The Nature of Internal Security Problems in African States: The Nigerian Experience

This paper examined the nature of internal security problems of African States using Nigeria as a case study. The paper sought to identify the plethora of security challenges confronting Nigeria with specific emphasis on the Niger Delta Crises, Kidnapping in the South-East geopolitical zone, Jos Crises and Boko Haram Crises in the Northern part of Nigeria. The study investigated the extent to which man-tailored internal security problems impacted negatively or otherwise on socio-economic development of the Nigerian State, especially since 1999. The study adopted secondary data as its methodological orientation. The result of the analyses revealed that the national security policy of Nigeria which internal security is a sub-unit was weak to tackle violent security problems that confronted the country. This was partly because, policy makers lacked requisite knowledge to formulate robust internal security policies and effective strategies to mitigate insurgencies in the country. Rather, ad hoc security outfits have continued to dominate internal security governance in Nigeria since 1999. Therefore, the paper recommended among others, the need for recruitment of well-educated, versatile, honest and committed policy makers for the country through credible electoral process.