Sociatal challenges in Nigeria

According to Wikipedia, 'social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control'. They are usually issues viewed by some part of the society as right and by other parts the society as morally wrong and detrimental.

Many countries of the world or rather every country in one way or the other face social issues some of which are great threat to the sovereignty of that country. Nigeria as a country made of people in diversity faces a lot of social challenges and issues most of which has led to clamours for Independence by most aggrieved ethnic groups. Some of these issues that have threatened and are still threatening the existence of the country includes:

FULANI HERDSMEN ATTACK

These are constituted by herdsmen from the northern part of the country. They were once peaceful cattle rearers who move from place to place in search of pasture for their cattle. Their menance first started as aclash with farmers of the Eastern Nigeria who were aggrieved by the fact that the herdsmen's cattle were grazing off their farms. Soon they began to carry deadly weapons around, threatening and killing easterners. Their activities still persists today as they have taken over various forests in the east where they retreat to after each killing spree. They usually carry out their activities at night when the unsuspecting farmers must have gone to bed. People wake up in the morning to the news of killings and burning of houses at night occasioned by them. A lot of farmers and innocent villagers has been displaced because of their activities.

Nothing meaningful has been done to stop this menace as their weapons keep upgrading yearly.

UNKNOWN GUNMEN ATTACKS

Nobody knows what these people are constituted of. They operate like smoke and their activities is spread all over Nigeria. One moment you are walking peacefully on the road and the next moment they strike. They leave tons of dead bodies in their wake. Nobody knows how they operate. Nigerians have turned to know them as the 'un-gun known men'. Sometimes they engage in kidnapping, killing and cutting of body parts for sale. They are the most brutal set of havoc we know appart from the Boko Haram group which is now becoming an old case.

People out there do hope that something can be done about these killers who appear and disappear as phantom smokes. They have remained a hard nut for the country to crack

I.P.O.B

The Indigenous People Of Biafra(IPOB) group which has been declared by the federal government as a terrorist group and a threat to Nigerian unity also constitute a social issue in Nigeria. The group clamors for secession from Nigeria. Their mission is fuelled by the fact that the Eastern part of the country are greatly marginalised and are on the receiving end of most of the social injustice carried out in the country. Because the government has refused to heed their clamor for Independence and had arrested their leader, they enforced mandatory Monday sit-at-homes in the east. People avoid going out on Mondays for fear of being shot dead by these people. They also compel sit at home orders on easterners each day their leader is to be taken to court. This they have promised not to stop until he is released.

A lot of rascals have cashed in on these sit at home dates to cause havoc. They engage in heavy shootouts on citizens who dares to go out on such days. Mondays and any other day declared as sit at home in the east are ruled by anarchy. These thugs cannot be controlled anymore, not even by the securities. Though the IPOB group has denied involvement in the violence, it still persists.

RITUAL KILLINGS

The rate of ritual killing had increased recently especially as elections os fast approaching. People get missing virtually everyday and the ones that are found are found dead with missing vital body parts. These ritual killers now make videos of themselves performing these activities and post online. The anthem in our country now is to beware of every stranger you see on the road.

RELIGION

Over a long time now, there had been clash between the Christian and the Islamic religious groups in Nigeria. Christians live with their hearts in their mouth for fear of being wounded by the Muslims. Christian churches located in the Muslim part of Nigeria are burnt regularly. People are attacked during church activities. Proclaiming your faith in front of an Islamic could lead to death. Recently a Christian lady was stoned to death and her dead body burnt by angry Islamic boys after she made a statement about the religion on a group chat.

The Nigerian government had tried their best to resolve all these social issues among Nigerians but their best is just not enough. Citizens live in fear everyday as though there is a world war going on in the country. People are afraid of speaking up in a democratic country because of the fear of what would happen to them or their families.

People keep hoping and dreaming that one day peace will once again find it's root in Nigeria. Some believe that the only way this can be achieved is by separating the country hence the maximum support given to the IPOB group.

I believe that dividing the country wouldn't not really solve the country problem. We need leaders who understand the plight of the people. Those who would put the people they govern before themselves. Those who know the affliction that we face and would be willing to not show a nonchalant attitude towards it.

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