“I have been shot, please pray for me” these were the words of Chinelo before she died after the unfortunate attack by bandits on a Kaduna bound train on March 28, 2022.
There were reports of injuries and other deaths from the incident.
Chinelo and other passengers only highlight in part the plight of Nigerians, faced with insecurity from bandits to Boko Haram terrorists and the unknown gunmen in the South eastern Nigeria.
Casualties Recorded From Insurgencies
Citizens’ lives are the casualties of insurgency in the country. According to the Nigerian security tracker, there have been 17,285 civilian deaths due to insecurity between May 2015 and March 2022.
Within this period, Boko Haram was responsible for 8,230 deaths, sectarian actors were responsible for 7,280 deaths while state actors accounted for 10,315 deaths.
Other armed actors were responsible for 10,419 deaths.
The death of Nigerians, including security personnel lost to attacks by non-state actors, has continued to cause anger.
Nigeria Spending ‘Heavily on Security’ but Banditry, Terrorism, Insurgencies Fail to go away.
The country continues to commit heavy resources to the fight against insecurity yet these investments show no returns. Data on SIPRI shows that between 2015 and 2020, Nigeria’s military expenditure was N3.6trillion, yet the country has failed to quell insecurity.
Nigeria’s military expenditure has increased over the years, between 2017 and 2018, the military expenditure of the country increased by 32.1% while between 2019 and 2020, the expenditure increased by 45.7%.
On the average, Nigeria’s military expenditure has increased by 20.64% between 2015 and 2020.
Not only has insecurity persisted and grown, Nigerian soldiers have been reported as having poor equipment.
One concern on the minds of stakeholders is the plan to scale down on security spending according to the National Development Plan. The question is, if insecurity has continued to grow with heavy financial investments what will happen when those investments are reduced?
Critical times and Dangers of Continued Insecurity in the country
Asides from the loss of lives and critical human resources, the country is losing economically and infrastructure is also suffering.
The country’s Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, was quoted as stating that a sum of not less than N3 billion would be needed to fix the facility destroyed during the attack on a Kaduna bound train on March 28.
The Abuja-Kaduna train is largely funded by loans, meaning that asides from the debt burden of repaying loans, the government will incur additional costs to fix what has been destroyed from the attack.
In South Eastern Nigeria, over twenty-five police stations have been burnt, attacked as a result of agitations in the region. To replace burnt or destroyed police stations or facilities, more money would be needed as absence of police stations may worsen the security situation in the region, reduce investors’ confidence and threaten daily business activities, among others.
As of November 2021, the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari was quoted as saying that Nigeria needs $1.5 trillion to bridge its infrastructure gap. Attacks on critical infrastructures of the country may widen that gap, given the losses incurred as a result of such attacks.
The Farmer/Herder crisis has led to losses which has culminated in higher prices of food driving up inflation in the country. The Food and Agricultural organisation noted that the conflict has forced states to lose a high percentage of their internally generated revenue.
As inflation increases in Nigeria, chiefly through skyrocketing prices of food items not helped by the Farmer/Herder crisis, many more Nigerians are pushed below poverty level. The continued crisis occasioned byFarmer/Herder clashes inclusive of banditry have an impact on the country’s food security.
More and more Nigerians are displaced and seeking refuge in neighbouring countries as a result of the insecurity ravaging different parts of the country, causing a humanitarian crisis of significant proportions.
As the 2023 general elections approach, tackling its many security challenges takes on new significance for Nigeria. Attacks on security infrastructures or security personnel raises questions about the ability of the country to ensure a violence-free elections especially in affected regions. Nigeria has a history of electoral violence and the regions most affected by insecurity have a history of violence during elections. Post election violence has been reported in states like Kaduna in previous years, a state at the epicentre of heightened insecurity today.
Another possible impact of the continued violence and insecurity is voter participation, prior to now the ratio of registered voters to people who voted has been low. The state of security in the country could lead to even greater voter apathy as fears are already heightened.
Recommendations on Resolution of Nigeria’s Security Challenges
It has been noted that Nigeria should prioritise resolving issues around its porous borders which is under-policed and allowing infiltration of criminals into the country, unemployment, poverty and governance mistrust, to stabilise the country.
The country has also been encouraged to equip security personnels appropriately to tackle challenges facing the country while resolving issues around attitudes of security personnel to work and modalities to boost their work efficiencies.
Other recommendations include good governance, fighting corruption in the system and a fair criminal justice system.