Mr. Iwuamadi began his research presentation with background information about politics in Anambra State. According to him, research has revealed that since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999, politics in Anambra State ha s been characterized by intrigue, greed, violence and unhealthy competition. He said that most of what people know about security and governance situations in Anambra State come from newspaper articles and reports which were anecdotal evidences and contribute a lot to rising sense and perception of insecurity in the state. The report of this study has provided extant empirical attempt to chart the nexus between governance and insecurity in Anambra State. The aim was to draw out necessary implications for policy and advocacy.

The study reveals that the causes of security and governance challenges facing Anambra State can be traced to Aguleri – Umuleri communal war of the early 1990s. During the crisis, Umuleri people reportedly hired mercenaries from Onitsha to fight the Aguleri opponents, who were obviously much more numerous and stronger. It is said that during the ceasefire periods in the clashes between the two communities Onitsha mercenaries especially would return home and start criminal activities in Onitsha. They were exposed to arms, charms and hard drugs. They alo recruited many young and idle boys, who looked up to them as heroes and role models. When eventually the war ended, those mercenaries who survived returned home and began full scale armed robbery and many young men followed after them.

This study employed same methodology as earlier used by Dr. Ukiwo. It also looked at geo-political history of the state, socio-cultural and ethno-religious situation in the state, structure of the state economy and revenue and expenditure profile of the state.

The key objective of the study is to explore the nexus between governance failures and insecurity in the South east with reference to Anambra State. The state of security and governance in Anambra State since 1999 the study reveals has been on the downward trend. In spite of the potentials of the state for rapid socio-economic advancement, the respondents in the interviews during the study maintained that economic development of the state has been slow as a result of insecurity and high crime rates. The state capital Awka and Onitsha has been a theatre of armed conflicts in the past notably in Aguleri and Umuleri in early 90s, extra judicial killings during the era of Bakassi Boys, protracted industrial unrest and labor problems, an unprecedented forms of political instability and tension and general insecurity. Expectedly, these years of crises were not without adverse effects on governance, socio-economic development and livelihood in the state. This has led to major investors moving away from the states and closure of factories and industries. The National Bureau of Statistics in 2006 through Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire [CWIQ] Survey Zonal Summary for South East Nigeria revealed that crime and security situation in the entire South East region was worse in the urban areas. The CLEEN Foundation 2011 edition of the annual National Crime Safety Survey indicate that violent crimes such as attempted/armed robbery is 24%, domestic violence 12%, physical assault 11% and attempted/kidnapping 8% and attempted/murder 5% are high in Anambra State. It also revealed that the number one crime in the state of theft of mobile phones and handsets which is about 35%.

The state actors and non-state actors’ responses to the security and governance challenges in Anambra State according to the research include the following:

• Introduction of Bakassi Boys by Late Chuks Anah the former Local Government Chairman of Onitsha North. The government of Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju later took over Bakassi Boys and extended their services to the entire state and later politicized it when the outfit was used in politically motivated killings.
• The use of Faith Based Organizations FBOs to organize prayers and value re-orientation for the people of the state, self empowerment seminars and workshops through which many young people were equipped to be self employed. Also some Non Government Organizations NGOs promoted and implemented economic empowerment programmes, sexual and reproductive health education, drug abuse programmes among activities for the vulnerable youths to enable them resist the lure of getting involved in criminality.
• The level of distrust between the police and the communities they serve according to the study led to the formation of vigilante groups. People tend to have more confidence in vigilante groups than the police itself. In fact the 2011 National Crime Victimization Survey shows that most people in the South East region expressed high level of dissatisfaction with the manner police handle cases. There are evidences from research respondents that incessant killing of presumed innocent citizens by the police contributed to such high level of distrust. There were records of violent mass protests of Onitsha market traders against police killings of their members.
• The government of Anambra State began to recognize the Community Based Organizations CBOs and Town Union Associations as tools of development. The Peter Obi administration it is said allocates funds to Anambra State Association of Town Unions ASATU which in turn funds the activities of vigilante groups. In places such as Nnewi, the town unions are very functional with such meetings as ‘Nzuko-ora’ as the general town meeting of Nnewi people.

Challenges of state and civil society responses to insecurity and governance issues in Anambra State include the following:

• Some of the initiatives of the state government are considered to be heavy handed and anti-people. There are numerous and uncoordinated task forces and other government constituted groups who do not work well with the greater part of the society.
• There are fierce conflicts of roles and positions of the task forces and other government groups and struggle for turf which negatively impacts on the society and the people. A case in point, which was witnessed by the study team was a clash between the Anambra State Transport Agency [ASTA] and the Task Force on Street Trading which left up to 47 persons injured.
• Poor record of implementation is also a major challenge to security and governance problems in Anambra State. The government of Anambra State the study reveals has introduced several initiatives without following them up with robust implementation plans. The Anambra Integrated Development Strategy ANIDS initiated in 2006 meant to achieve Millennium Development Goals MDGs by involving communities and other stakeholders has not shown any prospect of attaining the MDGs goals.
  • The community and civil society responses are also facing challenges. Community development associations and town unions in Anambra State according to the study were perceived in many communities to be ineffective and enmeshed in conflicts. These conflicts are both leadership tussle and the hostile relationship between town unions and traditional rulers.
• The study also found that extraneous forces such as market forces undermine some government and non-governmental initiatives. While government seeks to alleviate the sufferings of the people by embarking on empowerment programmes the gains of such initiatives are often eroded by inflation and rising rents and power charges. The private sector is reticent about investment due to erratic policy changes and high cost of production imposed on them by poor infrastructure and low cost of goods made in China.
• Entrenchment of corruption in the system is perceived as making it difficult for government to have workable schemes that ensures good governance in the state. Politicians appointed to manage such schemes tend to see their appointments as settlement for their roles during elections.

A number of findings were made by the study namely:

The study concluded on the following:

• That the government should make sure that its policies are implemented effectively. It is not enough to make good policies that are not implemented.
• Government agencies like National Orientation Agency NOA should be made to be functional in carrying out their responsibilities. In that case government should partner with civil society organizations on government programmes.
• The citizens of the state must play their roles to complement government efforts. The citizens must be more security conscious. Citizens should be sensitized and mobilized all the time to fulfill their civic obligations.
• Citizens should be courageous enough to criticize and engage the government constructively.