INSECURITY, NATIONAL INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: INTERROGATING THE LEGAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE 2021 ASABA DECLARATION

Abstract

Governments all over the world have a number of responsibilities, prominent among which is the security and welfare of the people. These responsibilities are not only important, but statutory as can be seen in Section 14(2b) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). As unjusticiable as that responsibility is, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari made the issue of security a cardinal point of his administration via his campaign manifesto – in addition to the economy and anti-corruption. Events of the past few years have witnessed a worrisome deterioration of security in every nook and cranny of the Nigerian federation. The dimension to the insecurity challenge in recent time – especially in the last five years beginning from 2016, appears to be threatening the corporate existence of the Nigerian state, leading to the setting up of regional security outfits in various parts of the country. Governors of the 17 states in the Southern part of the country on May 11, 2021, met in Asaba, the Delta state capital and came up with a 12-point communique, where various resolutions were made on topical issues that border on security and national integration. In view of the reactions that have continued to trail the communique, this paper examines the legal and social implications of the 2021 Asaba declaration, bearing in mind the tripartite variables of security, national integration and development. Findings from the study revealed that the security challenges facing the nation have negative implications for national cohesion and development. The paper therefore recommends, among others, that aspects of the Asaba declaration that needs statutory underpinnings should be incorporated into the constitutional amendment exercise being undertaken by the Nigerian Senate.