Acts of terror have haunted Africa and Nigeria for years. After September 11, 2001, sectarian tensions were seen as heightened following the decision of twelve (12) northern Nigerian states to establish Sharia legal systems. He added that an estimated seven thousand (7,000) had reportedly perished in Muslim-Christian religious violence over the previous two years.
Early before now America’s “war on terrorism” focused on Afghanistan and Iraq, Africa was seen as a strategic staging area for terrorism, training center, and a favored place to target U.S. interests. Nevertheless, recent events today have necessitated U.S. war on terrorism to shift to Africa precisely Nigeria due to the Boko Harram insurgency.
The insurgency in Nigeria has been revolved around religious ideology, socio-political atmosphere and cultural existence of the nation. The root can be traced to the economic imbalance in all the regions of the country, unemployment and poverty. An average Nigeria have less access to education, proper means of living and means to survive. The existing problem of insurgency (as currently manifested in terrorism) to insecurity challenge is intimidating the the nation as a whole at every corner. Some external witnesses have related terrorism rocking Nigeria political clashes, unequal distributional of wealth, religious/tribal disbelief, bribery and corruption of representatives in government.
It is well documented that a range of socio-economic and political conditions in Africa have created or caused conflicts that have been a channel to express violence and pass message to the immediate suroundings and the world at large.
The following has been enumerated as root causes of terrorism among others:
Lack of rule of law;
Failed or weak states that provide havens for terrorists;
Corrupt government;
Depression;
Discrimination;
Social injustice.
Others include unemployment, absolute poverty, underemployment, rise of indigenous neo-elites, executive lawlessness, marginalization, relative deprivation, oppression, neo-imperialist class, do or die politics and government insincerity and insensitivity
It is very rare to see an administration without poverty alleviation agendum with the aim of boosting the socio-economic state of the country. The problem of poverty as regards the development of a country economically, socially and politically is especially troubling given endeavors and attempts to alleviate it in the time past with no equivalent yields or result regarding improved livelihood or standard of living of people. The failure of the government to address the socio-economic needs of its peoplee effectively leads to difficulties in all spheres of the nation.
Lately, Nigeria has been enmeshed in a firebox of insecurity leading to scores of deaths of innocent civilians, foreigners, some members of the nation’s security personnel, elected officials and many government workers. It is said that the Niger Delta militancy insurgency came up as a result of the pitiable state of the region, upon the fact that they have oil wells bountifully in this area. In fact, most of the internally generated revenue of the Nigeria is got from this area. This exploitation sprang up the conflict. Bribery and corruption have masked and crippled development of this area and Nigeria as a country. The Niger-Delta region which normally use agriculture as a means of survival are now having grossly everywhere polluted due to oil drilling. There rains have turned acidic with all aquatic life at decreasing state due to the heavy environmental pollution they are suffering from.
Thus, insurgency triggered by tribes and politics has continuously ravaged the Niger-Delta region till date. There was extra-judicial killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and nine Ogoni leaders by the Abacha regime. This extra-judicial killing of Ogoni leaders by the Abacha regime was condemned both by the country and by the international community. Nigeria was even sanctioned by the international community as a result of this. 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 which brought about the militarization of nearly the entire region. This became the foundation for the wave of insecurity that be leaguered the whole area. Although in order to ameliorate the environmental degradation and the absolute poverty in place, the federal government put up some bodies to drench the conflict in the area such as the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), Niger Delta Development Comission (NDDC), and Niger Delta Ministry (NDM) among others.
Unfortunately, instead of oil to turn Nigeria to the most economically vibrant country in the world with high level of prospect in every nook and cranny of the country, it has brought a bad omen for the Niger-Delta region and doom to the country as a whole. Efforts of the activist in this region to voice their pains and fight for their rights have turned into social vices with blood spills, abduction, and all sorts of criminal activities.
In summary, since 2006, Nigeria has been battling with militant insurgency. This can be ascribed to a number of factors which includes:
• Poverty and Unemployment
The encounter that poverty poses for sustainable socio-economic development is especially troubling given endeavors flung towards this issue in the previous years with no equivalent reoccurrence regarding an improved well being of the populace. It is rare to see any government in power with little or no agenda to tackle poverty and its alleviation which will always improve the socio-economic state of the country. On the other hand, the menace is hardly tackled by any government thus rather than reduce the ill-informed policies exacerbate the spread of poverty.
Effects of the disturbing pace of poverty seems to be all-encompassing. Irrespective of the point of viewing the unraveling situations in Africa, they signify grave threat to socio-economic improvement; and means of livelihood of high percentage of Africans that live under the poor standard of living. Sequels to the high poverty rate, most people embrace social vices with taking up of arms to express their aggression. It was further stated the public confidence bestowed on political systems have been reduced since no good amount of effort have been felt by people in relations to recovery from abject poverty they are. The aftermath of this is the turning of some regions in Africa to a base of violence and insecuriity.
