NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA 2015 – 2020

Abstract

This study was on national security and economic development in Nigeria 205-2020. Three objectives were raised which included; To establish the causes of insecurity in Nigeria, to find out the effect of insecurity on economic development in Nigeria and to recommend measures out of the doldrums. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from residents from Kaduna South. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

Insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming proportion showing its ugly head in various facets of our national life. Lives are lost on daily basis, population depleted, businesses in comatose, investments are nose-diving, multinationals closing shops and vacating the country, unemployment soaring and the populace in fears. Clearly, it poses a threat to governance and economic growth in troubled nations. According to Stewart (2004), the economic cost of insecurity is enormous. People who joined the fighting forces, who are killed or flee, can no longer work productively; schools, power stations, and roads that are destroyed reduced the productive capacity of the economy. Further, displacement of people reduces the production of exports, thereby reducing foreign exchange earnings, import potentials and consequently further constraining output, leading to a decline in employment and earnings.

The menace remains a threat to governance and economic growth in Nigeria. Government by their inaction has proved to be unable to solely secure its citizens. Despite government’s burgeoning recurrent expenditure on internal security both at the National and State levels, individuals in their various rights, work places and houses spend heavily to provide security for their personal lives and properties. Despite these efforts, the menace keep exacerbating. Thus in almost all parts of the country, there exist some levels of insecurity. We have seen instances of ethnic conflicts in some part of the North, kidnapping in almost all parts of the country, but prominent in South South and West, militancy and pipeline vandalisation activities in the Niger delta, terrorism and religious extremism by Boko Haram in North East, agitations for self-determination by IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) in South East, herdsmen and bandiry disturbances in the North and Central, ritual killings in the South West and East and other political and economic disturbances. I posit that these disturbances and insecurities in its various forms affects economic growth

Thus, it has been observed that in areas were insecurity are prone in Nigeria, economic activities and variables have been lagging behind. For instance, in the North East of Nigeria where Boko Haram, herdsmen and banditry has held sway, the area has been deserted, businesses including informal sector have been affected, unemployment have soared, Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and camps have suddenly emerged, State internally generated revenue have plummeted etc. Again, in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria where militant’s attack on oil installations and pipeline vandalisation is persistent, a number of MNCs have closed shop or relocated their offices from the area, the country has been unable to meet its oil production quota, unemployment has skyrocketed, oil exports nosedived, foreign exchange dropped and the cost of doing business in the area have increased. So it is in the other parts of the country where insecurity strive

Statement of the problem

In response, the federal government through its annual budgets, continue to vote huge allocation to the recurrent component of internal security, military personnel and apparatus have been asked to relocate their bases to the troubled areas to quell crises, and some States have signed into law the Anti-kidnapping Act while the National assembly passed the AntiTerrorism Act in 2011. Despite these measures, economic indices have not improved and the level of insecurity in the country is still high. A confirmation of this is the low ranking of Nigeria in the Global Peace Index (GPI, 2012) and the current recession the country has been thrown into

Objective of the study

The objectives of the study are;

1. To establish the causes of insecurity in Nigeria
2. To find out the effect of insecurity on economic development in Nigeria
3. To recommend measures out of the doldrums.

Research hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated;

H0: there are no causes of insecurity in Nigeria

H1: there are causes of insecurity in Nigeria

H0: there are no effect of insecurity on economic development in Nigeria

H2: there are effect of insecurity on economic development in Nigeria

Significance of the study

The study will be very significant to students and the entire nation. The study will give a clear insight on the national security and economic development in Nigeria 2015-2020. The result of the study will help the nation to find solution to the challenges of insecurity we are facing. The study will also serve as a reference to other researcher that will embark on the related topic

Scope and limitation of the study

The scope of the study covers national security and economic development in Nigeria 2015-2020. Finance, inadequate materials and time constraint were the challenges the researchers encountered during the course of the study.

Definition of terms

National security: National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government.

Economic development: Economic Development is programs, policies or activities that seek to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for a community. What “economic development” means to you will depend on the community you live in. Each community has its own opportunities, challenges, and priorities.

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