Nigeria must address root causes of conflicts, agitations – group

The approach that simultaneously combines combatting security threats more effectively with addressing the root causes of conflicts and agitations in the country, Agora Policy, a Nigeria think tank, has advised.

This disclosure is contained in Agora Policy’s latest report titled, ‘Understanding and Tackling Insecurity in Nigeria’, which was released on Monday, November 7, 2022, and done with the support of MacArthur Foundation.

The think tank group said that the current military engagements should be sustained, however, noted that the nature, pattern, and trend of security challenges confronting Nigeria cannot be dealt with efficiently using military power alone.

“With all its six geo-political zones contending with one form or multiple forms of insecurity, Nigeria is currently battling generalized insecurity” where hardly any zone of the country is spared, the report claims.’’

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The report identifies the dominant security challenges as terrorism in the North East, banditry and terrorism in the North West, herder-farmer clashes and terrorism in the North Central, militancy in the South South, insurgency and separatist agitations in the South East, farmer-herder/communal clashes and even a sprinkle of terrorism in the South West.

It states, “Africa’s most populous country and erstwhile bulwark of stability in West Africa is practically under the gun on all fronts,” the report states. It warns that “allowing the prevailing security challenges to fester will hasten Nigeria’s slide to the league of failed states similar to the circumstances in Iraq and Syria. The preponderance of groups with territorial ambitions means increased threat to the territorial integrity of the country.”

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The report which was put together by a team of security experts, including those with service experience within and outside the country, analyzed the types as well as the drivers and manifestations of insecurity in Nigeria.

It states, “Insecurity in Nigeria is multi-dimensional. As such, for any attempt at addressing the growing menace to be effective and sustainable, it needs to be holistic, deftly combining ‘hard’, military solutions with ‘soft’ approaches aimed at tackling the socio-economic underpinnings of conflict and crime. Insecurity does not thrive in a vacuum. Some factors are precursory to it. [These are] the environmental conditions that both kindle and nurture insecurity.”

The report also recommends the mop up and control of the flow of small arms and light weapons, recruitment of more women in the security forces and introduction of more gender-sensitive policies, regulation of irregular security outfits across the country, and the introduction of a dedicated border patrol force to contain the unchecked flow of arms and terrorists/bandits across the country’s extensive borders.