The Buhari State and the Origins of Banditry in Nigeria

Abstract

Although the origin of banditry in Nigeria is far beyond the Buhari State, he was voted into power largely on the premonition that he had the capacity to tame the scourge of terrorism, banditry and insurgency that became incipient immediately after the military handover of the reins of power to civilians in 1990. But from 1990 up to 2015, the nation began a fall down a slippery slope and by 2022 the nation had gone down the valley of conflicts of all hews. This paper which adopts doctrinal method, attempts a critical survey of the social problem of insecurity in Nigeria particularly in the nature of terrorism, banditry and insurgency, relating the survey to the role of the Buhari State which has been widely complicit in the conflict even though the administration had persistently claimed that its patriotism is deep and un-wavered. The paper further interrogates the administration in the face of the violent activities of Islamic militant groups in the north and separatist agitations in the east and west of Nigeria and against the background of their propulsion of the herder-farmer conflicts all over the country. The study finds that the Buhari State is indictable as it is shown to be partisan; and had largely reneged on the ideological vortex upon which it was propelled to power leaving the ship of state adrift perilously towards the 2023 vacation date of the administration.