Thursday, 24 March 2022

Between Gun Violence and Banditry: Is America Safer than Nigeria?

Yemi Olakitan



Yemi Olakitan

The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo on July 6 declared a state disaster emergency in 18 counties due to gun violence in New York. Reports say that gun violence poses a serious threat to the health and quality of life of all residents of the state of New York

In an executive order, the Governor said that gun violence is reaching crisis levels in the state.

According to him, gun violence is up 48% in New York City, 22% in Albany, 88% in Buffalo and 95% in Rochester; and other places since January 2021. At least 50% of homicides and 55% of nonfatal shootings involve people associated with gangs or more loosely affiliated “street groups.”

 Gun violence has been described as the leading cause of premature death in the United States.  Nearly 10,000 people have been killed this year alone through gun violence in the US. In a study of 24 major cities, homicides increased by 24% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2020 and by 49% from that period in 2019.        Homicides are up by 22 per cent in Los Angeles and 13percent in Washington DC in 2021. In fact, the year 2021 has been described as the most deadly year of gun violence in the last two decades. The United States Gun Violence Archive says there have been 296 mass shootings in America in 2021.

A mass shooting is defined as a shooting that results in the killings of 4 or more people. There have been incidents of mass shootings in schools, parties and other gatherings in the United States. The situation has become worrisome to policymakers and political leaders in the US.

President Biden recently announced new strategies to combat gun violence. It includes a "zero tolerance" policy for gun dealers who break Federal laws, deploying strike teams to cities to crack down on illegal gun trafficking, and encouraging communities to use Federal pandemic relief funds for policing and crime prevention.

The violence in the United States and Nigeria has compelled analysts to ponder on which country is safer between Nigeria and the United States. One is plagued by Gun violence while the other is plagued by insurgency.

Different groups in Nigeria resort to violence. The militant Islamist movement Boko Haram is violently active in northern Nigeria. Conflicts among ethnic groups, farmers, and herdsmen sometimes acquire violent dimensions.

Secessionist groups in eastern Nigeria also resort to violence. Kidnappings of school children, traditional rulers, raping, and killings are regular reports in nearly all parts of Nigeria.

An estimated 27,000 people, including 37 aid workers have been killed since the onset of the Boko Haram conflict in 2009, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

 

China is among key international actors including the United Nations, United States and the United Kingdom providing support for the Nigerian government’s northeast counter-insurgency measures.

Boko Haram killed at least 405 children and abducted at least 105 during 2018 and the group continued lethal attacks on civilians including suicide bombings and abductions. The splinter faction of the group known as the Islamic West Africa Province (ISWAP) overran dozens of army bases, killing dozens of soldiers since January.

Authorities continued to detain thousands of alleged Boko Haram members without trial in overcrowded military barracks in the northeast. A 2021 report from the Tony Blair Institute says the low level of education in North-Eastern Nigeria is responsible for the domination of Boko Haram in the region.

“Low literacy rates and education gaps served as tools and opportunities for recruitment. Boko Haram became adept at attracting and manipulating followers from low socioeconomic backgrounds, many of whom lacked a solid education,” the report revealed.

The Abuja Kaduna highway, a major route out of Abuja to the northwest of the country became notorious for bandits attacks and kidnappings. The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu said in April that 1, 071 people were killed in criminal attacks and 685 kidnapped across the country in the first quarter of 2019 alone.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, in the case of murders per a million people, The Federal Republic of Nigeria ranked 121.8, 3 times more than the United States of America. However, the United States ranked 88.8, 59 times more than Nigeria which ranked 127th in the case of Gun Crimes in both countries.

 In the case of homicidal crimes per 100,000 people, Nigeria ranked 31st, 3 times more than the United States which ranked 5.9.  In the matter of Drug use, Nigeria ranked 1st, 0.7 per cent, 23percent more than the United States which ranked 3rd, 0.57. The report also said that crime levels in Nigeria have increased 82.35 that is 47percent more than the United States which ranked 55.84.

In terms of residents who believe that crime rates have increased in the past 3 years, Nigeria ranked 27th, 11 per cent more than the United States which ranked 65.22 on 44th position.

  A look into the United Nations Report clearly shows that Nigeria is a more dangerous place to live than the United States despite the high levels of Gun violence there.

