Ethnic Militias and Insurgency in Nigeria: A Threat to National Development
Ikyase Johnkennedy Tersoo, Egberi Anthony Ejue

Abstract
The phenomenon of ethnic militia and insurgency has become a household discussion in Nigeria. These groups has over the years promoted humanitarian crises ranging from refugee, poverty, misery, diseases, malnutrition and epidemics mainly concerning the health of children and women thereby inhibiting the process of development which is hinged on provision of basic infrastructural facilities and investment opportunities which are threat to our national development. Our major concern in this paper therefore is to examine ethnic militias and insurgency in Nigeria and how it has negatively impacted on our development. Some literatures on the subject matter were reviewed while secondary sources were employed to analyze the issues therein. State fragility and frustration aggression theories were adopted as our theoretical framework in explaining the issues that are involved in the paper. The paper reveals that the activities of ethnic militias and insurgents have negatively impacted on our country’s development in various ways spanning from volatile investment climate, destruction of properties, instability and drift towards disintegrations. The paper however points out that the inability of the Nigerian state to effectively cater for her citizens has been the responsive factor for the emergence of ethnic militias and insurgency. The paper recommends that construction of industries should be pursued by Nigerian state in such a way that unemployment and inequalities are addressed across the nation. The paper concludes that government should focus fundamentally on addressing the underlying socio-political and economic triggers of domestic violence.

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