GOVERNANCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN A DEMOCRACY

Scirj Volume I, Issue II, September 2013 Edition
ISSN: 2201-2796

GOVERNANCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN A DEMOCRACY: AVOIDING THE ‘DOWN RISKS’ TO STATEHOOD IN NIGERIA

Ibrahim O. Salawu

Abstract Politics, in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. As such, politics is inextricably linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation. On the one hand, the existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs or opposing interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live. This makes the quality or otherwise of the process that transforms into achieving this common good i.e governance, worthy of constant empirical content versus goals analysis. This is a worthy endeavour especially in developing Democracies where it has been quite challenging for political office holders who shoulder the responsibility of ensuring a clear demarcation between politics and the art of Governance. Lots of reasons have been adduced for this trend, ranking highest is the over- politicization of every facet of governance which inadvertently has impacted negatively on the delivery of the proverbial democratic dividend in the area of National security.This paper primarily seeks to critically examine Governance issues which more often than not have being a cog in the wheel of delivering one of the most cogent prerequisite of any government the world over which is National Security, and suggest ways to exorcise this seeming inability to articulate and implement a security infrastructure that can be readily deployed for self preservation of the state and maintenance of fundamental human rights of the citizenry in Nigeria. It is argued that the unfortunate spate of Kidnappings, communal clashes, Bombings and Terrorist attacks which has led to callous bloodletting and lack of respect for the sanctity of human lives currently bedevilling the Nigerian state are direct consequences of the near collapse of the machinery of governance and not necessarily externalities. The implication of which has far reaching consequences in electorally competitive spheres like Nigeria.

Reference this Paper: GOVERNANCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN A DEMOCRACY: AVOIDING THE ‘DOWN RISKS’ TO STATEHOOD IN NIGERIA by Ibrahim O. Salawu published at: "Scientific Research Journal (Scirj), Volume I, Issue II, September 2013 Edition, page 19-25".

Search Terms: National Security, Governance, Failed State, Democracy, Down Risks

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