A few years ago, former Central Bank Governor ‘Comical’ Chukwuma Soludo reeled out the results of studies which clearly indicated that the north east geopolitical region of Nigeria was the poorest and least developed.Is there any coincidence with the fact that the same region has now become the haven of extremist groups posing serious security threats to the entire country? Why are we seeing almost daily attacks and loss of lives and property from Bauchi, Gombe to Maiduguri?
That Nigeria as a country is facing unprecedented political, social and economic crises is not in doubt. While each state has specific challenges, the north east region faces the risk of disintegration from the activities of extremist groups that seek to bring about violent change. The role of the region’s political elite and fraudulent governors who have systematically narrowed the economic and political space to the exclusion of the majority, who wallow in poverty, unemployment, insecurity, cannot be discounted. Taking advantage of youth unemployment, the Gombe State government supported the ‘kallare’ group; Bauchi State gave tacit support to the ‘sara suka’, while the Borno government openly related with the ‘ecomog’ group which directly or indirectly metamorphosed into the ‘boko haram‘.
The forces fanning the flames of these extremist activities are fired not by any ‘jihadist’ agenda as much as by failure of governments at all levels to create economic opportunities. All that people want are openings for honest work; markets for farm produce; hospitals when ill; schools that provide real education and security of life and property. But the political elite could not fathom the consequences of ignoring these legitimate demands of their people and chose to play politics with the issues. So poverty, unemployment and loss of hope became the norm. Bustling marketplaces and businesses became deserted and empty, echoing with the silence of inactivity. Agriculture, which used to employ large numbers of people, remained largely subsistence and dependent on the vagaries of weather.
Dysfunctional governments, ignorance and hopelessness have led people to the arms of extremists. This explains (but certainly does not excuse) the mindless violence that has become a national security threat. To worsen matters, the security agencies sent in to quell these disturbances end up coldly executing more people than the original violence they were ordered to control. In the midst of this confusion and lawlessness, people have become disconnected from reality, unable to adjust to inhuman levels of poverty on the one hand and the fear of reprisals and cold-blooded killing of young men by the military on the other.
True, poverty is not exclusive to the north but, obviously, we must reduce poverty to minimise the threats of extremism. An essential ingredient lacking in successive poverty eradication strategies in Nigeria has been the poor appreciation of the role of the private sector. Government efforts, rather than remain standalone, should aim to stimulate the private sector, both formal and informal, at the lowest levels of society. The private sector is the main engine of growth. Private sector development is thus crucial for increasing the pace of growth. The way the sector develops also has a strong bearing on the pattern of growth, influencing whether growth is broad or narrowly based and whether it is more or less inclusive of the poor, and whether it creates jobs. Fighting poverty must seek to make the most vulnerable stakeholders in the society.
Poverty alleviation programmes must reduce barriers to formalisation and make it easier for individuals and businesses to migrate from the informal to the formal sectors. Technical and financial assistance from all tiers of government, but particularly from community based poverty alleviation agencies, is crucial if we are to develop a productive and sustainable private sector. The custom of procuring and distributing motorcycles to multitudes of youth in the name of poverty alleviation has backfired spectacularly as the same motorcycles have become Boko Haram’s operational vehicles.
It may be true that a hungry man is an angry man, but poverty cannot excuse anarchy. But again, unless and until the challenges of illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and loss of hope are addressed, the armies of unemployed youth on the ranks of extremist groups will remain ever ready to vent their angers, real or imaginary, on whatever represents the state. If poverty were to be seriously tackled, who wants to know if the President speaks Fulfulde or Ijaw, or whether he is Christian or Muslim? And which young person will choose to leave the warmth of a functional system in which he has a stake, to bear arms against the state?
by Emeka Okafor
Source: Africa Unchained
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