Insecurity problems and its health implications on Nigerians

Introduction

Nigeria in recent times has witnessed an unprecedented level of insecurity. This has made national security threat to be a major issue for the government and has prompted huge allocation of the national budget to security. In order to ameliorate the incidence of crime, the federal government has embarked on criminalization of terrorism by passing the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2011, installation of Computer-based Closed Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) in some parts of the country, enhancement of surveillance as well as investigation of criminal related offences, heightening of physical security measures around the country aimed at deterring or disrupting potential attacks, strengthening of security agencies through the provision of security facilities and the development and broadcast of security tips in mass media (Azazi, 2011).

Despite these efforts, the level of insecurity in the country is still high. In addition, Nigeria has consistently ranked low in the Global Peace Index (GPI, 2012), signifying a worsened state of insecurity in the country. Hence, Adagba, Ugwu and Eme (2012) are of the view that the efforts of government have not yielded enough positive result. With the lingering security challenges and the inability of the security apparatus of the government to guarantee safety and security in the country, the question that borders everyone in Nigeria today is that “can there be security?” Is security of lives and properties achievable? Apparently, the security situation in Nigeria appears or at least have remained insurmountable and many people have argued that government at all levels has not done enough by not confronting the situation head on and dealing with it decisively, others have argued that the situation has a political undertone or inclination calculated to serve the interest of certain political gods, who have been dissatisfied and disgruntled about the political manifestations in the country.

The concept of insecurity

Insecurity challenges would be best understood by first presenting the concept of security.  In the view of Akin (2008) security refers to “the situation that exists as a result of the establishment of measures for the protection of persons, information and property against hostile persons, influences and actions”. It is the existence of conditions within which people in a society can go about their normal daily activities without any threats to their lives or properties. It embraces all measures designed to protect and safeguard the citizenry and the resources of individuals, groups, businesses and the nation against sabotage or violent occurrence (Ogunleye, Adewale, Alese & Ogunde, 2011).

According to Igbuzor (2011) it demands safety from chronic threats and protection from harmful disruption. Security however, can be described as stability and continuity of livelihood (stable and steady income), predictability of daily life (knowing what to expect), protection from crime (feeling safe), and freedom from psychological harm (safety or protection from emotional stress which results from the assurance or knowing that one is wanted, accepted, loved and protected in one’s community or neighbourhood and by people around. It focuses on emotional and psychological sense of belonging to a social group which can offer one protection). This description structured the concept of security into four dimensions. However, these dimension can be weaved together to give a composite definition of security as the protection against all forms of harm whether physical, economic or psychological. It is generally argued however that security is not the absence of Threats or security issues but the ability to rise to the challenges posed by these threats with expediency and expertise.

Insecurity on the other hand, is the antithesis of security. However, because of the very many ways in which insecurity affects human life and existence, the concept of insecurity has usually been ascribed different interpretations in association with the various ways which it affects individuals. Some of the common description of insecurity include: want of safety; danger; hazard; uncertainty; want of confidence; doubtful; inadequately guarded or protected; lacking stability; troubled; lack of protection; and unsafe, to mention a few. All of these have been used by different people to define the concept of insecurity. These different descriptions, however, run into a common reference to a state of vulnerability to harm and loss of life, property or livelihood.

Beland (2005) defined insecurity as “the state of fear or anxiety stemming from a concrete or alleged lack of protection.” It refers to lack or inadequate freedom from danger. This definition reflects physical insecurity which is the most visible form of insecurity and it feeds into many other forms of insecurity such as economic security and social security.

Onuoha (2011) defined Insecurity as the state of being open or subject to danger or threat of danger, where danger is the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury, and as the state of being exposed to risk or anxiety, where anxiety is a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some misfortune. A major point about insecurity implied in these definitions is that those affected by insecurity are not only uncertain or unaware of what would happen but they are also not able to Stop it or protect them when it happens.

