At independence in 1960, Nigeria’s security challenge was protecting a new flag. Sixty-six years later, the challenge is protecting its people from threats within.
As Nigeria marks 66 years of independence, insecurity remains one of the country’s most painful challenges—from the civil war to insurgency, militancy, and banditry, Bosan Yakusak reports.
Nigeria gained independence with a small federal army and regional police forces. Hope was high, but within six years, that optimism gave way to political crisis and conflict.
The coups of 1966 and the 30-month civil war between 1967 and 1970 claimed more than one million lives. It was the country’s first major security crisis and a lesson that managing Nigeria’s diversity is also a security imperative.
General Yakubu Gowon's administration adopted the policy of “No Victor, No Vanquished”, helping keep the country together while expanding the Armed Forces into a national institution.
Under military rule, however, insecurity took new forms.
Armed robbery became a major threat in the cities, with notorious criminals such as Lawrence Anini and Shina Rambo terrorising communities.
In the Niger Delta, youths also took up arms to protest oil exploration, environmental degradation, and perceived injustice in the region.
A major turning point came in 2009 with the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) introduced under the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
More than 30,000 militants surrendered their weapons under the programme, while oil production increased significantly.
The development demonstrated that dialogue and economic intervention could complement military action in addressing armed conflict.
But 2009 also marked the beginning of another painful chapter in Nigeria’s security history.
In Borno State, Boko Haram evolved from a sect into a deadly insurgency that spread across the Northeast and beyond.
The conflict has killed more than 35,000 people and displaced over two million others.
While security forces, through Operation Hadin Kai and the Multinational Joint Task Force, have continued operations against insurgents in the Northeast, another security challenge has emerged.
Banditry, mass abductions for ransom and farmer-herder conflicts have spread across parts of the North-West and North-Central.
Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Benue and Plateau states have become synonymous with recurring security incidents.
Schools have also become targets, from the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls to attacks involving students in Kankara, Jangebe and Greenfield in Kaduna.
Today, Nigeria has one of Africa’s largest Armed Forces, comprising the Army, Air Force and Navy, alongside institutions such as the National Counter Terrorism Centre.
The country has also contributed troops to peacekeeping missions in Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Technology, including drones, joint task forces and initiatives such as the Safe Schools programme, has also strengthened the country’s response to insecurity.
Beyond the security agencies, communities, traditional rulers and the media have increasingly become part of early-warning systems and peacebuilding efforts.
At 66, Nigeria has survived civil war, military coups, militancy, insurgency and banditry.
That resilience remains one of the country’s greatest security assets.
But security experts say the next chapter must go beyond military responses.
They argue that lasting security requires tackling hunger, unemployment and injustice while ensuring that communities are included in security planning and peacebuilding.
The real test of independence, therefore, is not simply the lowering of a foreign flag, but whether every Nigerian can feel safe under the Nigerian flag.
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