THE NEED FOR A HUMAN SECURITY APPROACH IN COMBATING TERRORISM IN NIGERIA

This paper recognizes the fact that terrorism is one of the most difficult crimes in the history of humanity in recent times. It argues that terrorism constitutes a fundamental threat to every civil, social, cultural and political institution of the state and of the people at the expense of human lives and properties. This paper, however, recognizes the fact that there has been an increasing local and international quest at finding a lasting solution to the menace of terrorism. Despite this, it argues that though terrorism is a problem with a global character, the solution lies, rather, more in local prescription. For the solutions actually lie in the commitment of states to their human and economic obligations- to proactively, deliberately and conscientiously protect the lives and properties of the people. This paper therefore advocates for the adoption of the Human Security framework in designing a practical counter-terrorism framework in Nigeria’s quest for a terrorism-free country. By adopting the Human Security approach, the paper argues that Nigeria would have adopted two mutually reinforcing and effective counter-terrorism approaches in dealing with scourge of terrorism in Nigeria. The paper justifies the effectiveness of the initiative on the basis that the human security approach does not just address crimes or criminal behaviours but also addressesthose factors that make terrorism attractive and which are often ignored in the overall security design.Thus, the crux of this paper is that Nigeria can actually be a state where security of lives and properties is primed if the government can commit themselves to the ideals of the Human Security initiatives rather than relying largely on military might as the strategy for addressing the menace of terrorism.