willing to establish businesses in Nigeria. Even the indigenous entrepreneurs will find the ease of doing business in Nigeria challenging due to a litany of factors such as bribery and corruption insecurity. Besides, the threat of insurgencies and the poor administrative environment, national, state and local governments are ineffective and inefficient in their facilitation of business in their respective jurisdictions.

The security challenges can be met by addressing the root causes of the rise of the militant groups, rather than engaging in expensive military confrontations that sow more seeds of discord in the population. The principle of negotiation and mediation with the aim of addressing the root problems need to be adopted such that contemporary conflicts resolution seek peace and lasting harmony in the diverse demographics in Nigeria. True federalism should be reinforced to address some of the economic and political challenges facing the country. Economic hardships have been cited as one of the reasons leading to conflict in the West African nation. Genuine political and economic autonomy can seek to meet the challenges of the economically emaciated proportion of the population. Empowerment of the state intelligence services should be given prominence to nip some, of the national security threats in the bud before they become an insurmountable national challenge ‘eating' the national coffers. Adequate compensation for the economic degradation of the Niger Delta and loss of livelihoods for communities that rely on the delta should be fast-tracked to reduce the level of frustration and unemployment among the youthful population. This can reduce their chances of disrupting the activities of oil companies or taking arms against the national government. In the political, social and economic challenges facing Nigeria, one of the anchors of transforming the country economic status is through improvement of the functioning of the security sector. This can enhance national transformation and steer the country into a path economic development. This transformation should not only involve the government of the day, but it should be citizen-driven in the realms of social, and political change to improve the country. There is need to incubate strong governance to counter the security and economic challenges facing the country.

Strong and good governance will reduce the levels of insecurity, promote justice and equitable distribution of resources, leading to a peaceful society. Good governance will be able to amend the challenge facing the country and assist the government to focus on policies and programmes critical to economic development. Good governance will ensure that power is federated to the states and institutions rather than political figureheads in control of the government. This can lead to consistency in government business and build investors' confidence. Judiciary should be strengthened to fight injustices such as nepotism and a culture of impunity that characterizes the government and has been a major undoing in the current security environment in Nigeria. Good governance will succeed when people heading institutions can perform their duties without fear or favor leading to effective coordination and fair control security organs without influence from non-state actors in the national, state or even local governments. There has been the persistent criticism of the response of the government towards the Boko Haram threat with the particular incidence of the kidnapping of over 300 schoolgirls in April 2014 which even influenced the election of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military. This is an indication of the significance with which issues pertaining security have gained prominence in the Nigerian society.