A THREAT TO THE EXISTENCE OF CONTEMPORARY MULTINATIONAL NIGERIA: BAD GOVERNANCE, THE ZEITGEIST OF TERRORISM, BANDITRY, AND SECESSIONISM

Authors : Lukman Adewale Quadri, Ajibola Oladejo

Pages : 92-114

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Publication Date : 2021-12-31

Article Type : Research

Abstract :A surge of secessionism is threatening contemporary Nigeria's survival, while unrepentant terrorists and bandits represent a major threat to the country's political stability. Unfortunately, the public outside the northern region of Nigeria has shown scepticism about the government's response to terrorism, banditry, and secessionism. They remain convinced that the government handles bandits and terrorists leniently while prosecuting secessionists harshly. In contrast to those who are sceptical about the government's approach to bandits and terrorists, the findings of this study showed that the government's reaction to terrorists and bandits is neither soft nor lenient but seems to be so owing to the sect's strategic mode of operation. Furthermore, the study found that secessionists are an easy target because they are vulnerable, known, and traceable. The study went on to identify the three concepts and determine the groups' major aims, and conspicuously highlighted the group threatening the existence of Nigeria and the ones threatening the existence of Nigerians in Nigeria. Data was chiefly garnered from secondary sources such as online news, textbooks, reports, and reputable journal articles relevant to the study. Descriptive and analytical approaches were adopted in the dissection of the data. The study concluded that the persistence of political horizontal inequality at the federal government level and the reluctance of the government to clamp down on Fulani herdsmen bandits wreaking havoc on host communities are potential drivers of secessionism.
Keywords : Multinationalism, Banditry, Terrorism, Secessionism, Political horizontal inequality, Stick and carrot approach