Kidnapping- Business of today

KIDNAPPING is the ill abduction of people – young, old, male, female in which ransom is demanded before the release of the person. This has been a forbidden attitude in every society in Nigeria for centuries before now. But that may not be the case in recent years. The bad news of it is that people go far off in even kidnapping their parents, siblings, uncle’s and auntie, relatives in other to make money from them. ‘Abomination’ in the highest order indeed.

Kidnapping started in the southern part of Nigeria as a means of getting the right attention of the federal government to the detriment consequences of the degrading of the environment by oil companies in the region. It is important to recall that the Nigerian economy solely depends on the generated revenue from the oil which is the major export earnings in Nigeria. Without the exportation of these natural resources to other countries of the world, it is difficult for Nigeria to run its affairs as we can see now.

Remedies to poor reading culture

The highest deposit of this “black gold” (crude oil)  oil in Nigeria is mainly in the southern part of the country, especially in the south region. This part of the country has not been noticed for years before now. Nigeria has been known as the giant of Africa for years due to its impact on the exportation of different types of goods in commercial quantity.

Nigeria has been producing raw materials like cocoa, groundnuts, rubber and many more which have yielded their revenue for many years ago before the discovery of crude oil. But the crude oil with its high price and high quantity of exploration and high demand of the raw and finished product made Nigeria drift away from Agriculture.

In recent years Nigeria depends on oil revenues for the running of the government. With this in view, the militants in the region see it fit as (kidnapping) the easiest way of getting the best attention of the government to develop their place and stop it from degradation. To their greatest surprise, the then government couldn’t see that.

What has once be the order of the day in the southern part of the country in Nigeria has today grown to other parts of the country. Then in the southern part of the country, the white men who are engaged in the oil business are those who are kidnapped and when the ransom is paid they are released. No harm is done on the individual.

The individuals in the community have nothing to fear since they are not the target. That is not so now. People who live in all parts of the country, especially the affluent once are afraid of being kidnapped and they always go with armed men. It not only the militants now that do this job. It has really gone beyond the since the jobless people have hijacked the activity for their selfish interest.

There is no doubt that Nigeria today is one of the major kidnapping capitals in the world. The criminal activity which first attracted attention in February 2006 has now spread it tentacles. These days the victims have changed from foreigners to indigenous people (Nigerians). The kidnapping has no regard for sex, age or occupation.

Some analysts have described this as part of the attributes of failing state. The incompetence of the leaders to attend to their country’s needs. A look at the countries with a high rate of kidnapping includes Iraq, after the invasion, Colombia (1970-2001), Mexico (2003-2007). The effects of this on the economy cannot be easily calculated because of the number of foreigners that have been scared away by this activity from investing in the country.

Some of the causes of kidnapping include degradation of the economy, environment, injustice, and corruption. The major cause is the level of poverty in the country.

Examination Malpractice in Nigeria

The Nigerian government has spent a huge amount of money and time on weapons and placing some ex-militants on salaries. This includes the amnesty programme. Many of the surrendered militants are taken to ensure that they learn skills. Many are working on government institutions. But this has not solved the problem since it is not only the militants that engage in the activity. In my humble opinion, the best solution to this problem is for the government to create a favorable atmosphere for businesses and Nigerians would take it up from there by creating employments.

Your opinion will go great lengths in curbing this menace. Comments are appreciated.