As my cuts and bruises were been treated, I couldn’t help but recount how a journey I had often undertaken in the past with little or no concerns was brought to an abrupt end with many sustaining varying degree of injury; on an interstate journey my bus had been ambushed by “herds-men”.
“Too often we attempt to measure
progress by statistical aggregates and technical prowess. We thereby tend to
overlook that the main goal of life is to ensure survival and enable everyone
to realize his full potential for well-being, fulfillment, and accomplishment
in happiness, joy, love, and contentment” these were the words of Olusegun Obasanjo.
This premise was further strengthened
in 2014 as at the time Nigeria recorded an astronomical growth in GDP, growing
to become the largest economy in Africa while about 20,000 square miles of its
territory was under the control of the boko haram terrorist group.1
The concept of peace and security are
two sides of the same coin, as one can’t exist without the other. Peace and security
of life and property are recognized globally as the necessary conditions for sustainable
progress and development of any society and a major responsibility of the
Government. Security can be broadly defined as the state of being free from
danger or threat. It could also be defined as the act of feeling safe, stable,
and free from fear or anxiety.2 Peace on
the other hand is a positive product of security. It can be defined as freedom
from disturbance or dissension.3
Africa is made up of five regions and
each region has had its fair share of turmoil from apartheid regime in the
South to rebel situations in the North. Take for example the West African
region; among the fifteen states that make up the ECOWAS today- Benin, Burkina
Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia,
Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo- a good number of them are
among the poorest countries in the world. West Africa is also the most coup
prone sub-region in Africa: in the last 60 years, the sub region comprising
less than a third of the continent’s states has seen more than 40 coups.
Nigeria, Niger, Cameroun and Chad have
been affected by Boko Haram, a terrorist group recognized as one of the four
deadliest terrorists groups in the World,4
and responsible for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of
over 2.3 million people across these four countries.5
The presence of insecurity precipitating factors such as poorly developed
democratic political systems, poverty, inequality, political and social
exclusion, and distorted value system among others has manifested itself as
terrorism and extremism, ethnic-religious crisis, political violence and communal
clashes in Africa.
Poverty
in Africa is predominantly rural. More than 70 per cent of the
continent’s poor people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for food
and livelihood.6 As a leader; I would strive to reduce
the poverty level by offering farmers improved irrigation, access to credit and
land, machinery and improved crop varieties. This can be achieved through
strengthening of traditional thrift societies, agricultural extension services
and setting up savings and insurance scheme. Working with non-governmental
organizations who have already set up presence in these areas but are limited
by funds would eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic process and increase
productivity in the shortest possible time.
Also social safety nets, which tends
to the needs of the poorest households as an immediate short-run solution would
be deployed. In Nigeria a system which ensures a monthly cash transfer of about
$15 to the poorest households has been put in place. Of course a long-run
solution is providing an environment where sustainable development can thrive
but deployment of short-run solutions would make these families less
susceptible to be used as a tool.
Insecurity can very easily transcend
boarders and more often a strong coalition of neighboring countries is needed
to ensure peace and security is maintained through gathering and sharing of
intelligence. Like Yahya Jammeh once said “When your neighbor’s house is on
fire, you should help with a bucket of water”
The role ECOWAS played in various
peace keeping missions within the region and most recently its role in ensuring
peaceful transition of power in the
Gambia following the defeat of the incumbent at the polls is an indication of not
only the security gains of such coalition but also the role it plays in
strengthening the democratic process in Africa. It is also essential that Countries
within the region and beyond cooperate with one another not only for security
benefit but also for economic growth. In 2007 Nigeria supplied Ghana with about
80 megawatts of electricity to help with its energy crisis,7
the SADC trade protocol and special arrangement on trade in sugar and textile
has encouraged the growth of these sectors in the region.
As a leader I would support such
coalitions and greatly discourage situations were a country by virtue of its
geographical location seeks to become a member of more than one regional
coalition as this could lead to conflicting trade arrangements, huge financial
responsibility and hamper the individual coalitions from achieving its goals as
members might have conflicting interests.
In
other for our democratic system to develop properly, the executive, judiciary
and legislative arms of government must be independent but function as a unit
for the development of the country.
Law
enforcement institutions must run free from political manipulations and its
affairs insulated from political instabilities. Stringent laws and penalties
would be put in place through legislature to ensure that politicians that fan
the embers of religious and ethnic divide in order to instigate violence, gain
popularity or whom place personal interest over public good are made to face
jail time or barred from running for public office as deterrent. Nigeria for
one has experienced its fair share of ethnic and religious induced crisis which
has often resulted in loss of lives and property. Politicians are quick to wipe
up ethnic sentiments in order to win at the polls, but after the election a
country greatly divided along ethnic and religious lines cannot achieve any
meaningful development, as polity is tensed and every policy is received with a
bit of skepticism as it’s evident in Nigeria presently.
Lastly,
I would encourage a national reorientation program to be inculcated into the
educational curricular. Citizens from a young age must be taught the values of
hard work, made to understand the benefits of a successful society, the need
for peaceful cohesion, the need for security and respect of life and property. That
way citizen would be able to harness their anger about societal failings to
champion positive change. Gandhi also noted the gains of harnessing anger as a
powerful force for justice: "I
have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my
anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so, our anger
controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world."
My cuts and bruises have healed and I
have channeled my anger towards making positive change, in my little place, I
will put in my best in all I do in order to help build an egalitarian society.
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