Nigeria faces a plethora of security challenges ranging from violent extremism, to farmer-herder conflict, banditry, a revived secessionist movement, police repression, piracy, and attacks on oil infrastructure, among others. In this roundtable discussion, experts representing diplomatic, scholarly, and practitioner perspectives discuss the links between these security challenges and Nigeria’s patronage-based state institutions. Key themes were the need to rethink the structure of the Nigerian state, identify means of strengthening national identity, harness the aspirations of youth to advance governance reform, create more accountability within the security services, and avoid the militarization of every security challenge.
Additional Resources
- Olajumoke (Jumo) Ayandele, “Confronting Nigeria’s Kaduna Crisis,” Spotlight, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, February 2, 2021.
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Target Nigeria’s Highways,” Infographic, December 15, 2020.
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Boko Haram Violence against Civilians Spiking in Northern Cameroon,” Infographic, November 13, 2020.
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “#EndSARS Demands Nigerian Police Reform,” Infographic, November 10, 2020.
- Daniel Eizenga, “Chad’s Escalating Fight against Boko Haram,” Spotlight, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, April 20, 2020.
- Oluwakemi Okenyodo, “Governance, Accountability, and Security in Nigeria,” Africa Security Brief No. 31, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, June 21, 2016.
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