Mohammed, Abubakar Ahmad, PhD
Department of History
Faculty of Arts, Management and Social Science
Nigerian Army University Biu, Borno State, Nigeria.
&
Akanbi Lateef, PhD
Department of Political Science
Faculty of Arts, Management and Social Science
Federal University Otuoke,
Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Abstract
Nigerian Military had contributed immensely in the area of election and national security. As part of national security, the military sees election as part of national security issues which must be protected with required energy involved strategic think to protect lives and property of people whenever the exercise is being rolled out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The strategic thinking of military on national security usually provide a solid base for security architecture of the country as a long standing security institution protecting territorial integrity of Nigeria. In view of the foregoing, the paper examines the role played by the military during the elections in Nigeria as an important national assignment which should be supported to produce quality leaders across all the tiers of government for effective economic coordination in the country. This made the role of military more important. The thrust of argument in this paper is that with all efforts put in place by the military about strategic issues surrounding national security. Why Nigeria as a nation still having prevalent security challenges? What efforts are being put place to ensure adequate security measure? Examining the activities of military would give insightful comment on what the military need to do to curb security challenges. It has also given insightful information about what military has done in the past and what the military is doing currently. The method adopted in the study is secondary approach which connotes use of written documents such as textbooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, internets and other relevant documents required.
Introduction
From period of the end of the Cold War in 1989, wars continue to become more of intra–state than inter-state centre of war affairs. The case of Sierra Leone, Somalia, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire are some of the few examples in Africa. Given nature and the dynamism of sub-regional organizations, the risk of armed aggression against one state by another has increased considerably during the democratic period in Nigeria which threated the country national security. Consequently, security agencies throughout the world are involve in containing all security threats to national security.
The word democracy has been subjected to many interpretations and adaptations in various parts of the world today as result of its relevance to modern best system of government in the world. Democracy is not alien to Nigeria but the democratic institutions such as ‘political party and security agencies’ which were inherited from western culture. Nigeria’s independent was basically western ideology. The institutions of this type of government were borrowed from the west countries. This borrowed system of government were expected to perform the same functions as in western countries from which they were borrowed unfortunately that is not the case with Nigeria. Many of the country politicians had neither understood the rules of the game nor had they accepted them in line with electoral values known with western world. Despite many attempt to review the election guiding rule for the conduct of elections in Nigeria, to politicians, politics is a game of do or die affair. As the rule and regulations were blatantly violated, politics became a dangerous game for both practitioners and inspectors.2
The Nigeria security agencies should always be seen as a partner in the democratic process and as only few countries in the world can afford to have a weak military force, as today military is becoming the determining factor of both political and economic force of any country in the world. This point is becoming common phenomenon in the case of Nigeria as a major political and economic force on the African continent. As such, it is important for Nigeria’s government and the leaders as well citizens to support in building a strong the military institution and professionalism, in doing so, as the military had accept civilian leadership in a democratic setting such as the one Nigeria is currently experiencing.3