National Security And The Political Economy Of Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between national security and the political economy of Nigeria through a qualitative systematic review of secondary literature comprising peer-reviewed journal articles, government publications, and reports from international organisations. Guided by Human Security Theory, the review reframes the analysis of insecurity away from a narrow, state-centric military conception toward a multidimensional framework encompassing freedom from fear and freedom from want. Using thematic content analysis, the review identifies four recurring and interdependent patterns in the literature: the structural entrenchment of a rentier political economy built on oil dependence; the diversification and mutual reinforcement of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflict, and separatist agitation; the erosion of institutional capacity and public trust through corruption and weak accountability in the security sector; and the compounding economic and humanitarian costs of insecurity, particularly for agriculture, investment, and public finance. The review shows that these dimensions are consistently treated across the literature as interdependent rather than isolated, reinforcing Human Security Theory's central claim that durable stability requires addressing socio-economic deprivation alongside conventional security threats. The paper argues that Nigeria's continued reliance on militarised, kinetic responses has not resolved these interlinked drivers and proposes that institutional reform, economic diversification, and people centred welfare policy be treated as core components of security strategy rather than peripheral development goals.