Effects of Insecurity on the Socio-Political and Economic Development of Nigeria's Rural Environment An Appraisal.

Abstract

The study presents the effects of insecurity on the socio-political and economic development of Nigeria's rural environment. Through its catalogue of security breaches in various rural settings, it showcased the heavy impact of insecurity in rural areas earlier characterised by peace, tranquillity and peaceful coexistence among residents of diverse religious, and cultural backgrounds, as well as political affiliations before the rampant cases of attacks on innocent residents. Sadly, insecurity has hindered food production and crippled socio-economic activities, thus increasing the rate of unemployment in the country as a whole. The article argues that if insecurity is not urgently addressed in our rural setting, it could result in massive starvation which could lead to citizens revolt, resulting in a monumental impact. Through its presentations of various attacks, it succeeded in showcasing the volume of damage caused by insecurity in the lives, and economy of rural dwellers as well as the negative impact on governance. In achieving this, the paper adopted a secondary method of data collection as its methodology. It also relied on human needs and frustration-aggression theories to explain the reasons for the causes of insecurity and its effect on rural socio political and economic development. As part of the discoveries, the farmers can no longer go to their farms to cultivate crops for fear of possible attacks while cultivating their farmlands; neither are they emotionally stable to participate in political affairs. Finally, the paper recommended among others, use of locals as security agents, an inter-agency collaboration, setting up of a hub for information gathering and multi-level policing as ways to deal with cases of insecurity in rural areas.