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Insecurity challenge in Nigeria: not just a Nigerian affair

The continued spate of insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming level with the country's security infrastructure witnessing increasing pressure on its capacity for corresponding response. A situation that has triggered genuine calls from different quarters for the government to seek help from foreign friendly countries.

The continued spate of insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming level with the country’s security infrastructure witnessing increasing pressure on its capacity for corresponding response. A situation that has triggered genuine calls from different quarters for the government to seek help from foreign friendly countries. The suggestion, though welcomed, also requires that the country treads with caution on the manner and approach to bringing in such assistance. Insecurity challenge is not unique to Nigeria, countries globally face one form of insecurity challenge at one point or the other.

However, considering the intensity of the activities of unscrupulous elements promoting insecurity in the country alongside Nigeria’s position in Africa and its desire to attract and retain foreign investors in the country, it is important for the government of Nigeria to adopt a more serious approach to tackling the challenge beyond the efforts made hitherto.

In the midst of the insecurity situation, foreigners in Nigeria, especially the Chinese, have not been spared as they have been victims of kidnappings for ransom more than any other nationals in the country. This year alone, Chinese workers in Nigeria have been victims of kidnapping for ransom three times between January and April. Going the memory lane, we all witnessed the uproar over the so-called unjust treatment of Nigerians in Guangzhou, a city in China in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Even the national assembly in Abuja was aflame with emotions. However, we have not heard once that the Chinese or their lawmakers are taking to the social media or the mainstream media to raise alarms over the deliberate targeting of their nationals in Nigeria for kidnappings. This sends a strong message of what friendship means on the part of China to Nigeria. Friendship is beyond verbal proclamations; hard times determines who truly is a friend.

As countries world over face diverse security challenges, the combined forces of political will on the part of leadership and adoption of effective strategies have always worked in helping them overcome such challenges. Therefore, the Nigerian government must at this time in the nation’s history arise with unwavering political will and quench the fire of insecurity in the country. This will not only allow the government to win the confidence of the already overwhelmingly exasperated citizens, affirm the country’s readiness to attract and retain foreign investments needed for the economic growth and development of the country, but it will also be a way of sending a clear message of true friendship to the foreign nationals in the country, especially the Chinese who have been constantly targets of the kidnappings in the country so far.

On the economic front, the American Enterprise Institute’s China Global Investment Tracker, in its data on China’s global offshore investment, showed that as of 2020, Chinese companies had cumulatively invested over $40 billion in Nigeria, majority of the investment are in core areas of transportation infrastructure ($17.1 billion) and energy projects ($16.5 billion making the country the top destination for Chinese investment in sub-Saharan Africa. It is noteworthy that these investments came at the time when foreign direct investments (FDI) from developed countries to Nigeria was declining – a sign of waning confidence in the country. Also, the China-Africa Research Initiative of Johns Hopkins University SAIS puts the number of Chinese workers in Nigeria at 12,199 as of the end of 2019.
China has consistently viewed Nigeria as a strategic and significant development partner in the successful delivery of China-Africa development cooperation projects across Africa.

The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nigeria earlier this year and emphasized this position. However, not long after his visit, the local media was awashed with news of the kidnap of Chinese workers on their work sites. In line with China’s commitment to friendship, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, responding to questions from the press, emphasized that China was not considering drawing down its presence in Nigeria due to the recent kidnappings. According to him, “We have a number of projects and Chinese funded enterprises in Nigeria, even though the local security situation has never been ideal, …we will not resort to evacuation because of some occasional individual cases.”

This response is not strange to those who are familiar with China and its relations with African countries. China has always remained the “last man standing” when it comes to situations like this in which other countries quickly resort to issuing “travel advises” and evacuations of their nationals from affected countries in Africa. This is a demonstration of friendship because true friendship stands the test of hard times.

In conclusion, while acknowledging that the challenge of insecurity Nigeria is facing is varied and complex, it is also important to note that equally varied and complex strategies should be adopted in finding a lasting solution to the insecurity problems. Also, in the spirit of a robust friendly relations, Nigeria has the responsibility to guarantee safety of life and property for all Nigerians, the foreign nationals; especially, the Chinese residents in the country.

The onus lies on the government of Nigeria not to see the insecurity situation as just a Nigerian affair but should expeditiously take advantage of the existing opportunities available domestically in the citizens’ willingness to support the government’s efforts and the goodwill the country enjoys with friendly countries like China to bring an end to the insecurity challenges that is currently threatening its commitment to its citizens and international friends.

Aaron Adeyemi

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