INSECURITY IN NIGERIA

The biggest problem with the government of Nigeria in regard to its malpractice towards the people is the unchecked corruption. “A

Intrastate conflict has historically been savage and chaotic; nowhere have these descriptors been more fitting than within African civil wars. A legacy of colonialism, ineffective governance, and regional conflict scars the continent, resulting in regular political instability within its territories. The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s cost the lives of an estimated three-million people- the majority of whom were civilians who succumbed to starvation (NWE 2015). This conflict has traditionally been understood to have been caused by ethnic tensions within the state, and justifiably so (Falola 1999, 125). The ethnic cleansing of the Igbo that occurred throughout September and October of 1966 in northern Nigeria undoubtedly played a

The Boko Haram sect in Nigeria has been a huge problem for the country in the past, and the threat is only growing. This group is considered responsible for a handful of government attacks, targets on the United Nations, and often churches who undermine the Islamic religion. Their actions have spawned from the idea that their country is controlled by “fake Muslims”, and aim to create an Islamic nation ruled with Sharia law.

Different sources have different causes of what they say was the motivation for Boko Haram’s attacks. Some sources say it was the killing of their leader in 2009 and some even say that the it was due to global warming within that country, but whatever it is, it is a big problem not only for the Islamic states but all of the other countries of the world. Their different attacks seem to show what the source of this motivation was. The group is very hard to understand in terms of their overall motivation because there is so little known information about them. Information in general is hard to come by from Nigeria. Police officers and city officials so corrupt that they give the citizens little to no information as to what is going on (Walker, 2012, p. 7). They are too motivated by their own selfish goals. The Boko Haram group itself has given no really helpful information as it has denied bombings and other terroristic activities.

Over the last 13 years, since the attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the world has been exposed to the global threat of extremist ideologies. Service men and women have had a firsthand view of the breeding grounds and environments such ideologies are harbored and developed. With the drawdown of the war in Afghanistan, the global war on terrorism will not end. Instead the focus will shift to other dangerous parts of the world where extremists have already become established; places like Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The weak government in Somalia has fostered an environment conducive to the development of extremist ideologies. This is evident

For the past seven years innocence have been injured, killed, or brutally tortured by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. They have lost their homes and precious possessions due to a cruel, selfish satisfaction of this organization. Boko Haram members believe that these “brutal penalties” is just an ordinary way to express their culture. Although Nigeria came to a conclusion that these terrorists had given up, it only took five months later to realize it was not the end. Nigeria’s strategies had gotten them nowhere and only led them back to where they started.

Independent from British ruling since 1960, Nigeria today still suffers from ethnical and religious divisions as well as unequal distribution of power and resources among its regions. A high degree of violence and insecurity has shaped Nigeria’s political framework since colonial times. The region is characterized by systematic human under-development and socio-political decay. By draining resources from development, terrorism creates an additional burden on the society and interferes with development opportunities.

Having read your write ups, it is obvious that you are blaming the atrocities laziest people in Nigeria perpetuate on those in authority. To a large extent, I disagree with you. Inasmuch as the majority of those in authority are corrupt, I don't think that is a reason for justifying laziness, greediness, and evil that people commit. If the government had done everything it could to establish a healthy environment for Nigerians, so many people would have yet indulged in atrocities. Nigeria is an environment in which the majority of the inhabitants wants to be rich overnight, and that is what gave birth to the corruption we witness today at all levels of government and institutions in Nigeria. However, in the midst of the unhealthy environment

The first was the weak sense of nationalism caused by all the ethnic groups where religion played a major part of the division. The main three ethnicities in Nigeria are Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo; the former is Muslim while the two latter are Christians. The second cause mentioned was the “divide and rule” which was a British tactic to employ ethnic groups against one another, and thus “helped ensure that ethnicity would be the main line of political cleavage after Nigeria became an independent country.” The third cause is the personal rule system based on “big men” and what this means is that Nigerian’s who worked for the British used their personal relationships to gain power and wealth, and in a certain way it is still used today in the Nigerian government. The fourth devastating cause was the “creation of an increasingly active and interventionist state during WWII and after until its independence in 1960, but that opened the doors to patronage, which would be used to gain political power and wealth. The past reveals the problems Nigeria has had for several decades, some of which have not disappeared but seem to get progressively worse. (CITATION)

Article Summary (100 words Approx.) This article explained who Boko Haram is, who leads it. It explains their intentions, plans and their actions. One of the key incidents that occurred in Nigeria, 219 school girls were taken by Boko Haram, this was also spoken about in the article. It gave a clear insight

Nigeria is an Agricultural and oil rich nation but characterised by Political instability, corruption, poor

Boko Haram has been terrorizing Nigeria and surrounding countries for years, with noticeable increases in power over the last five years. Best estimates indicate that the Boko Haram insurgency rose to power in the 2000s with the goal of promoting strict adherence to Islamic Shari’a Law throughout Nigeria (Bussey, Chasse, Martin, 2016). The group found footing quickly; frustrations with the faulty political system and lack of economic and social development in northern Nigeria allowed the group to recruit large numbers of members and gain momentum. In 2009, the groups leader, Muhammed Yusuf was murdered. This, coupled with increasing economic and social tensions across Nigeria caused the group to become increasingly aggressive. The group executed a prison break of over 700 prisoners in 2010 and performed the well-known kidnapping of over 200 school girls in 2014. This kidnapping truly brought global attention to the acts of terror the group was committing for the first time (Onouha, 2012). United State’s Citizens became increasingly involved, leading to the spread of the “Bring Back our Girls” movement. As United States interest in Boko Haram increased, the hostility of the group increased. In 2014, according to the Global Terrorism Index, deaths attributed to Boko Haram rose by 314%, attributing to the groups ranking as the most dangerous terrorist group in the world (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2015).

     Nigeria has been a country in political turmoil for a long time. The country was created in 1914 under British colonial rule and at that time it was considered a protectorate. It was not until 1960 that Nigeria received independence from the United Kingdom. One of Nigeria's problems politically is that it has over three hundred different ethnic groups. The three largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. At the time of the independence of Nigeria it was split up into three states with each state being under the control of one of the major ethnic groups. The natural resources of the other 297 ethnic groups were exploited for the major three groups,

Corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria as resulted in youths becoming militants and kidnappers which have led to killing of innocent individuals. During the past few years a lot of people have died in the Niger delta due to violent killings because of dispute over oil revenue and compensation. Most of these atrocities are carried out main by youths, who are agitated by the corrupt practice of the

Boko Haram is now the biggest problem in Nigeria today. They have caused children to see education as corruption and are causing one of the poorest places in Nigeria to suffer. The schools have been ransacked and blown apart, teachers have been shot to death, and kids kidnapped and have been either raped or put into Boko Haram. The corrupted officials running the local government have now supported them in secret; this is a problem that needs to be solved because now they will have no education to rise against them and take them down. Their future could now be in jeopardy because they will not have the right information to make Nigeria into the beautiful country it is.