INSURGENCY IN AND THE CHALLENGE OF NATIONHOOD Ukpong-Umo, R. E. Department of Sociology, Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene, Correspondent contact details: [email protected] ABSTRACT Insurgency in Nigeria has become an endemic social ill taking toll on all categories of members of the Nigerian society as terror is unleashed with a corresponding incidence on the various classes of people in the society (the wealthy and poor; young and old; male and female; Indigenes and aliens almost alike). This condition which poses a serious security challenge to national integration is enthroned through the perpetuation of kidnappings, terrorism, etc. The study uses the library research data collection method and data were collected using secondary sources with rapid appraisal assessment. The study is framed on the basis of conflict theory of post- colonial states. The study suggest that true federalism, liberal democracy and improved political structure among other measures should be adopted to strengthen our internal democracy; installation of youth mobilization programme through massive job creation for all categories of the working class youth as well as resolution of internal grievances. Keywords : Insurgency, Kidnapping Challenge, Nationhood, Kidnapping, Terrorism

INTRODUCTION United States warships in foreign ports (Goldstein Insurgency is a condition of revolt against and McKercher, 2003). Some rebellions against an a government that is less than an organised existing authority may be accompanied with non- revolution and that is not recognised as violent act. One of such example is the case of non- belligerency (Peter, 1964). It is the rising up violent rebellions using civil resistance, as in the against what is believed to be a constituted or People Power Revolution in the Philippines in the legitimate authority. The term "insurgency" is used 1980s that ousted President Marcos (Roberts and in describing a movement's unlawfulness and Ash, 2009). capacity to pose a threat to a state or seen as such Having established the character of the by another authority, especially when viewed from Nigerian state which impinges on its ability to the backdrop of its not being authorised, and manage armed conflicts, an insurgency can be seen therefore executing a cause that is illegitimate as an armed uprising against it. It is an organised (Shafer, 1988). When used as in the consideration rebellion aimed at overthrowing the constituted above, those causing the uprising are seen as government of Nigeria through the use of rebels, whereas those rising up will see the subversion and armed conflict. There is therefore, authority itself as being illegitimate. an evidence of insurgency in Nigeria, with the Insurgency is an act of rebellion against a presence of armed groups in various parts of the legitimate authority. However, such an authority country who rise up in rebellion against the would have acquired the recognition by an government. The ultimate goal of an insurgency is international body such as the United Nations, to challenge the existing government for control of while those taking part in the rebellion are not all or a portion of its territory, or force political recognised as belligerents. It becomes deduced concessions in sharing political power. An from the foregoing that if there is a rebellion insurgency can be fought via counter-insurgency against the authority (for example the United warfare, and may also be opposed by measures to Nations) and those taking part in the rebellion are protect the population, and by political and not recognised as belligerents, the rebellion is an economic actions of various kinds aimed at insurgency. The United States Department of undermining the insurgents' claims against the Defence (DOD, 2007) defines insurgency as an incumbent regime (Peter, 1964). organised movement aimed at the overthrow of a The exploratory approach is adopted in the constituted government through the use of study and using relevant literature, the insurgency subversion and armed conflict. The threats of conditions in Nigeria have been discussed. In doing insurgency has intensified and assumed global this, consideration have been given to kidnapping, dimension in recent times. However, not all terrorism and militancy as forms of insurgency. rebellions are insurgencies. A rebellion may not be The study uses the library research data collection viewed as an insurgency if a state of belligerency method and data were collected using secondary exists between one or more sovereign states and sources with rapid appraisal technique (RAT). The rebel forces, even if the revolt takes the form of rapid appraisal technique (RAT) is a data input and armed rebellion. assessment technique which allows for an For example, during the American Civil objective, transparent, and multi-disciplinary War, the Confederate States of America was not evaluation of data. The study is framed on the basis recognised as a sovereign state, but it was of conflict theory of post-colonial states. The aim recognised as a belligerent power and so of this paper is to investigate how insurgencies Confederate warships were given the same rights as conduce to a ravaging Nigeria economy, and its

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Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology Vol. 16, No. 3, 2016 implication on development, and also suggest the person’s entitlement to have access to him or her way forward. place of imprisonment, is guilty of a felony, and is Theoretical Perspective liable to imprisonment for ten years (Tar Hon, For a proper understanding of the limited 2004; Okonkwo, 1990). impacts of the Nigerian state in addressing While many insurgencies include insurgencies, the work is framed on the Marxian terrorism, there is no widely accepted definition of theory of Post-Colonial States. Using the analysis terrorism in international law. However, the United of Ake (1985), it is apparent that the post-Colonial Nations sponsored working definitions as drafted State emerged as a creation of imperialism. To this by Alex P. Schmid for the Policy Working Group end, post-Colonial States adopt developmental on the United Nations and Terrorism in 2002, strategies dictated to favour the imperialists and delineate some broad characteristics