War, terrorism, insurgency, and banditry made the world more dangerous in the past. But the activities have fallen drastically.
Out of the 18,814 deaths caused by terrorists around the world in 2018, half were due to the actions of just four out of the pack. The Islamic State, Taliban, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram.
Alqaeda is no longer deadly because of the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, which helped to neutralize its activities.
According to the Global Terrorism Index 2018, which was compiled by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the four organizations were responsible for 10,632 deaths in 2017. Their actions contributed to the instability of what are some of the most dangerous countries in the world. They are Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria.
Over the past decade, they have accounted for 44% of all terrorist deaths.
Our own Boko Haram caused 1,254 deaths in 2017. According to GTI, it was once the world’s deadliest terror group in the world, but it has been in decline since 2015 when Nigeria had a new government. The group has broken into different factions, the largest of which is the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
This ordinarily should pave the way for peace and security in Nigeria. But what the government gained in degrading Boko Haram, it lost in the increased incidence of banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, and communal violence. This made Nigeria the number 16 most dangerous country in the world, according to the Global Peace Index 2019 report.
Despite that, the world has become more and more peaceful. Europe is the most peaceful place on Earth while Africa is the most dangerous.
In the report, Afghanistan is the most dangerous country in the world, taking over from Syria, which is the second most dangerous. South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq make up the remaining five most dangerous countries.
The withdrawal of the US military in Afghanistan changed its fortunes in a very negative way.
Iceland has maintained its position as the most peaceful country in the world. It has been ranked as such every year since 2008. After Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, Austria, and Denmark are the most peaceful countries in the world.
Ukraine (14), Sudan (13), Egypt (28), North Macedonia (98) and Rwanda (85) showed the largest improvements in peacefulness.
Meanwhile, Nicaragua (44), Burkina Faso (60), Zimbabwe (32), Brazil (48) and Iran (25) showed the largest deterioration.
By Aliyu Nuhu