Re-thinking State Security in Nigeria: Exploring the Development-Security Nexus

Abstract

While state security remains the primary security doctrine, developmental lacuna underpins numerous security threats confronting the Nigerian state. Many threats to national or state security emanate from within and a product of neglect of development, and have degenerated into numerous cases of human insecurity. The paper focuses on examining human security versus states security analysis, emphasising the import of human security for development; the debate of the traditional military security and non-military threats to human welfare and wellbeing; and the analysis of the Boko Haram insurgencies from human security perspective. Data collection is secondary and method of data analysis is mainly interpretivist and analytical approach. The findings show that deprivation, poverty, unemployment, repression is a major source of threat to human welfare and wellbeing. The potency of addressing the development lacuna will have enormous impact in addressing security threats that emanates from challenges of poverty, deprivation, conflicts, and insurgencies.