Nigeria has swathes of communities in rural areas with little or no government presence. These communities are inhabited by Nigerians, but in truth, they are far from what is happening in the country in terms of the availability of basic infrastructure such as hospitals, roads, water, electricity and the presence of law enforcement agencies.
In such situations, it is usually a free-for-all and a natural habitat for criminal elements. It also serves as a breeding ground for terrorism, insecurity and conflict. We are witnesses to the activities of violent groups that have exploited the void created by the lack of government presence in these areas to their advantage.
This trend has assumed a dangerous dimension in recent times and indeed calls into question the plans of the government to address the issue. As a newspaper, we are aware that the emphasis has been on clearance operations by the military, as in the case of the Lakurawa armed group operating in the northwest region. More worrisome is the fact that the Lakurawa group and other armed groups have found these spaces as havens for their nefarious activities.
There have been questions around whose responsibility it is to address the issue. Some have argued that it is the responsibility of the federal government, the state government or the local government. While all of these positions are valid, it takes the argument back to the issue of governance structure in place in the country. As tricky as this topic has assumed, it lends credence to the principle of structural functionalism that emphasises that for any society to make progress, all structures within it have a role to play.
This newspaper aligns with the structural functionalism school of thought that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability and social order. For example, whose responsibility is it to provide security, whose responsibility is it to provide critical infrastructure such as water, electricity and motorable roads? The answers lie in the fact that if there is a disconnect along these lines, non-state actors would latch onto it and establish their regime of terror, manifest in kidnappings, imposing extreme ideologies on the population and launching attacks on security agents from these territories that lack government presence, thereby putting lives and livelihoods on the brink.
From our findings, armed groups have also turned these spaces into their training and recruitment ground from where they launch attacks in other places in the country. After these attacks, they retreat to their havens. Even though it is on record that the security agencies are actively engaging these dissidents, it merely scratches the surface. The first step is for the government to ensure that the prevalence of ungoverned spaces is given as much attention as any other sector in the country.
We posit that the federal government must address the issue of porous borders to reduce the influx of extreme ideologies and unauthorised arms into the country. Border security is crucial in addressing these security concerns. It enables the security agencies to design and develop security strategies that are in line with the peculiarities as a people.
For example, farmers-herders clashes are peculiar to us, but radical and extreme religious ideologies are not peculiar to us.
Secondly, the state governments must take development to the hinterland. The provision of critical amenities should not be concentrated in urban centres alone. For example, if a community that shares borders with any of our neighbours lack these basic amenities, the tendency for inhabitants of these communities to resort to self-help and, in most cases, pledge their allegiance to non-state actors is high.
Thirdly, local government autonomy must be fully implemented, as the role of the local government in bringing governance closer to the people cannot be overemphasised. Recently, Agora Policy, a Nigerian think tank and non-profit organisation committed to finding practical solutions to urgent national challenges, convened a policy dialogue to take stock of local governance reform in Nigeria.
At the event, Mr Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, linked local governance to broader macroeconomic goals. He stated that achieving national development targets depends on the quality of governance and the efficiency of service delivery at the local level. This newspaper agrees with this position as achieving national development targets in Nigeria through quality governance and efficient service delivery at the local level can help address the menace of ungoverned spaces through a collaborative and multifaceted approach.
We, therefore, call for deliberate action from the various stakeholders in the governance structure in the
country to address the prevalence of ungoverned spaces in parts of the country. The federal, state and local governments have a role to play. This is not a time to trade blame, but rather a time for collaborative action in our quest for a secure and prosperous Nigeria.
