SECURITY SECTOR REFORMS IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN SECURITY

Security

The Security Sector in Nigeria remains a critical component that guarantees human security but rather puts it to a terrible threat since the history of nationhood in Nigeria. Reforms of this sector impacts on the survival of the people. The preponderance of military interruption in politics has only continued the colonial legacy of security focus on state centricity and serving regime security rather than human security. With the democratic rule extant, the situation is not different. This has only left all security frameworks, norms, institutions, infrastructure and entire architecture weak to be able to cater for the safeguard of human security. Wide spread political exclusion, human rights violations, selective justice, ethno-religious conflicts, spurious elections and proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), crime and violence, imbalanced federal character, all emanating from security policy miscarriages, institutional dysfunction, leadership and administrative deficits become the common denominator. This study is predicated on specific areas of human security - “freedom from fear” (physical, community and political security). The reforms must combine institutions with the instruments of coercion, over-sights activities and other critical actors in the security architecture for the protection of the state and citizens simultaneously. The paper recommends that Independent National and State Electoral Commissions must be independent; internal security operations and crisis management should meet international standards, establishment of Commission for the Minorities (ethnic groups), the justice and legal system should be regularly reformed to meet changing times and establishment of State Police. The paper concludes that Nigeria’s Security Sector needs these reforms which must be all encompassing.

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