In the past few years, Nigeria has been confronted with security challenges ranging from insurgency in the North East, militancy in the Niger-Delta, kidnapping, armed robbery sectarian conflicts, to piracy in the maritime domain and serial violence between pastoralists and crop farmers. These have had far-reaching consequences for the nation, as in some instances lives of citizens were irrevocably altered. Every security challenge, irrespective of where it occurs, potentially puts at risk the livelihood and well-being of every citizen. Security challenges could be man-made, nature made or a combination of both. The lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people are continually at risk from one form of security challenge or another.
This is the reality of the world in which we live today. This reality is global and not peculiar to Nigeria alone. This, however, is not to say Nigeria is not more vulnerable in certain aspects than some other nations and vice versa. Nigeria’s National Security Strategy recognizes that while the country must continue to focus on the persistent and evolving terrorist threats, it must at the same time address the full range of potential catastrophic events, including man-made and natural disasters, due to their implications for national security. The purpose of Nigeria’s National Security Strategy is to guide, organize and harmonise the nation’s security policies and efforts.
The strategy provides a common framework on which the entire nation should focus its efforts. In order to properly articulate government’s strategy for combating these security challenges, there is need for a strategic plan in form of a document to guide security agencies in conception of ideas, formulation of policies and conduct of operations so that every single agency will be properly guided and seen to be working towards the same goal, aware that individual agencies are part of a larger whole, which when properly coordinated would present a neat, coherent, orderly and complete system.