of the their local appendages rather than the majority of phenomenon to include that terrorism is a criminal the indigenous population. This they do through the act, meant to inflict dramatic and deadly injury on formulation of policies that create conditions under civilians and to create an atmosphere of fear, which accumulation of capital by the foreign generally for a political or ideological (whether bourgeoisie would take place through the secular or religious) purpose. exploitation of human and other local natural The term "terrorism" comes from French resources (Abada and Chilaka, 2014),without terrorisme , and from Latin 'terror', "great fear", attendant cushioning effect. In most cases, the "dread", related to the Latin verb terrere , "to tempo of struggle for state power is fervent leading frighten" Harper (2007). to a stiff opposition which in the process, is often The Nigerian State and Insurgency hijacked by the hegemonic class, resulting in the In modern political literature, as observed triumph of the vicious rather than the virtuous in Okolie and Chime (2008), the idea of state is circle. often linked to the notion of an impersonal, legal or The crime of kidnapping can occur if an constitutional order with the capacity of individual against his or her will is seized and administering and controlling a given territory. The detained by another individual in violation of the roles of the state are many and varied, but for individual’s fundamental human rights. This Onuoha (2012), the chief responsibility of the State position supports Goldberg (2000) who argued that is the maintenance of social and political order. kidnapping is a criminal act involving seizure, The history of Nigeria’s nationhood spans confinement, abduction, subjection, forcefulness, from the time it became a colony of Britain till acts of threats, acts of terror and servitude. date. Modern Nigeria emerged from the fusion in Therefore it is the crime of unlawful capture, 1914, of what hitherto was seen as two British seizure, forceful, wrong and illegal detention of a colonial territories. The amalgamation was an act person against his or her will by abductors. of colonial fiscal and administrative convenience. It The challenge of kidnapping is apparent in occurred mainly because British colonizers desired the security threat it poses and the incidence of the a contiguous colonial territory stretching from the menace on the population. Kidnapping has evolved North to the South, bordering at the Atlantic Coast, over time from the hitherto infant or child and because Northern Nigeria, one of the merging abduction while asleep ‘‘kid-nap’’ to a constructed units, was not able to adequately meet with its and systematized pattern of crime often with administrative expenditures, while Southern political and economic undertone (Tzanelli, 2009). Nigeria, the other British colony, generated In some extremist traditional practices particularly revenue in excess of its administrative expenses. It in stratified societies, it is shown that Slaves and was perceived therefore, that having one big colony other lower status categories of persons have instead of two smaller ones would enable the sometimes been victims of ritual killings (Achebe, buoyant section to subsidize the fiscally challenged 2008). one (Falola et al , 1991). Within the above context, Vold (1979) noted that, in classical along with the existing disparities among the criminology, the behaviour of the kidnapper is “a constituting groups, fans an ember of ideological product of freewill or the choice of the individual, differences which have been a source of political who assesses the potential benefits of committing disagreements and suspicions between and within the crime against its potential costs”. The Nigeria the two sections of Nigeria since colonial times. Criminal Code’s punitive prescription on act of The Nigerian state has consistently failed to fulfil kidnapping is that, any person who unlawfully even the most basic obligations of a modern imprisons another person against his or her will and government, thereby opening the door for without his or her consent or unlawfully imprisons discontents and resentment across several aspects any person within Nigeria in such a manner as to of social life, and provoking the surge by groups to prevent him or her from applying to a court for his challenge the legitimacy of the state and its or her release or from disclosing to any other constitutional authority. person where he is imprisoned, or prevent any

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Insurgency has posed serious security Revolutionary Crusaders (NDRC), challenges for the nation as it affects foreign as Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), and well as indigenous investments, thereby hampering Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). While insurgency economic growth and leaving the country to face continue to pose direct territorial and juridical escalating youth unemployment. This and other challenge to Nigeria’s sovereignty, the current social maladies present a negative image on the territorialised characterisation of the groups adds a country. These distractive forces that severely deadly dimension to its usual character of terror challenge nation building, include; militancy, tactics of carnage through arson, shootings, suicide terrorism and kidnappings, and seem to be bombings, raids, and general massacres. undeterred by government ultimate effort to oppose Corruption especially at the leadership it. The restive oil militants from Southern Nigerian level is the major factor that instigates these oil-producing region have over the years ravaged myriads of social maladies, and one of Nigeria’s and undermine the oil economy, (the lubricating main challenges hampering efforts to combat mainstay of Nigerian nationhood) and have largely insurgencies. This corruption thrives partly because eroded Nigeria’s revenue earning capacity. Acts of many citizens and groups understand the state to be terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria such as illegitimate; undeserving of loyalty, an entity perpetrated by the sect in many parts whose resources can be appropriated for personal of Northern Nigeria, but particularly in the North- gratification (Ochonu, 