Effect Of Banditry On The Socio-Economic Activities Of Zamfara State

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Recommendation to Issues of Banditry

The research found out that in the districts affected by the menace of Armed Banditry in the area under study, the security agencies and the state government failed to secure these areas from the constant raiding and attacks by the various gang of cattle rustlers and other rural bandits.

Moreover, the unethical activities of the local vigilante groups in various districts of Nigeria which involves indiscriminate arrest of suspected Fulani herdsmen, with frivolous, trivial or no evidence to prove their involvement in any attack associate with livestock theft. The situation was further aggravated when the vigilantes resulted into killing any suspected cattle rustler in an open market square without any justification.

The scenario created a chain of retaliation and reprisal attacks in the affected areas which culminated in the significant loss of lives and property. Also this situation has led to the mass exodus of nomads who were hitherto living in peace and harmony with the host communities to other regions considered to be safer.

It is in the light of this that, the following short and long term measures are recommended for consideration in policies, ways and means of addressing the problem of Armed Banditry and other associated banditry activities in rural areas of North East Nigeria Zamfara state, Nigeria.

Short Term Measures To Curtail Menace of Banditry

 

  • There should be constant and effective deployment of adequate number of security personnel to the affected communities to checkmates the illegal activities of the cattle rustlers and other rural bandits as well as halting the unethical activities of the local vigilante groups which invariably aggravated the problem in recent
  • There should be 24 hours surveillance patrol along Nigeria-Niger Republic borders to check the influx of foreign nomads who are mostly suspected of smuggling dangerous weapons, such as rifle, pistol, machine gun and ammunitions to Nigeria through these porous borders which greatly help in increasing the incidences of rural banditry in Zamfara
  • There should be aerial surveillance on the suspected bandit’s hideouts in the forest. This would assist greatly for easier identification and location of the target for the ground troops to move in precision on the intended target in order to reduce human casualty during the
  • There should be collaboration efforts between the states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger all in Northern Nigeria to check and prevent the fleeing bandits from residing in their forest This became imperative since the bandits moves from the extended forest of one state with their loots to other state or other side of the forest
  • There should be a sustained effort from the government to encourage dialogue and reconciliation among the different ethnic groups in the respective communities affected by the problem of Armed Banditry and other different forms of rural banditry. These communities have been hitherto living in peace and harmony with each other for many decades, but recent events has totally changed the hitherto peaceful relationship into that of confrontation and reprisal attacks and
  • The Government should create an enabling environment for local jobs creation at the village level for the teeming unemployed youths. Rural poverty has been pervasive in recent years; youths that supposed to be engage in different aspects of rural economy are now left roaming about in the rural community without doing anything, this and many more has contributed in the upsurge in rural banditry and Armed Banditry as they are striving to make a livelihood out of the criminal loots due to non availability of opportunity for rural
  • The government should make a new and strict legislation to deal decisively with the problem relating to all forms of rural This can serves as deterrence to the actual and potential bandits. As human beings are capable of calculating the cost and benefits of engaging in any lawful acts, if the cost out weight the benefits this can serves as a deterrent for further misdemeanour.
  • There should be close intergovernmental cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbouring countries of Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon to check the movement of nomads across these The phenomenon of rural banditry is also prevalent in some rural areas of these countries bordering Nigeria, bandits usually travelled along the porous borders with rustled livestock, arms and ammunitions escaping from the scene of crimes to a more safer places in order to dispose up the rustled livestock and acquire additional arms and ammunitions for the continuation of their nefarious acts.

CONCLUSION

Many reasons are given as probable causes of kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria. Inyang (2009) linked the problem of unemployment as one of such reasons why kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria is often associated with youth  unemployment.  He  used  the  widely  acknowledged  adage,  which says that “an idle man is the devil’s workshop” to present the situation of unemployment in Nigeria. He noted that there are uncountable able-bodied men and women  in  Nigeria roaming the streets in search of  non-existing job.  Out  of  frustration  together  with  mounting  responsibilities  to  tackle many idle young persons have  ventured into criminal activities of which kidnapping  are  not  an  exemption.  Inyang further  acknowledged that,  a graduate who  is unable to  secure a  job is  psychologically  bereft of other means  of  survival.  Such  situation  the  young  person  could  develop  a negative attitude towards  society and attribute  his failure to that society. Furthermore, Inyang (2009) also believed that, the proliferation of arms as a  result  of  political  patronage  of  miscreant  who  were  dumped  after elections  may  indirectly  encourage  and  enhanced  kidnapping.  Inyang likened todays kidnapping situation to the scourge of arm robbery in the early eighties where many young able-bodied men who fought during the Nigerian  civil  war  were  discharged  and  sent  home  with  nothing. Meanwhile  since  the  schools they left  behind were  destroyed  and  there were  no  jobs  to  engage  them  and  keep  them  busy.  Many  of  them consequently took to armed robbery, since as ex-soldiers they were armed with  weapons,  having acquired  the skills  and guns during  the war.  The story is almost  the same  today as politicians employ most idle  youths as political thugs and later dumped them after elections. Therefore, the youths (thugs) who have been abandoned by their masters after winning elections are now busy kidnapping innocent persons and relatives of those persons they  surged  to  be  wealthy.  Similarly,  just  as  the  oil  boom  in  the  1970’increased  the  scale  of  armed  robbery  dramatically  in  the  country,  the stupendous empowerment of political office holders and their cronies have led many who are far away from these juicy government contracts to turn to kidnapping in order to  have their share  of the “national cake” as their reward.  The issue of “moral decadence” and the “quest to get rich quick” syndrome have been identified as some of the causative factors of kidnapping. Again Inyang (2009)  confirmed these in his proposition that in Nigeria,  nobody asks questions on how people make their wealth. According to him, a poor person today can  show up with an  expensive car tomorrow and  nobody dare to question the sudden wealth. Also, people who have donated money to develop their communities are rewarded with chieftaincy titles thereby creating  a  wrong  impression  in  the  minds  of  Nigerian  youths  who thereafter  take  to  kidnapping.  The  inconsistency  between  economic transparency  and  accountability  in  the  running  of  normal  government affairs  and  the  desire  to  amass  wealth  among  public  office  holders  at different  levels  of  government  often  also  contribute  to  the  leverage  by kidnappers. They believe that, when those in government employment loot government treasury openly without fear, they too can as well take the laws into their hands by abducting people for ransom. An argument that easily turns into insignificant when it is considered that businessmen, foreigners and other wealthy people who are very far from government’s purse have also falling victim to these fraudulent acts. Another reason for kidnapping and  banditry  is  poverty,  which  is  one  of  the  major  driving  forces  that usually push people to go into the act. Poverty and lack over a long period of time usually leads to frustration, depression and a feeling of helplessness. This is enough motivation for some people to accept to go into kidnapping and banditry when the carrot  of easy money  is  dangled before them.  As such the poor needs money to keep life going and because of that, they can easily be convinced to venture into the field of kidnapping and banditry to make money to be able to provide for himself and his family.

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