Dominance of Bandits, Armed Herdsmen and Unknown Gunmen in Nigeria: A Hobbesian Trip to Kabul

Abstract

The paper aims at exposing the dominant and challenging activities of bandits, armed herdsmen, and unknown gunmen in Nigeria. The loss of numerous human lives and private and public property, as well as the displacement of thousands of citizens, among others, in different states, regions, and geopolitical zones in Nigeria, are identified as consequences of the activities of these underdogs. Different strategic security approaches adopted at the federal, state, regional, local, and community levels by way of intervention are equally examined, though considered inadequate. The paper unequivocally, among other human necessities that are improperly and insufficiently addressed, confronts the failure of the Nigerian government in the areas of not providing job opportunities for their citizens, high cost of living and education, non-judicious use of security votes, exclusive leadership style, insufficient security agencies and unsophisticated ammunition, political sabotage, and mismanagement of natural and national resources as contributing factors to the ravaging issue at stake. The paper, having likened this lawless dominance to the Hobbesian state of nature unreservedly, draws a parallel between the activities of these terrorists and those of the Taliban of Afghanistan, which began as a small force against the Afghan government and later seized the leadership of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Following this, the paper argues that unless a complementary and holistic approach is adopted by the Nigerian society, especially the leadership of Nigeria, through the provision of the basic necessities of life, reduction of the cost of education and living, judicious management of the national and natural resources with no ethnic or tribal sentiments, adoption of political neutrality in leadership, and beefing up of the national security architecture to a standard of competence, among others, the nation may eventually tread the path of the Afghans. The paper employs the methods of textual and contextual analysis. The procedure is essentially expository, critical, analytical, and speculative