2015). In the recent past, eastern part is devastating, and cripples economic defence budgets were reportedly creamed off, and social development. leaving ill-equipped and ill-compensated soldiers to In the 1990s and early 2000s, Niger Delta face a deadly, well-armed group of extremists. militants and a host of other ethno-nationalist Many of Nigeria’s political class have been groups like the O’dua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), indicted of whopping loots of the national treasury the Movement for the Actualization of the for luxury, flying Nigeria’s naira in foreign Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and the accounts, while millions of Nigerians are living at Arewa Youth Congress (AYC) — all of them various sub-standards of living. These groups of representing Nigeria’s tripod of the biggest ethnic Nigerian leaders can best be described as deadly groups, Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo — partook without armed weapons. The broad question that to varying degrees in the narrative of calling into remains pertinent therefore is what the Nigerian question the authority and legitimacy of the state. government is doing to regulate human conduct Symbols, institutions, and personnel of the state toward accountability, provide a framework for a also came under attack (Duruji, 2013). These viable social order and promoting harmonious organisations were made up of youths who were coexistence, as her primary responsibility. It is virtually unemployed, poor and frustrated with the worrisome that successive governments have taken system of government that exploits their resources, steps to forestall and checkmate the lee ways of pollute their environment and leave their areas corruption, but close to nothing have been achieved underdeveloped. The indigenes expected adequate in this direction. It is even more worrisome when compensations with infrastructural developments the government becomes aware of impending such as good roads, hospitals, good schools, threat to peace and security and fails to act to modern commercial trading centers, good drinking forestall disorder (Onuoha, 2011). So far, only lips water, and even award of scholarships to the services seem to be the strongest commitment indigenous sons and daughters for further studies as identified as part of government effort to contain remuneration for the minerals extracted from their with this menace. A typical example is the Chibok communities. The failures to reward those Girls saga, which would better have been a genre communities plus the stench from unemployment of fiction. ignited and heightened the internal grievances The State is the custodian and provider of against the Federal Government and the oil security, but given the inability of the Nigerian companies (Ordu, 2015). These acts of disservice State to effectively perform its core functions of to the indigenous communities continue to breed providing or guaranteeing security for the people, and build resentment and rancour among the local Kwaja (2009) regretted that the incapacitation on population. It is within this circumstance that these the part of the State has led to the weakening of its ‘local patriots’ particularly the youth takes up arms bargaining strength and capacity, thereby against government in an organised revolt. aggravating the challenges already posed to The roll of insurgent groups in Nigeria national security. increases by every passing period and include; The result is that the continuing Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People insurgency witnessed in the country in the past (MOSOP), Movement for the Actualization of the decade raises serious questions about the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Niger Delta effectiveness and efficiency of the state and its People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Movement for institutions in managing armed conflicts. An the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), insurgency can be fought via counter-insurgency

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Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology Vol. 16, No. 3, 2016 warfare, and may also be opposed by measures to what type of structural arrangement. As reiterated protect the population, and by political and in Ochonu (2015), the legitimacy burden of the economic actions of various kinds aimed at colonial origin of the Nigerian state is both real and undermining the insurgents' claims against the rhetorical — real because Nigeria was crafted incumbent regime (Peter, 1964). without the consultative input of the groups that Types and levels of criminality in Nigeria would constitute it; rhetorical because that The emergence and escalation of violent foundational verity has become an overarching crimes in Nigeria may be attributed to several alibi for different projects seeking to undermine the factors including; the proliferation of arms and state in favour of alternative parochial political ammunitions in the hands of private individuals imaginations. Evidence from Nigeria’s vibrant during the early post civil war era, with its online and physical discursive spaces suggest that attendant upsurge in the use of dangerous weapons the overwhelming sentiment across the political and killings in Nigeria, a condition facilitated by and ethno-religious divides favour an arrangement the thirty months Nigerian civil war, between 1967 that grants considerable economic and political and 1970 (Igbo, 2007).The ensuing austere autonomy to regions and states and preserves only economic and social conditions in the aftermath of a weakened common center charged with national the war predispose particularly the youth to take to defence, foreign policy, and international trade. crime. Again, the level of economic loss through Still, other sentiments and preferences cannot be wanton destruction of lives and property; and social ruled out without an honest, vigorous, and decay attributed to the loss of traditional structures unrestricted deliberation on the possible trajectories thrust the nation into chaos, such that many more of national coexistence. Only a resolution of this persons became susceptible. Consequently, the foundational question can arrest the crisis of nation was thrown into a repetitively