Hello, great Naijans!
What another great day to talk about environmental security. Amazing prompt I must say.
Talking about security in my country, I would say that some parts of my country are not safe at all. Nigeria as a whole has been a safe place for individuals both citizens and tourists, but with the influx of some noncitizens and the uprising of wicked leaders, the country is now turning into a place for individuals to run helter-skelter.
The Eastern, Southern and some parts of Western Nigeria are manageably safe but Northern Nigeria is the most dreaded part of the nation. Boko Haram is the predominant havoc-causing and terrorizing group in the Northern part of my country. These groups are secretly sponsored by individuals who have the power and some of them are leaders of the country who feel they can acquire power by force.
Generally, Nigeria is not a completely safe nation for both citizens and aliens. Just as I described those parts of the nation as "manageably" safe, I simply mean that nowhere is considered safe in my country. The rich including those who are supposed to ensure optimum security of the state have mansions with the highest fences, police dogs and barbed wires because they know they live in an unsafe country where anything can happen.
Last night I watched a video of how some leaders were debating on the fact that cattle have equal rights as men, meaning that cattle can do anything and go scot-free. My country is a kind where farmers aren't safe carrying out farm activities anymore. Since cattle have equal rights as humans, they can feed on farmers' produce leaving the forage grasses. Herdsmen are equipped with loaded guns to kill humans for cattle safety. My country from my view is not safe, but some places are manageable for tourists to visit.
My country is made up of thirty-six states. Out of these thirty-six states, only less than twenty could be said to be manageably safe. Even the Eastern part of the country also has a terrorizing group called the Niger Delta Militants, this group tries to fight for their state. The states under the Niger Delta are the ones with crude oil wells, so this group tries to fight and bring the leader's attention to their state development and recognition. The people feel they are the states feeding the nation and deserve to be more developed and get a larger portion of the national cake, but since they feel they don't get what they deserve, they then form groups to fight for their rights.
Kidnapping is the order of the day. I have had several incidents both in church and school where I saw people pleading for support to gather the ransom set by the captors. The nation is not a safe part of the planet as every taxi is a potential risk. Not every taxi driver on the road drives for service, some now drive, burning fuel to find vulnerable individuals to kidnap or rob. The country is a kind where police most times arrive at robbery incidents to only get reports, not to defend and rescue. It's very bad. A country where religious extremism is getting out of hand.
I once learned that most of the individuals known as "unknown gunmen" who trouble the nation's peace are not citizens of the country, most of them are citizens of other countries of Africa who were hired by politicians during elections to cause problems and instill fear in their opponents. They bring these people in before they get into power and after they have gotten all they want, they leave these people to become uncertified citizens of the country and they continue causing havoc in the country. What a country on Earth! Every night is a scary one for those in the dreaded region of the country
Most times I used to wonder if the government is doing anything about the issue of insecurity. But I would ask myself, if some of the leaders supported insecurity to gain power, would they fight those who helped them gain the position? They may pretend to be doing something about it, but not in the way it should be done. To be very honest, if my country wants to end terrorism and insecurity in the nation, it would be achievable in less than three months but this won't be ever possible if we continue to be led by people who don't care about others lives, since they live in secured parts of the nation, they don't care about those living under the bridges, those living in thatched buildings without doors for protection.
But I hope and pray everything will surely turn around for good in this nation. All we need is the right leaders.
Thanks for reading. All the images are mine.
This is my participation for the #juneinleo prompt of the day, day #23 and also a response to the #hivenaija prompt.