Nigeria’s Leadership, Security and National Development: A Gap Analysis of the Missing Link

Abstract

The study examines the nexus of Nigeria’s leadership, security and national development. It investigated the relationship between national development proxy by gross domestic product with government expenditure on security and unemployment rate. Exploratory research design was adopted for the study. The study utilized a twenty years’ time series data of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, expenditure on security and unemployment rate from 1997 to 2016. The Ordinary Least Square regression statistical tool was us in the test of hypotheses. The study established a positive significant relationship between Nigeria’s gross domestic product and government expenditure on security. It also established a negative significant relationship between Nigeria’s gross domestic product and unemployment rate. The study recommended that Leadership should show strong political will in tackling security issues and challenges by adopting a zero tolerance approach for anyone who is a culprit or so identified no matter how highly place in the society. Nigeria’s Leaders should be pro-active by overhauling the intelligent mechanisms and institutions. Entrepreneurship education and development strategy through empowerment initiatives and programmes should be vigorously pursuit as this overtime have the multiplier effect to boost job creation.