convulsive illegitimacy analysed above. social scenario of related vices, including armed Other options to the way forward robbery, murder, kidnapping, cultism and lately Provision of quality employment opportunities insurgencies. The political class is not exonerated Unemployment has been implicated as as they mobilize political thugs with weaponry in one of the strongest factor for youth restiveness and order to gain advantage over opponents. Ikpang erratic violent behaviour. This is contained in a (2009) observed that the mobilization of political study conducted by Adegoke (2015), where thugs with weapons during election process makes unemployment was by a wide margin of 88% weapons available for further commission of other identified as the contributory factor for the youths types of crime after the election, stressing that such engaging in kidnapping operations and other weapons are usually not withdrawn from these criminal acts. To solve this problem, job creation political thugs after the election, and this creates must be in the frontline of government policy thrust more impediment for the control of violent crimes and budgetary allocations, as some of the in the society. unemployed youths are university graduates and The evolving social conditions, able-bodied individuals who are virtually frustrated aggravated by the deteriorating standard of with lack of employment opportunities. There education and technical training for the youths, should be no alibi to infrastructural development erratic political atmosphere, economic recession, through the provisions of basic amenities such as: high rate of corruption by particularly political good roads, hospitals, good schools, reliable Power leaders, unemployment amidst high population supply, modern commercial trading centers and explosion, poor wages and poor living standards all good drinking water system. Massive quality job constitute apparent indices of a weak and failing creation, along with other economic incentives will state and present grave danger for the nation and create the needed ambience to engage the affected therefore undermines its integration. The above categories of persons for a crime free Nigerian social terrain encouraged conditions of anomie and society. intense violence and insecurity and serves as a Measures to improve on the worsening political breeding ground for ethnic militia and militant instability groups to thrive (Ochonu, 2015). Nigeria is trapped in a worsening Political crisis exacerbated by inherent antagonistic, WAY FORWARD rivalrious, nepotistic and sentimental tendencies In cases where insurgents are unlikely to between the parts of the Nigerian social system. As collapse quickly, governments need to consider noted in Ochonu (2015), one of the problems deal-making as an alternative to protracted warfare, dividing the North and the South of the country is even if the groups pursue undesirable goals. But that of diverging orientations and aspirations. This generally speaking, there is need to present a more problem turns on differential levels and provokes serious discussion around the question of whether several asymmetrical relationships. The outcome of Nigerian groups and ethnic nationalities want to this asymmetry is a bifurcated political, cultural, remain together as one country and if so under and aspirational modernity that destroys national

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solidarity. Symbolic and educational investments in oil insurgency and the MASSOB-led pro-Biafra bridging this divide has to be part of a long term movement in the list of suppressed but simmering strategy for saving the Nigerian state and building threats to the state, with the last two being more it up as a legitimate entity in the eyes of citizens potent because of the organic sympathy they enjoy and constituents and their connections to histories of Resolution of internal grievances marginalization and historical injuries. The As observed in Ordu (2015), the Nigerian fundamental questions that animate these communities are blessed with the abundance of movements or provide them with rhetorical fodder mineral resources and crude oil reserves, especially need to be addressed, and this is the supreme in the Niger Delta Regions. The contemporary challenge before stakeholders in the Nigeria state crime of kidnapping the expatriates and the staff of project. It is apparent that the perpetration of acts of the oil companies slowly began with the insurgency has been perpetuated by conditions of communities’ grievances against the Federal prolonged persistence of unemployment, worsening government and the oil companies for usurping political instability, internal grievances, get rich their mineral resources without compensations. The quick syndrome, and perceived weakness of the oil companies such as the Exxon Mobile, Shell state security. Government should give attention to Exploration Company, Agip, and others, have those problems as outlined, with a view to curbing tapped their resources, polluted their environments, its escalation. As long as those social conditions and generally neglected the communities where persist, they will remain serious impediments to the those mineral reserves are located. The resolutions of the Nigeria crises. These environmental degradation was quite obvious and recommendations have been presented so that offensive to the communities. This negligent measures should be taken to improve on the behaviour ignited aggression against the oil worsening political instability, massive and quality companies and expatriates. The unemployed youths employment opportunities should be created, and in the communities formed internal militant resolution of internal grievances. Infrastructural organisations as a means of drawing national and development through the provisions of basic international attention to their demands for amenities such as: good roads, hospitals, good compensations. Other areas where internal schools, modern commercial trading centers and grievances occur include; the majority-minority good drinking water system are essential in the question, the issue of true federalism and liberal governance of the society. democracy, resource control and revenue allocation. REFERENCES Achebe, C. 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