Postscript
The next challenge: Statistics as a tool for human security
p. 217
Texte intégral
1From the North to the South and the West to the East, many rural LGAs in Nigeria experience fatal incidents that are ignored by the media … and by the security forces. In remote parts of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, however, the Boko Haram insurgency has shown how dangerous such a vacuum can be. Today, the science of maintaining law and order is still in its infancy in Nigeria. The army does not publish records of its operations, and the police make no use of statistics to improve their performance. Moreover, citizens rarely request the release of such data.
2In addition, Nigerian readers seldom find comments on the number of homicides nationwide or the body count of the Boko Haram crisis in the North-East, except for a few cases on the spot, such as the controversy over the death toll of another massacre in Baga, in January 2015. Unlike South Africa, crime statistics are not discussed in the media or in Parliament. Police press conferences sometimes provide small amounts of information, but figures are inconsistent and many analysts rely on their own perceptions without trying to substantiate their findings with hard facts. Among the general public, there are simply no debates on the methodology, the use, and the utility of statistics on violence.
3This book represents an innovation: it is the first to introduce a discussion on such issues in a coherent manner, relying on a database that fills the lacunae in data from the security forces. The selection of chapters presented clearly demonstrates that, despite many challenges in the most populated country in Africa, it is quite possible to use statistics to improve our analysis of Nigeria. Indeed, it also confirms that it is necessary to do so in order to avoid stereotypes and the bias of emotional reactions to violence. Finally, it shows that combining qualitative and quantitative approaches is the best way to refine our understanding of human security.

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