Contemporary Security Threats and Terrorism on Socio-economic and Political Development of Nigeria

Abstract

Security is not just a scared value for humans, groups and nations, it is the ultimate value.  Security in the world today has become a seriously endangered value.  Nigerias contemporary constitution actually asserts that the security and welfare of Nigerians shall be primary duty of government. Today, Nigeria has become the country where citizens are most endangered. Apart from the dangers posed by corruption, citizens are daily exposed to the fires from armed robbers, rapists, assassins, thugs, ritualists, human traffickers, arms traffickers cross-border bandits, drug traffickers, kidnappers, militants and above all terrorists. This paper examines the implication of contemporary security treats and terrorism of Boko Haram and Ansaru on the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria, then, discovers that the constitutional provision of the federal system of government which gave enormous power to the federal government at the expense of the federating units led to series of instability, insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria, and concludes that to curtail instability, insecurity and terrorism, there is a need to embrace a political system of government that gives more power to the federating units rather than concentrating so much power at the centre.