BY Olumide T. Agunbiade
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
This study investigated, by means of primary and secondary
sources, the political and crime rate in Nigeria, using the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja as a case study.
Data used in this study were derived mainly from documents,
including published literature, official documents, and media reports. Primary
data were obtained from questionnaires distributed to individuals that
witnessed political violence and crimes including election violence.
The second chapter explores the history of political
violence, election violence and crimes in Nigeria, beginning from the late
colonial period. This section compares incidents of political violence and
crimes across different periods of Nigeria’s history and identifies the reforms
and measures adopted by the government to prevent or manage violence and crimes
in Nigeria.
The third chapter
sets out the method and procedure employed in carrying out this research. The
fourth chapter presents the results of the empirical and comparative analyses
of political violence in Nigeria.
Finally, the fifth chapter contains the summary, conclusion
and recommends strategies for preventing violence during the 2015 general
election and in the future.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In Nigeria, economic, religious and political grievances as
given birth to violence and crimes that are currently threatening her existence
and unity. Born of colonial origins, Nigeria is a mixture of ethno linguistic
groups and religious traditions.
This diversity has historically posed a daunting challenge
to governance and stability in Nigeria, considering that many people feel
politically and economically excluded by the extremely weak and corrupt nation.
Violence in Nigeria is not a new phenomenon, considering that even the 1959
independence elections organized by the departing colonial authorities were
marked by violence and various crimes.
What have changed
over the years, however, are the frequency, ramifications and intensity of
political violence and crimes in Nigeria. Recently, mass communicators in their
modern outfits have discussed the possibility that there may be no single
solution to this problem.
This awareness has no
doubt been promoted by increasing level of bribery, rigging and violence used
by politicians to cajole voters, coupled with high degree of misinformation and
sensationalism by the media whom are relied upon for information (Agunbiade
2007).
These are the elements that must be carefully studied,
understood and addressed in order to improve security in Nigeria.
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Conceptually, crime can be seen as an infraction of both the
basic principles of law and order and the norms of civilized behavior. No
society is immune from this social problem but what differs is the frequency
and magnitude of the situation and the response mechanisms to address it.
As part of human community, Nigeria is currently caught in
the web of crime dilemma, manifesting in the convulsive upsurge of both violent
and non-violent crimes. But the most alarming and terrifying is the present
escalation of violent crimes and the barbarity, lethality and trauma the
perpetrators unleash on the hapless citizenry across the length and breadth of
the country.
Notable in this
regard are the rising incidents of robbery, assassination and ransomed-driven
kidnapping, which are now ravaging the polity like a tsunami and spreading a
climate of fears and anxieties about public safety.
Many reports have indicated
that tensions arising from lack of certainty in the practice of Zoning or
rotation of presidency by the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may have
contributed to the post election violence. However, it remains debatable how
much weight we can attach to a single factor like that in explaining the
violence.
The objectives of the Nigerian government according to
Ojigbo (1980), “has consistently been the
promoti on of a better, healthier nation of expanding social, economic and
political freedom for all, regardless of ethnicity, religion and region.”
So far, the prevalent
level of violent crimes in Nigeria has cast doubt on the political will of some
of those in the corridors of power in the country to protect the citizens
through the law enforcement agencies, especially the Nigerian Police Force,
which is constitutionally charged with maintaining law and order.
Today, many social analysts are drawing a parallel between
the current political violence and crimes in Nigeria and countries infamous for
it like Colombia, Mexico and Bolivia, where various drug gangs and Marxist
guerrillas are wrecking havoc.
Considering the human cost of the upwardly growing level of
grave crimes like bombings, armed robbery and assassination in places like
Abuja, Kano, Adamawa, Lagos, Ibadan, Benin-City, Yenagoa, Port-Harcourt,
Onitsha, Aba and Uyo, the nation may have reached a point of comparism with
South Africa’s Johannesburg, which has earned itself the unenviable sobriquet
of the murder capital of the world.
What are the underlying causative factors behind the
exponential increase in violent crimes in Nigeria? What are the realistic means
of containing these worrisome developments?
Unarguably, poverty and unemployment is the harbinger of
most crimes. A recent estimate put the number of Nigerians living below the
poverty line at 70 per cent. Regarding unemployment, which has created
available market for political violence and various crimes, recent statistics
from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) indicate that 12 million
Nigerians are unemployed, this is not to mention those who are underemployed.
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