In a chat with Social crusader and blogger, Ayodele Ogunjobi, he opined that Nigeria security situation is different from that of the United States. According to him, Nigeria is in a state of war, particularly in the north.

Ogunjobi said it is unfair to compare the security situation in Nigeria with that of the US because Nigeria is at war and the US is not.  It is terrorism that makes Nigeria’s security situation looks so glooming.

Speaking, further, Ogunjobi said, Nigeria must embrace a decentralized police system. He said state governments and local governments must have the constitutional backing to operate their policing systems as long as they can afford it.  This will ensure police efficiency and ease of operations. This does not stop the Federal Police from operating. The parliament should work out the different jurisdictions of the various police so that there will be no conflicts between them. 

The United States, for example, operates both Federal and State police forces. The country has 75 federal law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, which deal with interstate crime.  The FBI has some 20,000 plainclothes agents who usually concern themselves with major offences such as murder, kidnapping and robbery. It publishes a list of the ‘ten most wanted fugitives and provides state and local police forces with relevant information that can help them fight crimes in their domain.

According to reports, the FBI has had its role expanded to include ‘homeland security and there’s talk of merging or at least co-coordinating the activities of the FBI with those of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA.

Each US state also has a reserve National Guard under the command of the State Government that can be called on to deal with civil unrest such as riots, as well as natural catastrophes, e.g. earthquakes, fires, floods and hurricanes. It appears that all these police forces have their jurisdiction and laws governing their operations in the United States.

A report by the United Nations recommends an approximate median of 300 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants. Put in another way, this is approximately 100 policemen to 30,000 inhabitants of any country. Nigeria’s 371,800.policemen to a population of about 200 million people have gone far below that recommendation; little wonder Nigeria has heavy casualties in the fight against terror and other criminal activities.

However, in another report by the center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gun violence statistics by states in the United States, in the year 2021 are alarming:

Alabama 22.2 1,076, Alaska 24.4, 179, Arizona, 15.1, 1,136, Arkansas, 19.3, 580, California, 7.2, 2,945, Colorado, 14.2, 846, Connecticut, 5.3, 190, Delaware, 9.9, 93, Florida, 12.7, 2,872, Georgia, 15.8, 1,695, Hawaii, 4.4, 62, Idaho, 14.2, 255, Illinois, 10.8, 1,367, Indiana, 14.1, 958, Iowa, 9.1, 294, Kansas, 13.7, 403, Kentucky, 14.9, 682, Louisiana, 22.1, 1,013, Maine, 11.5, 163, Maryland, 12.6, 757, Massachusetts, 3.4, 247, Michigan, 12.1, 1,220, Minnesota, 8.1, 465, Mississippi, 24.2, 710, Missouri, 20.6, 1,252, Montana, 19, 209, Nebraska,10.4, 205, Nevada, 15.3, 490, New Hampshire, 10.7, 156, New Jersey, 4.1, 368, New Mexico, 22.3, 471, New York, 3.9, 804, North Carolina, 13.1, 1,397, North Dakota, 12.4, 93, Ohio, 13.3, 1,578, Oklahoma, 18.6, 737, Oregon, 12.6, 566, Pennsylvania, 11.7, 1,541, Rhode Island, 4.6, 48, South Carolina, 19.91,012,South Dakota, 13.1, 113, Tennessee, 18.4, 1,270, Texas, 12.7, 3,683, Utah, 12.8, 394, Vermont, 9.3, 67, Virginia, 11.7, 1,025, Washington, 10.7, 842, West Virginia, 16.6, 300, Wisconsin, 10, 604, Wyoming, 22.3, 133.

There were 14,400 gun-related homicides in 2019. Killings involving a gun accounted for nearly three-quarters of all homicides in the US in that year.  That's a larger proportion of homicides than in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many other countries. Figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were a total of more than 38,300 deaths from guns in 2019 - of which more than 23,900 were suicides.

 

The National Rifle Association (NRA) campaigns against all forms of gun control in the US and argues that more guns make the country safer. It is among the most powerful special interest lobby groups in the US, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.  These reports make it difficult to know which country is more dangerous or safer to live in, Nigeria or the United States.

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