ABSTRACT
The security of
lives and property is one of the internationally recognized concern of
individuals, groups and government at all levels be it local, state or federal.
However, lack of security of lives and property in Nigeria has led to reduced
life expectancy for the citizens, low national growth and development which is
primarily due to the activities of terrorist (Boko-Haram) in Nigeria and its
borders. Nonetheless, few empirical studies exist to ascertain this fact even
though the general public perceived low growth and development as the resultant
effects of terrorist activities in the country. This study provided empirical
evidence on the counter terrorism strategies and Nigeria’s foreign policy
objectives.
The study
employed survey research design. The population for the study was 179
comprising 16 Nigeria Police Officers, 20 State Security Services, 20 Nigerian
Security and Civil Defense (NSCDC), 16 Nigeria Army Officer, 18 Air Force and
18 Officer of Nigerian Immigration Service.
Purposive sampling technique was used. Data were collected with a
questionnaire. The reliability test of the variables ranged from α = 0.84 –
0.88.. Data were analysed using correlation and multiple regression.
The findings revealed a statically
significant relationship between foreign policy objective and effective
management of terrorism activities in Nigeria (r = 0.155, P<.05). The
analysis further revealed that five out of the nine barriers, that is, inadequate manpower and training (β = -1.322, p<.05),
proliferation of arms and ammunition (β = 1.327, p<.05), lack of rule of law and sanctions (β
= .947, p<.05), wide spread social injustice
(β = .637, <.05), and religious intolerance
(β = -1.206, p<.05), significantly
influenced ineffective counterterrorism policy implementation
in Nigeria.
The
study concluded that there was a generally high level of awareness about
Nigeria’s foreign policy objective among the respondents. Hence, it was recommended that Nigeria Government should endeavour to reduce terrorism
attacks through proper liaison with civilian JTF and effectively protecting its
border by putting security mechanism that will enhance the activities of
the security agencies in the country.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Over
the centuries, mankind has searched for the best way of ensuring the security
of lives, properties, territories, states and institutions. In all places and
countries, security has been considered as a “first order value” that is worth
preserving. The concept of security is
generally multi-dimensional and it has, in the last century, been the subject
of frequent debate among scholars across the world (Olomojobi, 2015). Security
can be described as a situation where a person is not exposed to any form of
danger or risk of physical or moral aggression, accident, theft or
deterioration. Hitherto, the concept of security has always been associated
with the safety and survival of the state and its citizens from harm,
destruction or dangerous threats (Yaqub, 2004).
Today,
the need for national security has become a global concern particularly in the
face of terrorism. Braithwaite (1988:9) defines national security as the
ability of a nation to protect its internal values from external threat. National
security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the
use of economic power, diplomacy, power projection and political power. Efforts
have been directed towards safeguarding national security although not much
success has been recorded by community of nations. An example is Nigeria.
Measures taken to implement the national security policy include the use of
diplomacy to isolate threats; marshalling economic power to facilitate or
compel cooperation; maintaining effective armed forces; implementing civil
defense and emergency preparedness measures (including anti-terrorism
legislation); ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical
infrastructure; using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid
threats and espionage, and to protect classified information; using
counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from
internal threats (Yaqub, 2004).
Nigeria like many other countries around the world has
its foreign policy objectives which focus on peace, development and democracy.
The extant literature shows that Nigeria’s foreign policy has inclined towards
general discussion rather than specific, covering virtually every conceivable
topic. Despite the good motive behind Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives, the
policy has been unsystematic, basically idiosyncratic and lacking in
theoretical and empirical rigor. Also, foreign policy studies in Nigeria have
generally been narrative-inclined; they are not analytical and offer little if
any basis for a choice of scientific framework to guide conceptualization,
implementation, or study and understanding of Nigeria’s foreign policy.
Nonetheless, the existing structure, processes and
machinery of foreign policy formulation and implementation which have served
Nigeria relatively well up to the early 1980’s, now leave much to be desired.
