NIGERIA: THE IMPERATIVES OF INTERNAL SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT – PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Among the issues of governance confronting Nigeria, security is generally regarded as crucial. There is no doubt about the strong relationship between security and development. This paper takes an opposing view to the dominant approach of a colonially-foisted statist and law-and-order conception of security by successive administrations in Nigeria. The paper emphasizes certain small things that matter for securing the lives of Nigerians, and ensuring sustainable development in the country. These include socio-cultural, economic and political factors that should catalyze citizens’ participation in the national security architecture and in the country’s development aspirations and goals. Data is drawn from secondary sources for the conceptual and theoretical sections of the paper. Primary data is drawn from events analyses, interviews with selected experts in University of Ibadan and from content analyses of selected documents on contemporary politics, economy and society in Nigeria. This is supported by interactions with respondents in selected markets and locations around the country. Political culture, with focus on the prebendalist perspective, is deployed for the paper’s analytic frame. Keywords: Security threats, Endemic corruption, Political culture, Citizens’ participation.