INTERNAL SECURITY THREATS: CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
Augustine Enenche
Volume 4 Issue 1
Abstract
Since Nigeria’s return to democracy on May 29, 1999, the country has experienced turbulent security challenges. Agitations from different sections of the country-bred several ethnic and religious militias among them are the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Boko Haram, the Odua People’s Congress (OPC), issues of banditry, and farmers–herders’ conflicts. Aside from these are the non-conventional security spheres which include human security and these have been in negative perpetuation for over three decades. These phenomena have led to capital flight out of the country and an unprecedented mass exodus of young Nigerians to abroad (mostly Europe and America). This movement has formed a new lexicon known as “japaism”. Therefore, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will continue to be elusive to the country if these security threats are not wholistically and frantically subdued. This study utilized the Mertonian Anomie-Strain Theory to explain the phenomenon of internal security threats and how they affect sustainable development in Nigeria. The study relied on related literature sourced from the internet, textbooks, and journals. Secondary data were sourced from the websites of the World Bank, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and daily/periodic Newspapers. The study also adopted the explanatory research method which provides for literature review and finding knowledge gaps. The objectives of the study are: to find out the factors of security challenges in Nigeria since 1999; and to find out how internal security threats affect sustainable development in Nigeria since 1999. The study recommends that the government should make a genuine commitment to curb insecurity by investing massively in human capital and infrastructural sectors. A better economic policy will attract foreign investment and these will lead to achieving sustainable development in the country. Keywords: Anomie, Development, Militias, Security, Threats.
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