The vices scrambling for the Soul of Nigeria
With the state of events occurring in Nigeria in recent times, it is hard for one to still believe, that things will later turn out good in the country. No day passes by without breaking news of a bad incident.
A new UN report revealed how in the past 12 years an average of 350,000 lives has been lost to the widespread violence in Nigeria. The above translates to losing an average of 79 lives daily. Nigeria Mourns compiled newspaper reports, interviews with victims’ families, and information from public and security officials. The report revealed how 1,603 people were killed, and 1,774 abducted in violent attacks across Nigeria in Q1 of 2021. Another report also revealed over 2,000 lives have been lost, through issues of insurgence in the country between April and June 2021 alone.
In all these, one amazing thing remains the reaction of the Government towards the issues. On different occasions, the government has stood up to talk about how strategic plans have been made concerning the security of the Nation. But after a week or two, the result immediately proves zero, as crime and criminality go up the towers. The situation puts inordinate fear the ordinary citizen, as they lie in wait for the worst days in the country.
There are issues in all nooks and crannies of the country; North, South, East, and West. In this article, Afroeden has taken a cursory look at these issues and how it has affected the smooth running of businesses and standard of living in the country.
Boko Haram in the North
For so many years now, Nigeria has suffered because of the BOKO HARAM terror group. Boko Haram (“Western education is sin” in the Hausa language) is originally a sect advocating a radical and rigorous Islam. Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, began to attract followers in the 1990s by recruiting in particular from underprivileged Koranic students.
But Boko Haram is considered to be officially born in 2002 when it begins to attract the attention of the authorities. The group has terrorized the Northern part of the country for over twenty years, even though their activities started became more dastardly in 2008.
According to a new report by United Nations, since 2008, the activities of Boko Haram and similar violent groups in northeast Nigeria have caused the deaths of some 350,000 people, the vast majority of which are children below the age of five, the United Nations found in a new report.
The group since it started has had about two notorious leaders Abubakar Shekeau and Abu Musab. Initially, the group’s activities were thought to be politically motivated, with the agenda of frustrating the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. It later became clearer that they are more than a political propaganda group when the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, who made promised to wipe out the group immediately after he assumes seat could not contain them.
The activities of the Boko Haram sect were the first strike at the nation’s cord of unity. The group’s wanton killings and bloodlettings instilled the spirit of disunity in the minds of citizens. Today, most Nigerians will do everything humanly possible to avoid traveling to the North for fear of Boko Haram.
Banditry in Almost all Parts of Nigeria
The activities of bandits in Nigeria have become one major problem the country is facing in recent times. These bandits involve in activities like armed robbery, kidnapping, and gruesome killing of Nigerian citizens.
Bandits have turned the nation into a hellhole. An estimate by a Brussels-based Crisis Group revealed that since 2011, bandits have killed over 8,000 Nigerians and displaced over 200,000. Citizens live in fear, as lives and businesses are wasted. An average Nigerian find it difficult to build and nurture a business for fear of uncertainty. There is every reason to say that banditry may grind Nigeria’s existence to a halt if proper plans and actions are not taken immediately.
Transport companies in Nigeria have no doubt suffered very badly at the hands of bandits in the country. They destroy vehicles, kidnap and steal from passengers, making their journey a tragic one. This is another heavy problem that may end the nation’s existence.
Unknown Gun Men In The East
UGM as they are popularly called seems to be the strangest. They target only security operatives, killing them on daily basis. Since the South East is the most peaceful region in Nigeria, the group’s activities brought with it untold tension than anyone can explain.
Owerri, the Imo state capital, which was once rated as the most peaceful city in the country, became a war zone in May/June 2021 following the operations of the unknown gunmen. The members of this group have been observed as having Jazz within their bodies while they operated in the city, which makes it difficult for bullets to penetrate their bodies.
They started their infamous attacks at Owerri prison, where they freed prisoners and shot security officers on duty dead. Their attacks went on to Government Buildings and houses of politicians in the state. Till this moment, the identities of these groups of persons have not been revealed a bit. And no one still knows if their activities have ended or still going on.
Sunday Igboho‘s Agitation
As things have gone askew in the country, every part wants to stay on their own and rule themselves. This is no doubt the reason why Sunday Igboho is pushing for the freedom of the west. This agitation has already caused damages to the leader of the agitation and his people at large.
Igboho first opposed the activities of the herdsmen which he tagged as harmful to the citizens of his community and by so fought against them from all rounds. The bandits who are known as killer Fulani herdsmen seem to be on a territorial expansion quest. They also kill local farmers, kidnap members of the community for ransom, and rape women. On a couple of occasions, Igboho had followed local community members to confront and dislodge killer herdsmen said to be terrorizing the people. Igboho’s agitation has attracted the attention of the Federal Government and has led to war-like confrontations between the Government and Igboho.
On several occasions, the federal government has been accused of high-handedness and brutishness in handling the Igboho issue, having sent security agents to raid his home, where properties were destroyed and casualties recorded.
One-Sided Appointment Of The Federal Government
Taking a good look at the appointment structure of the Federal Government, one will see the lop-sided manner in which the FG appoints its officials without following the constitutional Federal character rule. According to a report by ICIRNIGERIA, all appointments by the Buhari-led administration favor the North. This factor is already one of the many reasons behind the serious agitations from several quarters.
But there is one thing one has to know, there has never been a Nigeria we know that is good and progressing. After six decades of independence, Nigeria still prides itself on ‘developing’. This shows how backward we have ever been, and the worst of it all is that there is no hope for change.
Nigeria may suffer a split, war, or deformation, if these factors mentioned and analyzed here continues to affect the country. Already there is a high rate of Online fraud and abuse of drugs by the youths of the country. And this explains how the future of the country will be like. When youths that are used to illegal ways of survival eventually assume political offices, what then will become of Nigeria?
According to history, great countries like Britain, the USA, and Germany also suffered backwardness at some point. The only factor that helped these countries is their zero tolerance for corruption, which can be seen in their highly effective impeachment process, and the voluntary resignation of poor-performing leaders. In Nigeria no one resigns, no one allows anyone to remove them; bad leaders everywhere!