Causes of Insecurity in Nigeria

According to Hazen and Horner (2007) are as follows:

1. Government failure: Hazen and Horner (2007) described the Nigerian situation as a ‘Paradox of Plenty’. A situation where the country earns a great deal of revenue through oil sales, but fails to use these earnings to meet the needs of its people and to develop infrastructure as well as the economy. When these Situations exist, crime rate is bound to rise and the security of lives and properties cannot be guaranteed.
2. Pervasive material inequalities and unfairness: This perception stems from the perception of marginalization by a section of the people, government development policies and political offices and this have become a primary source of disaffection and resentment. As noted by Onuoha (2011) a large number of the Nigeria population is frustrated and have lost hope, especially the youths, and have now emerged to express their disillusion about the pervasive state of inequality.
3. Ethno-religious conflicts: Ethno-religious conflict was defined as a Situation in which the relationship between members of one ethnic or religious group and another of such group in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society is characterized by lack of cordiality, mutual suspicion and fear, and a tendency towards violent confrontation.
4. Conflict of perceptions between the public and government: The point here is that the approach of media report over the years has contributed to exacerbate insecurity or perception of insecurity in Nigeria. President Jonathan alluded to this situation when he made reference to the popular axiom that the “Pen is mightier than the sword”. In his statement “The sword is used to kill and destroy but what we use the pen to do is also very critical. When you have a society with these unending political conflicts, it is there on the media whether print, electronic or social media and this brings a lot of insecurity to the system” (Bello & Oyedele, 2012).
5. Weak security system: This results from inadequate equipment for the security arm of government, both in weaponry and training. This Is in addition to poor attitudinal and behavioural disposition of security personnel. In many cases, security personnel assigned to deal with given security situations lacks the expertise and equipment to handle the situations in a way to prevent them from occurring. And even when these exist, some personnel get influenced by ethnic, religious or communal sentiment and are easily swallowed by their personal interest to serve their people, rather than the nation.
6. High rate of youth unemployment: In accordance to the popular axiom which says that the “idle mind in the devils workshop”, the high rate of youth unemployment in the country has contributed to the case of insecurity in the country. As the result of the high rate of unemployment, the youths are exposed to different vices such as armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, vandalisation of crude oil pipelines, etc.
7. Social irresponsibility of companies: Corporate social irresponsibility of several companies operating in the country especially in the Niger Delta has lead to consistent confrontations between companies and their host communities.
8. Terrorism: At the most proximate and least disputable level, terrorism is the most fundamental source of insecurity in Nigeria today. This act of terrorism is a result of religious fanaticism and intolerance among the different religious groups in the country.

Health implications of insecurity in Nigeria

Kufour (2012) stated that violence — including the threat of violence — in such contexts results in injury, death, psychological harm, impaired development or deprivation. Insecurity, therefore, potentially has a double impact on people’s lives and well-being; this is the reality of everyday life for many millions of people. Security is a prerequisite for health and insecurity is bad for health. These are politically inconvenient truths that are all too evident.

Sitting behind these inconvenient truths and all the above considerations of security and insecurity is one basic and uncomfortable fact: this is all about weapons and how they are used. Furthermore, our security and the insecurity of others are obviously issues that generate keen interest — because ultimately they relate to our own physical, mental and social well-being.

The direct effects of insecurity (these being ballistic trauma and its sequelae) can only be negative in terms of the impact on health of the individual victims. The indirect effects include fear, coercion, displacement and deprivation of essentials such as clean drinking-water, food and health care. A person wounded in a context of poor security resulting from widespread armed violence suffers the ballistic trauma and the indirect effects brought by difficulty in accessing medical care (Akpobibibo, 2003).

However, the indirect effects can also be positive. A police officer may legitimately shoot a violent criminal in self-defence; this may benefit society as a whole even though the direct impact of the act on the health of the criminal is negative. The same is true of armed violence for the purpose of defending a country might ensure the security — and so the health — of citizens. Whether security or insecurity prevails depends on the outcome of a critical balance with, on one hand, acts of armed violence, the potential and threat of armed violence and its control and, on the other hand, its overall effects.

