How the National Security Policy and strategy can address the insecurity from environmental resource allocation and utilisation in Nigeria

Abstract

The level of insecurity in Nigeria has steadily increased during the last decade, with many of the conflicts related to environmental resource allocation, utilisation and management. Problems such as the shrinking of the Lake Chad and its resultant degradation of economic livelihood, have coalesced with the recruitment of impoverished persons by religious extremist groups to create the Boko Haram crisis in the North East. In the South-South region of the country, with an estimated population of 24 million people, decades of environmental pollution from the activities of international oil companies has led to the loss of livelihoods, living and fishing areas, which in turn has caused sustained militancy that has led to widespread infrastructural sabotage, kidnappings and killings. Similarly in the North West and North Central parts of the country, population increase and shrinkage of agrarian lands have led to conflicts of rights to grazing and farming lands between herders and farmers. These crises have come to involve the use of arms and have snowballed into widespread inter-ethnic violence, kidnappings and organised crime. Noting the rise in these environmental conflicts, this research seeks to investigate how the national security policies/strategy can address resource allocation, utilisation and management, with a view to preventing such conflicts in Nigeria. The paper will adopt a case study approach by comparing the Nigerian situation with Brazil, which is similar to Nigeria in income inequality, demographic disparity, resource endowment and conflicts arising from these factors. The study will be conducted in a cross sectional methodology, making use of qualitative data from peer reviewed journals, government legislations and related publications, research from external organisations, secondary data and observations. The paper will conclude that the current Nigerian National Security Policy and Strategy must emplace specific provisions that improve the allocation, utilisation and management of environmental resources as is done in Brazil. It will also argue that the current weak institutional regulatory capacity must be strengthened to prevent future conflicts resulting from the misuse or misallocation of resources. The paper will be available for review and referencing for future related research.