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.
No comments:
Post a Comment