Further arguments flow from this. Massive investment in national security does not translate necessarily into people’s security, especially when the apparatus for national security is used against those same people. In this case, armed violence has an additional impact on health owing to under-resourcing of health services (because “defence” has priority).  The plight of civilians wounded in armed conflict is so miserable in many situations precisely because, first, they are wounded; second, they are in an insecure environment; and third, they do not have an armed force that imposes the security necessary to ensure their treatment. In other words, if a person’s life is in danger because of a poor security environment, competent health care is unlikely to be received in that environment.

Solutions to insecurity problems in Nigeria

Hazen and Horner (2007) pointed out that insecurity problems in Nigeria can be effectively tackled through the following strategies

• Government political will: Government and all stakeholders should display a strong and honest political will to fight insecurity problem in the country by a well articulated plan of action to crush insecurity challenges and making all its promoting factors unattractive.
• Fairness and justice: The government and corporate organisation should display a high sense of justice and fairness in dealing with the citizen as unfair dealing and injustice can go a long way to promote insecurity situations.
• Religious tolerance: Religious leaders should ensure that their followers are encouraged to tolerate people with other religious views and that religious should be an avenue to promote peace and not rancour.
• Strengthening of the security system: The security system in Nigeria should be strengthen and well trained to handle the problem of insecurity by laying special emphasis on the prevention of crime as much as possible.
• Job creation: Since unemployment has been identified as one of the major causes of various crimes, the government should embark on an aggressive job creation to engage the youth in profitable ventures rather than getting involved in criminal activities.
• Corporate responsibility: Companies should ensure that they take their corporate social responsibilities very seriously to maintain peace with their host communities.
• The issue of terrorism should be given special attention by ensuring that people involved in terrorism are severely punished alongside with all their sponsors and sympathisers.

References

Adagba, O., Ugwu, S. C. and Eme, O. I. (2012). Activities of Boko Haram and Insecurity Question in Nigeria, Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, Vol. 1, No.9, 77-99.

Akpobibibo, O. (2003). Confronting the Human Security Dilemma – Towards Building Sustainable Peace in Nigeria’s Delta, A presentation at the ceremony in honors of Ms Ibiba Don Pedro, the Winner of the 2003 CNN African Journalist of the Year Award at the Lambeth Town Council Building, London, and Saturday 18 October.

Azazi, A. (2011). Responding to the Emerging Trends of Terrorism in Nigeria, 5th Policing Executive Forum Conference Proceedings organized by CLEEN Foundation, 5

Beland, D. (2005). The Political Construction of Collective Insecurity: From Moral Panic to Blame Avoidance and Organised Irresponsibility, Centre for European Studies. Working Paper Series 126.

Bello, M. and Oyedele, D. (2012). Conflict, Nigeria, Sustainable Development, West Africa, Leadership Newspaper, Lagos.

Global Peace Index (GPI, 2012) Global Peace Ranking, Institute for Economics and Peace, Retrieved from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.

Hazen, J.M. and Horner, J (2007). Small Arms, Armed Violence, and Insecurity in Nigeria: The Niger Delta in Perspective, Switzerland: Small Arms Survey

Igbuzor, O. (2011). Peace and Security Education: A Critical Factor for Sustainable Peace and National Development, International Journal of Peace and Development Studies Vol. 2(1), 1-7, January.

Kufour, J. (2012). Nigeria: Imbalanced Development Causes Insecurity in Nigeria, This day Newspaper, Lagos.

Ogunleye, G.O., Adewale, O.S., Alese, B.K. and Ogunde, A.O. (2011). A Computer-Based Security Framework for Crime Prevention in Nigeria, A Paper Presented at the 10^th International Conference of the Nigeria Computer Society held from July 25^th – 29^th.

Onouha, F.C. (2011). Nigeria’s Vulnerability to Terrorism: The Imperative of a Counter Religious Extremism and Terrorism (CONREST) Strategy, Peace and Conflict Monitor, (2 February 2011), Retrieved from: http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id