The Effects of Banditry on Hospitality and Tourism Industry in Nigeria

Chapter One of The Effects of Banditry on Hospitality and Tourism Industry in Nigeria

 

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Over the years, banditry has become a harsh reality in Nigerian the society today; it has surfaced in different ways of manifesting which is simply known as terrorism and in the simplest ways as insurgency, kidnapping, cultism, suicide attacks, self-suicide bombing, corruption, armed robbery and the likes. (Enders & Sandler 2002; Lake, 2000). Several efforts have been made to tackle the inflicts of these menace in the Nigerian society, (Luechinger, 2013); the Nigeria government in her efforts has tried using a counter insurgent force as policy deterrence, with the imposition of sanctions, to curb actual attempts by putting appropriate measures in place to reduce the menaces of banditry in the country. In spite of all these, there is still high level of insecurity in the country, this has resulted to why Nigeria has been consistently ranking low in the Global Peace Index (GPI, 2012), meaning a persistent state of insecurity in the country. Ajibola (2015), Uhumwuangho & Aluforo (2011) are of the view that the efforts of government have not yielded enough positive result. Furthermore, what is also worrisome is that it is affecting tourism as international tourists are increasingly becoming afraid of being victims of banditry in Nigeria and they opt to visit other safer countries. This is having negative effect on the tourism foreign exchange earnings and revenues, growth and development in Nigeria, especially weighing heavily on the lodging and the hospitality sector which have the potentials to generate significant foreign exchange earnings, employment and investment towards economic development (Adora, 2010).

According to Eziocha et al., (2015), the tourism sector in Nigeria is made up of hotels, catering, events, natural attractions (which include savannah, waterfalls, and rain forests), entertainment, and other forms of hospitality activities. Geographical sites, nature sites, religious sites, native sites, tourist zones and national parks are among the tourist sites in Nigeria. Tourism is considered as one of the drivers of development in most of the developing countries hence the aggressive marketing of tourism and travels products by various marketing and tourist agents spread over the world (Hudson, 2008). International tourism allows continuous accord whilst there is unhindered free flow of humans, capital and merchandise (Bianchi, 2006). On the foundation of this unhindered flow of humans inside and outside of Nigeria, the extent to which the tourism and hospitality sector contributes to socio-economic and political development of many nations in the world, most especially, Nigeria, is no more in doubt. There is therefore no doubt that tourism is a very vital and popular worldwide human exercise has become a major area of Nigerian economy (Udora, 2010). Tourism is one of the major sources of revenue generation for Nigeria like other developing countries of the world (Adejumo et al., 2014). One fact that is quite glaring about tourism in Nigeria is that the sector has the potential to generate significant foreign exchange earnings, employment and investment towards economic development (Adora, 2010).

The growing insecurities are engendered by the kidnapping of foreign tourists, particularly foreign tourists in Nigeria who are often the target of kidnappers (Uzorma & Nwanegbo-Ben, 2014). Tourism involves the roaming to different places of interests which involves unrestricted mobility and political stability in their places of visit. However, banditry has begun to radically reshape the parameters of mobility and the environments in which hospitality and tourism operates. Banditry is viewed as the occurrence or prevalence of armed men for violent crimes. It includes the usage of force, or risk to that effect, to intimidate someone with the purpose to rob rape or kill. Banditry is a crime against persons. It has been a common style of crime, as well as cause violence in present day societies (Nigeria Watch, 2011).

Sadly, when it comes to seeking information on whether to visit Nigeria or not, these days, the first information tourists often get about Nigeria is that there is serious safety and criminal activity problems hence, not conducive for international tourists to visit. The current safety and criminal challenge in Nigeria is the kidnapping phenomenon being perpetrated all over the country by criminals often in collaborations with law enforcement officers and personnel private security outfits employed by the hospitality sector to provide safety and security to the international tourists (Osumah & Aghedo, 2011; Adora, 2010). In addition, bandits sometimes focus on international tourists lodging in hotel accommodations and they sometimes work in partnership with some of the employees of hotels to perpetrate this criminal act (Bianchi 2006).

