Security, National Integration and the Challenges of Development in Nigeria

Abstract

This study engaged in the analysis of the relationship among security, national integration and development in Nigeria. The central argument in the study is that the relationship among these variables is not linear but dialectical and reinforcing. In other words, while security challenges in Nigeria have had a profound influence on national development, the crisis of national integration has equally impacted on the collective perception of the origin and causes of the security challenges on the one hand, and national development on the other. Thus, in line with mainstream submissions in extant literature, findings in the paper indicated that that development, whether in socio-cultural, economic, or political terms, cannot take place in any form or degree in an environment characterized by insecurity and uncertainties as is the case in Nigeria. To address the negative resultant effects of security challenges and crisis of national integration on development, the paper recommended, among other things imperative of structural, institutional and sectoral reforms in Nigeria as policy options for addressing these challenges of security, national integration and development.