Nigeria\u2019s long-running security crisis stems largely from dysfunctional governance and unresolved grievances, not just terrorism or religious conflict, according to political and security analyst Jaye Gaskia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Rise and Shine, Gaskia said the country\u2019s multiple layers of violence, from insurgency to banditry and communal clashes, have persisted because \u201csuccessive governments have failed to address the underlying social and economic causes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cNigeria\u2019s military is deployed in internal operations across all six geopolitical zones,\u201d he noted. \u201cThat alone shows the scale of the problem and how deeply insecurity has taken root.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For over 15 years, Nigeria has battled Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province in the northeast. At the same time, local conflicts between herders and farmers, alongside a surge in kidnappings for ransom, have extended instability into central and north-western regions.<\/p>\n
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Gaskia argued that these newer forms of violence have thrived on long-standing disputes over land, water, and political representation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cResource grievances, boundary disputes, and economic marginalisation are at the heart of much of this conflict,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen governance systems fail and grievance-resolution mechanisms collapse, it becomes easy for charismatic figures to mobilise violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He also rejected claims that Christians are being specifically targeted, following remarks by United States President Donald Trump, who recently threatened military action over reported attacks on Christian communities.<\/p>\n
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\u201cReligion and ethnicity are not the main drivers,\u201d Gaskia explained. \u201cThey often become secondary factors once conflicts over land or resources take on a communal character. Extremist groups have attacked both Christians and Muslims who reject their ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n
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–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14394,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-14393","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Nigeria\u2019s long-running security crisis stems largely from dysfunctional governance","published_date":"2025-11-03 10:49:47","news_description":"Nigeria\u2019s long-running security crisis stems largely from dysfunctional governance","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19073,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14393\/revisions\/19073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=14393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}