One of the cases in point is the Niger Delta region, presumed to be one of the most richly endowed Delta’s in the world, which contributes around 80% of Nigeria’s national wealth. After a long time of political and economic marginalization, environmental degradation, poor administration and policy irregularity by the government, the divide and rule policy of the oil companies prompted the emergence of militancy in the Niger Delta in mid 2006.
Huge income has been realized from the exportation of oil, but yet the territory has been exposed to extreme land deprivation, financial disruption, expanding poverty, wretchedness, military occupation and bloody brutality. The oil rich regions have been remained reliant and neglected, insistently abandoned, socio-culturally relegated and expressively isolated. It has been accounted that regardless of more than forty years of manufacturing oil in the country and heavy amount of money realised from oil, the occupants of the oil-rich region, particularly the riverine, stay in extreme poverty. Most inhabitants of this region live without the normal requirement for livelihood which includes access to electricity and clean water supply.
There had persistent protest and demand for attention regarding development, employment, social amenities, and so on in the Niger Delta. Youth unemployment, poverty, and other related social maladies are discovered to be prevalent in the Niger Delta region, and, therefore, have heightened restiveness. The conflict in the oil-rich region rose in the beginning of 1990s as a result of to friction between International Oil Companies (IOCs) and a few delegates of the South-South ethnicities that sensed they were being marginalised without due pay from the IOCs.
• The Distribution of Resources from the Federation Account
The oil-rich region has been experiencing marginalization as a result of unequal disbursement of federal allocation to the regions. As Nigeria operates “Federalism” as a system of government, claims have shown that Nigeria does not operate a true one. Almost all States are not viable and they depend majorly on the allocation coming from the federation account. Some States such as Lagos State, Kaduna Stata, Rivers State are among the few States that do not rely on the Central government to sustain themselves. However, right before 1999, the Niger-Delta region have been suffering from reduction in the federal funds allocated to them. The report has it that in 1960, there was fifty percent (50%) allocation, in 1970, it went down to forty-five (45%), in 1982, it declined to twenty (20%) in 1982, and then in 1992 it was three (3%), It increased to thirteen (13%) due to vigorous activisms from stakeholders from the region.
• Unemployment
In the Niger-Delta, rate of unemployment keeps increasingas as noted by scholars. The younger generation have been neglected with little or no access to eductaion and enabling environment for their future. Although companies like Chevron, Shell and other transnational companies are displaying some corporate social responsibilities, it has been more of lip service with the influential ones getting what service is rendered to the community. Very low percentage of Niger-Delta people is found working in these organizations with more of men and few women; more or high percentage of workers in these oil companies are expatriate from Europe, United States and other western world. The Nigerian State is variously characterized as a synonym of the ‘power elite’, ‘the Nigerian National Bourgeoisie’, ‘Foreign Dependent Pseudo-Bourgeoisie with imperialism for the building of capitalism in Nigeria’, ‘the training of foreign and local businessmen and State officials’, ‘the Nigerian Bourgeoisie power and Petty Bourgeoisie and the various sections’, and the Nigerian capitalist class, which has developed from being a ‘regional bourgeoisie into a federal bourgeoisie’.
• Environmental Degradation
As stated by the World Bank, there are five great plagues of mankind: War, Famine, Pestilence, Environmental Pollution and Death. The Niger-Delta is in the throes of becoming an environmental wastebasket. From the oil spills to the round-the-clock gas flares and effluents from industrial wastes, the fragile ecosystem of the Niger-Delta is under constant assault. However, it is still a mystery that no comprehensive study of oil exploration in Niger-Delta and its effect on the environment exists. “The uncontrolled exploitation of crude oil and natural gas beneath the lands of the Niger-Delta has caused tremendous and irredeemable ecological devastation of the Niger-Delta land.” The environmental impact of the petroleum industry in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria include land deprivation, soil quality change, destruction of aquatic ecosystem and air pollution.
• Divide-and-Rule Policy
One element that has featured in the nature of the relationship between the Multi-nationals and host communities of oil producing areas is the policy of Divide and Rule. In time past, the giant oil companies in this region have been creating and sponsoring rifts among people to generate a discord. The corporate social responsibilities of these companies have been stylishly circumvented through the discord created. The mediators that are supposed to clamour for better welfarism of the inhabitants have been individually compensated by the companies leaving the poor masses at the peril of the illegal activities going on in the region.
As being what is indicated, in a few communities, customary rulers and nearby town leaders have become dishonest due to the fact that they are now beneficiaries of different deals and money disbursements to the disadvantage of the people they are meant to represent. Following this development, the dissatisfied ones mostly the youth form units of associations so as to confront the MOCs. In this way, the young people rose as group pioneers; these youths turned into the power facilitators, the connection with the Multinational Companies, and their financial objectives. Owing to the newest outcome of violence as a means to get what they want from the MNCs, a number of youth have formed groups labeled as militants have employed social vices such as abduction, pipeline busting, irregular attacks of oil companies’ facilities and so on.