Henceforward, the urgent need to strengthen and re-evaluate policy in line with
requirements of a fast-changing and rapidly globalizing world cannot be
overemphasized. Also, the present-day foreign policy decisions and actions need
to focus on addressing the challenges of national survival, human security,
progress and development.
The
definition of terrorism has emerged as a central focus of power politics and
propaganda. Differential and ideological posturing, the absence of boundaries
of conflict and fixed enemies, messages of fear, legal narratives, and
creating, remaking and reconfiguring judicial reality have a profound tendency
to make terrorism a never-ending battle. Terrorism is a psychological
phenomenon, with criminal acts being used to fight political power or to
maintain a political status quo. This particular characteristic of terrorism
and the techniques employed to eliminate it, create a narrative, on normative
scale, that threatens the potential for global consensus in defining terrorism
(Acharya, 2009).
While the old issues of protection of sovereignty,
territorial integrity and national security are still relevant, new emerging
issues, for example, pertaining to national competitiveness in the globalized
economy, promotion and defense of universal rights, protection of the
environment and sustainable development, as well as the promotion of peaceful
co-existence and democratization have assumed primacy around the world (Jega,
2014). According to Jega, (2014), as Nigeria increasingly comes to terms with
these additional concerns in its foreign policy pursuits, there is need for a
carefully defined framework to guide decisions and actions. Related studies on
Nigeria’s foreign policy have pointed to the incapacity of the structure and
processes of conceptualizing and implementing foreign policy decisions to meet
the challenges of the rapidly changing reality of the contemporary
international system (Akindele, Ojo, &Olusanya, 1990; Adebajo&Mustapha,
2008). According to these scholars, this inadequacy will only worsen unless
reforms are introduced and institutionalized to address it. At the conceptual
and theoretical levels, as Asobie (1990) has observed, ‘the study of Nigeria’s
foreign policy is grossly underdeveloped.
Major issues in Nigeria foreign policy objectives are
related to readiness to implement on the part of the implementing agencies such
as the Nigerian army and the Office of the National Security Adviser. Lack of
readiness to implement occurs when the supposed military officers were
unwilling to face the terrorist due to substandard and outdated ammunitions to
combat terrorist activities. This is evident in the court-marshaling cases all
over Nigeria against the affected officers who refused to report at the battle
field. Besides, there is the issue with the lack of political will on the part
of the government comprising the legislative and the executive arms. Notable
evidence has to do with the executive not willing to identify the sponsors of
the terrorists in Nigeria, as evident in the presidential broadcast indicating
that the terrorists are known but due to the then political loyalty, the known
terrorists’ sponsors are difficult to be dealt with. All these suggest that
implementing counter terrorism in Nigeria is complex and multifaceted. On one
hand, it may have some financial implications, on the other hand, it is
politically motivated and hence has contributed to the country losing a sizeable
part to the terrorist. Furthermore, insincerity, indiscipline and corruption
among the leadership of counter terrorism agencies and the politicians as
published by the current regime as well
as the current plea bargaining between the anticorruption agency and top
military brass is an indication that more still need to the done to effectively
implement counter-terrorism policy in the country.
From the foregoing, it is clear that
counter terrorism strategies are to a large extent missing from Nigeria’s
foreign policy objectives. The reason however is not farfetched as the policy
was developed at the birth of Nigeria as an independent state in 1960, when serious
domestic and international terrorism attacks in the country were not known or
full blown as they are today. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the review
of the country’s foreign policy objectives so that defeating a terrorist group that emerges
as a result of political and socioeconomic grievances can be achieved. The
situation requires urgent attention because it is the major factor that has
caused the nation dearly since 2009 when Boko Haram insurgents unleashed terror
especially in the North-East area of Nigeria.
In recent years, the terrorist
activities in different dimensions have constituted a major menace to the
Nigerian society and the global community at large (Yusif,
2008).