Negative news on security and safety concerns in Nigeria are posing as major impediments for international tourists visiting Nigeria. Worse still, the news being circulated around in both national and international media houses about how banditry ply their criminal activities with impunity is  frightening and a source of discouragement for international tourists who need to go to Nigeria. It is on this foundation that this study seeks to investigate the effects of banditry on hospitality and tourism industry in Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

Banditry or terrorism is no doubt a serious security threat to sustainable tourism and hospitality development in Nigeria. According to Omonijo et al. (2019), banditry is a criminal and forceful act deliberately carried out against the wish of the victims mainly for monetary gain, forcefully or deceitfully. It is disturbing to watch international TV stations and newspapers issuing travel warnings to their citizens not to travel to Nigeria because of the safety problems the country is currently faced with. There is a general breakdown of law and security in the country, and criminals particularly, bandits are taking advantage of the breakdown to abduct international tourists from their hotel accommodation mostly for monetary gains. This does not portray Nigeria as a viable tourist destination, and as such, foreign tourists have started avoiding to visit Nigeria due to this lingering lack of ample security. Hence, terrorizing of international tourists is having serious negative impacts on the economic development of the country with direct impacts on the hospitality and tourism sector in Nigeria. Sadly, the government is not doing much to curb the terrorism and banditry surge. What is also worrisome is that those who have responsibility to provide security and safety, such as the law enforcement agents have been either complicit or out-right participate in terrorizing of tourists from their lodgings.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to ascertain the effects of banditry on hospitality and tourism industry in Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought;

i)               To examine the factors that are contributing to the problems of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria

ii)             To understand the impacts of terrorism and banditry on the national security

iii)           To investigate the influence of terrorism and banditry on foreign direct investment in tourism and hospitality sector in Nigeria

iv)            To determine the effect of terrorism and banditry on the image of Nigeria as country

Research Questions

The following statements were considered to be the research questions for this study:

i)               What are the factors that are contributing to the problems of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria?

ii)             What are the impacts of terrorism and banditry on the national security?

iii)           Does terrorism and banditry have any influence on foreign direct investment in tourism and hospitality sector in Nigeria?

iv)            What is the effect of terrorism and banditry on the image of Nigeria as country?

Research Hypotheses

The following research statements were considered to be the research hypotheses for this study:

i)               There is significant correlation between terrorism and banditry and the national security

ii)             There is no significant relationship between terrorism and banditry and foreign direct investment in tourism and hospitality sector in Nigeria

iii)           There is a significant relationship between terrorism and banditry and the image of Nigeria as country

Significance of the Study

Tourism and hospitality plays a key role in many developing countries of Africa, with the services sector quickly outdoing the commodities market in these countries, the centrality of tourism and hospitality both from an economic and cultural angle is clear. While this is so, African governments are yet to ensure that the local communities in tourist attraction sites share in the bounty accruing from tourism. It has therefore been the case that expensive tourist facilities are side by side with impoverished households of locals.

In Africa, economically and socially marginalized youths are likely to be lured into banditry, radicalism and extremism that breeds terrorism. It therefore behooves African governments to come up with comprehensive policies that not only market their tourist sites as safe and secure destinations to international tourists but also addresses the issue of fair sharing of revenue generated by tourism and hospitality with the local community. Such monies instead of ending up in corrupt politicians’ pockets and wasteful government expenditure could best be utilized by developing infrastructure and entrepreneurial training of youths which encourages entrepreneurship that addresses unemployment.

This study will thus be useful to policy makers in governments in designing policies in the tourism and hospitality sector that mitigate losses from banditry and terrorist attacks on tourist attraction sites and resulting harm to local stakeholders. It will also be useful private players in the tourism and hospitality industry as it will offer in-depth insights into the link between banditry and terrorism and the various kinds of tourism. International organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations involved in championing local community rights and sustainable models of tourism will also use the study to draft their plans of action.

In addition, this study will no doubt augment existing literature and bring to the fore new insights particularly on the knock on effects of bandit and terror on the tourism and hospitality industry, an important yet often ignored area. The study will also become an entry point for other researchers interested in further analyzing banditry and tourism and hospitality and other related dimensions in the future. It will also suggest areas of further research.

Scope of the Study

The study has largely looked at Nigerian states with special emphasis on the northern part of the country. The region is seriously and persistently witnessing a number of bandit and terror attacks due to its landmass and location in the country. Inevitably, the study will also draw from other regions of the country due to the ubiquity of terror. Owing to time and financial limits, the study will mainly rely on data readily available in Nigeria.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of this study the following definitions were used:

Banditry: is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an individual or in groups.

Hospitality Industry: companies that cater to the cordial and generous reception or disposition towards guest such as hotels, resorts, restaurants, attractions and special events (Baker & Coulter, 2007).

Terrorism: calculated use of violence or threat of violence against civilians to attain goals that are political or religious (Sonmez, 1998).

Tourism Industry: is the total of all businesses that directly provide goods or services to facilitate business, pleasure and leisure activities away from the home environment.