Cost and taxpayer response to the war on terror: a comparative assessment

The cost of National Security and the war on terror is a burden that falls on the Government and the Taxpayer as well going by the social contract theory. The objective of this research was to continue to build on the controversy related to the opinion of the tax payers contribution to the war on terror which is not only a national issue but also global. As such we asked the question; what is the opinion of the taxpayer regarding funding of the current terrorist acts prevailing in the Nigeria and we try to compare this to the opinions of The U.S and U.K Taxpayers. The Survey research method was used in this regard for to gather opinions of Nigerian citizens that both pay tax and are educated in such fields. A second methodology known as content analysis was used to collect responses from the west using the source (form the year 2000 to 2015) Results prove that most Nigerians are positive about spendings on the war against terror unlike in the west where it is considered illegal occupation in many cases and Nigerians believe more resources should be allocated to the cause but opinions regarding embezzlement or diversion of such funds through corruption and conspiracy were raised by more than 50 percent of respondents in the Nigerian Case. Recommendations suggest that all of such spendings be made more transparent in Nigeria to add to the already existing positivity towards expenditure to the war on terror in Nigeria. Further research into the psychology of terrorists is also recommended in Nigeria as it was found to be given most attention in the west.