Scholars have established a relationship between terrorist activities and
national development globally (Akpan, Akpan&Lofu-Adeoye, 2014). Hitherto, the
Nigerian government has made concerted efforts towards eradicating terrorism
activities in the country but this has yielded little success even with the
support of different foreign counterparts. The reason for the little success so
far is due to the fact that terrorism has reached a high degree both at home
and abroad. Besides, the spread and availability of guns and ammunition in the
nooks and crannies of Nigeria, occasioned by numerous porous borders, past
military experiences, corruptions, repressive attacks by government against
communities and leading spokes persons, have resulted in the significant spread
of terror in the North eastern part of Nigeria witnessedtoday. This reality
constitutes a major motivation for the current study. Hence, this study seeks to
evaluate the counter-terrorism efforts and Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives
with a view to strengthening the areas of weaknesses and suggest strategies for
effective counter-terrorism and sustainable development.
The
main objective of this study is to examine counter terrorism strategies and
Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives. Thespecific objectives are to:
1. examine Nigeria’s foreign policy in relation to
current terrorist activities plaguing the country;
2. evaluate Nigeria’s counter-terrorism policies
3. compare
the components of Nigeria’s and global counter terrorist policies;
4. examine
the level of implementation of counter terrorism policy in Nigeria;
5. explore
the barriers to implementation of counter terrorism policy in Nigeria and
6. assess
the prospect for achieving credible
counter terrorism strategies through Nigeria foreign policy.
1. What
is Nigeria’s foreign policy in relation to current terror activities plaguing
the country?
2. What
are the similarities and differences between Nigeria’s and global
counterterrorist policy documents?
3. What
is the level of implementation of counter terrorism policy in Nigeria?
4. What
are the barriers militating against implementation of counter terrorist policy
in Nigeria?
5. What
is the prospect of achieving credible counter-terrorism strategies through Nigeria’s dynamic foreign
policy?
The
following hypotheses were tested at α = 0.05 level of significance
1. There
is no significant relationship between foreign policy objective and effective
management of terrorism activities in Nigeria
2. There
are no significant barriers militating against effective implementation of
foreign policy objectives in Nigeria.
This
study examines Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives and how they relate to war
against terrorism with particular focus on Boko-Haram and other related
security issues in Nigeria. The study was
carried out among security agencies including the State Security Services
(SSS), the Police, and civil defense corps (NSCDC), the military and agencies
involved in foreign policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria.
Theoretically,
the study would add to the existing body of knowledge on terrorism plaguing the
international community. It is specifically designed to unravel the strategies
adopted for combating terrorism and Boko Haram insurgency. The study would also
aid and enrich researchers whose interests are on counter terrorism. The
outcome of this research would serve as a reference for policymaking and much
emphasis wason counter-terrorism policies and knowledge transfer among scholars
in the security sector. The outcomes of this study would also
be beneficial to policy makers, security agencies and security personnel across
sectors of the society with regards to managing terrorism activities for
National Sustainable Development.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
The
following key terms used in this study are defined as follows:
BokoHaram:
An Islamic terrorist group that emerged in the North East, Nigeria with the
agenda to Islamize the zone while rejecting that education and its institution are
taboo
Foreign policy: The
instrument by which a state influences or seeks to influence the external world
through diplomacy, and to attain objectives that are in consonance with their
perceived national interest.
Security: The preservation and protection of
lives and properties in a country through adequate protective strategies.
Terrorism: The use of
threat or use of anxiety, induced extra normal violence for political purpose
by any individual or group whether acting for or in aposition to established
governmental authority when such action is intended to influence the attitudes
and behaviour of a largest group wider than the immediate victims and through
the nationality or foreign ties and its perpetrators.
Counter-terrorism:
The practice, military tactics, techniques, and strategy that government,
military, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or
prevent terrorism.
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