The Ipob Agitation and It’s Socio-economic Implications of South-East Development Project
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY
The freedom of expression under the democratic government which came back in 1999 gave room for group such as IPOB to freely express their opinion and tender their dissatisfaction with the government in power. It can be concluded that the current agitation for Biafra by IPOB has led to different levels of human rights abuse by the Nigerian security agents as they try to maintain law and order. This study has depicted the negative response of the Nigerian government towards the IPOB agitators. The government’s response, as the study shows cannot improve or sustain the political stability in the country. There was a strong, positive correlation between the two variables (agitation for self-determination and socio-economic development in South-East Nigeria). This means that an increase in the agitation for self-determination has led to an increase in government responsiveness in Nigeria.
Conclusions
The objective of this study is to assess whether the support gained by IPOB both locally and internationally influenced political stability in Nigeria. The result of the study shows that supports gained by IPOB have an influence on political stability in the country. The beta coefficient of 0.479 shows that moderate supports gained from the public (local and international) do promote continuous agitations for self-determination by IPOB in Nigeria. This is supported by the unstandardized beta coefficient which states that a unit increase in the local and international supports gained from the public to promote continuous agitations for self-determination by IPOB in Nigeria will lead to a decrease in political stability in Nigeria by 20.2% and 16.3% respectively. This study, therefore, recommends policies of inclusiveness where different groups as IPOB will be part of an entity without seeking for separate support either internally or externally. This will also raise the confidence IPOB with their group and various groups that are engaged in different types of agitations in Nigeria. Finally, the Federal Government should engage more with the South East region to identify the underlying reasons for the secessionist agitations with a view to addressing those grievances. Satisfactory attention should be paid to addressing the governance and structural issues that are at the heart of the renewed agitation in an effort to raise Nigeria‟s level of political stability.
Recommendations
This study, therefore, recommends that sincere and objective policy changes starting from the federal level and extending to the states will go a long way in restoring citizens’ confidence in the Nigerian state, reducing the level of agitations and improving the climate of political stability. The study also recommends that a Peace and Reconciliation Commission needs to be put in place by the Nigerian government to engage with pro-Biafra groups in an effort to fashion out the best ways towards resolving the agitation for Biafra. The Commission should also undertake consultations with state governments and other relevant stakeholders with a view to encouraging them to buy into the peace initiative and identify the specific roles they would play in the reconciliation process. The core objectives of the Commission should include:
- To provide a platform for pro-Biafra groups to express their grievances, and for the government to channel them to the appropriate quarters for
- To develop a compendium of quick intervention measures by different actors including federal, state, and local governments, to address the grievances underlying the agitation for Biafra.
- To formulate mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating how measures of redress will be recommended and
Secondly, the Nigerian Federal Government should retract the use of force and repression in tackling IPOB agitations but instead embrace peaceful resolution. The Nigerian government also needs to carry out a re-orientation of its security agencies to curtail any form of indiscriminate use of arms, while promoting respect for human rights as they work to maintain law and order.
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