CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Since Nigeria has returned to civil rule on May 29, 1999, the government has taken a number of measures to address the problems of corruption, insecurity and bad governance in the country. These measures include public service reform (monetization to reduce waste and reduction of over-bloated personnel, reform of public procurement); establishment of anti-corruption enforcement agencies (such as the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Independent Corruption and other Practices Commission); and the sanitization of the financial services sector by the then Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido, which have revealed mind bulging levels of bare faced theft by the management of several banks in Nigeria.
Today, Nigerians applaud and tolerate ill-gotten wealth which in reality is money looted from public coffers. This is a pointer to the fact that corruption is endemic in Nigeria. It has permeated into every facet s of the society; the family, the church and even the traditional systems are not left out of this contagious disease. Corruption therefore, affects the developmental efforts of successive government in Nigeria. This has been responsible for the non completion of projects and programmes that would have help in alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians. Corruption has been adjudged to be responsible for Nigeria’s underdevelopment. The revelation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) concerning looted resources by private businessmen, political office holders and civil servants is alarming to the extent that one ponders whether the menace can actually be stamped out in the country.
Also, in the area of security, insurgency and its associated insecurity trouble is a global problem that has continued to challenge state authority today. Some countries have been able to effectively quell such uprising others are still grappling with the problem of how best to handle it. The inability of most countries to handle the situation effectively has in part exacerbated social disorder in those countries. Conflict is the outcome of perceived irreconcilable opposing interest, concerns, needs and positions between individuals, groups, organization/institutions and societies that have interacted whether in ad-hoc or permanent relations. It is aggravated by the desire of one group to attain its selfish interest (Nnamdi 2005 cited in Akume 2011:4) over those of the other groups. Conflict as an evident character of social interactions could be functional or dysfunctional. It is functional when the different parties to the dispute openly and sincerely engage in resolving it. It is however, dysfunctional if the process of resolving the row has an overtly coercive or contentious character (Gurr cited in Danjos 2012).
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 “can there be security?” Is security of lives and properties achievable? He opined that government at all levels has not done enough by not confronting frontally 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. This has been the issue Nigeria has been facing not only from 2011 but from the return of civil rule in 1999 up till this present time.
Insecurity is the greatest challenge facing the new administration of President Buhari. Since the return to democracy in 1999, security threats like violent conflicts, communal, herdsmen attacks, ritual killings, militancy, armed robbery and kidnapping have greatly increased in Nigeria. Resulting from threats such as insurgency and terrorism has further complicated the situation. Violent Conflicts and Crimes: the outbreak of violent conflict has become a major source of insecurity in Nigeria. It is estimated that Nigeria has witnessed over 300 violent ethno-religious, communal and political conflicts of varying intensity and level. For instance, clashes between farmers and pastoralists have increased in frequency in recent times, resulting in the death of about 3,732 persons between 1998 and 2014. The spate of violent crimes has become alarming. Some 262 incidence of kidnapping, about 405 cases of armed robbery and 139 cases of cultism have been recorded in the last six months in Nigeria. These violent crimes have resulted in the death of 1,113 persons between January and June 2015. This study however will throw more light on the assessment of the effect of corruption and security challenges in Nigeria from 2011-2016.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Corruption in Nigeria is a social risk that has been affecting the country in many areas. It has been acknowledged that corruption and its practices are both endemic and systemic in both public and private sectors of Nigerian economy. The crippling effects of corruption on the country are enormous. It affects the system of operation of governance both in public and private sectors, and it is causing pollution to the business environment generally. It also undermines the integrity of government and public institutions.
On the other hand, 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, fundamental 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. 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. In spite of the efforts of many researchers to investigate corruption and security challenges in Nigeria, there seems to be none that has particularly investigated the two variables corruption and security challenges together. They are usually investigated separately. For instance, one may investigate corruption and another may investigate security challenges. Therefore, this study aimed at combining the two variables together corruption and security challenges by investigating the effect of corruption and security challenges in Nigeria starting from 2011-2016.
1.3 Research Questions
These are some of the questions the study is designed to answer:
i) what are the challenges the Nigerian government facing in tackling corruption and insecurity from 2011-2016?
ii) what were the effects of corruption and insecurity on the Nigerian economy from 2011-2016?
iii) what were the effects of corruption and insecurity on Nigerians from 2011-2016?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is to find out the effect of corruption and security challenges in Nigeria starting from 2011-2016. The specific objectives are:
i) to identify the challenges the Nigerian government facing in tackling corruption and insecurity from 2011-2016
ii) to assess the effects of corruption and insecurity on the Nigerian economy from 2011-2016
iii) to determine the effects of corruption and insecurity on Nigerians from 2011-2016
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study will help the government and the general public to discover the strategic ways to tackle and overcome insecurity and corruption in the country. It will also serve as basis for researchers upon which further research works can be made. In addition, it will contribute more knowledge in the area of political science.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The study investigates the effect of corruption and security challenges in Nigeria starting from 2011-2016. Therefore, it will cover social scientists, government and the general public.
1.7 Limitation of the study
Most research works usually come with one challenge or the other and therefore, this will not be an exemption. In projection of this study, the research work will be constrained with time as the research work is clashing with the academic workloads of the researcher.
1.8 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Assessment: the evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something.
Corruption: dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.
Security challenge: is a possible danger that might exploit a vulnerability to breach security and therefore cause possible harm.
