Tag: Nigeria

Contending Narratives on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Public Authority Governance in Nigeria

Contending Narratives on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Public Authority Governance in Nigeria

Posted by | Dec 9, 2021 |

This study interrogates the contending narratives in the fight against COVID-19 and public authority governance in Nigeria. Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2019 in Wuhan, China, countries worldwide have been battling against its exponential rise. In Nigeria, with many reported coronavirus cases, the government had responded by budgeting millions of dollars to curtail the spread of the disease and procure vaccines. However, Nigerians have questioned the responses of the public authority in the governance affairs of Coronavirus. Why is this the case? Literature on the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria has pointed out corruption, mismanagement, human rights abuses, poor planning, and the decay in the health sectors. With David Easton System Theory, the study generated data through documentary methods and analysed them using the narrative analytical technique. The article observes that while the COVID-19 pandemic has resurfaced the contending trajectories in the health, political and economic discourses, public authorities’ governance has continued to witness cycles of legitimacy crises. The study suggests that no amount of audio pledged by the government can remedy the Nigerian trajectories without addressing the public authorities’ fallout with the people and strong legislations against government officials’ foreign medical tourism.

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Child Of Necessity: (AB)Uses Of T he Civilian Joint Task Force In Borno State, Nigeria

Child Of Necessity: (AB)Uses Of T he Civilian Joint Task Force In Borno State, Nigeria

Posted by | Apr 7, 2019 |

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have become key actors in the provision of security and safety in communities in Africa. One of the NSAGs created to provide safety and security in the war-ravaged North Eastern Nigeria is the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF). This paper critical examines uses and abuses of the NSAG in Borno State. Based on data collected through online and print newspapers, interviews and other secondary sources, the study shows that the formation of the CJTF in Borno State has helped to curtail military attacks on innocent civilians and also assisted in decimating Boko Haram. However, activities of the group since its creation in 2013 have been accompanied with human rights abuses of residents, use of position as members of CJTF to witch-hunt opponents, serving as informants to Boko Haram and subject to elites manipulation especially politicians and military. The study also held that rebuilding Borno State and entire Northeastern Nigeria where Boko Haram insurgency has been on for almost a decade now should incorporate demobilisation and reintegration of members of CJTF into normal life to prevent the possibility of the group developing into new security threat after Boko Haram.

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State Policing in Nigeria: A Response to Emerging Trajectories of Conflict and Crime?

State Policing in Nigeria: A Response to Emerging Trajectories of Conflict and Crime?

Posted by | Apr 5, 2019 |

This article argues that the current policing system in Nigeria is highly influenced by the character of the State which has led to a security system that is tailored along patron-client lines. It identifies the challenges hindering the effectiveness of the current security system and calls for the introduction of a policing system where each federating state will be allowed to create and structure its own state police to complement the existing federal police. The article recommends that policing powers be jurisdictionally divided between the federal and state police. It concludes that the introduction of a flexible state policing system will provide and ensure peace and safety, provided that politicians demonstrate the political will and commitment necessary to effectively operate the system as prescribed by the law. In addition, all efforts should be made to avoid using the state police as an instrument for intimidating members of the opposition.

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