The former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), who is also a lawyer and political economist, and more recently, President of the African School of Governance in Kigali, Rwanda, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has argued that Nigeria’s prolonged struggle with terrorism, banditry and other forms of insecurity is rooted in a deeper crisis of nationhood. According to him, the country’s inability to effectively confront and defeat these threats stems from the absence of a shared national identity and common purpose among its diverse populations.
“Banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping are all symptoms of a deeper failure to build a common Nigerian identity. And more particularly, the failure to meet the challenge. Because even in the best of societies, even in the most united societies, there is still crime. But the failure we have had in Nigeria—which we cannot run away from—is the fact that terrorism is really sweeping through the country, and we have not been able to overcome it so far in the last 10 to 15 years. That failure is driven, from my perspective, by the failure for us to be a nation.
“And how this works is as follows: When you don’t have nationhood—that is to say, a common political and civic identity, or in an ethnic sense (so it’s the combination of political, civic, ethnic, and historical identity that creates nations)—that doesn’t exist in Nigeria. So, we are a country geographically, not a nation. Now, what this does is that because we don’t have a common purpose, we are not united internally to be able to fend off external threats from terrorists,” he explained.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Professor Moghalu explained that the lack of internal cohesion has created divisions in how insecurity is perceived and addressed across the country.
“One, a lot of allegations of collusion within the security forces between those elements and the terrorists. You also see it in distorted, corrupt incentives, where you see what you might call a military-industrial complex that is profiting from the war against terrorism. Lots of money is spent, but very few results are delivered. So, these two things show you that there is no internal cohesion inside Nigeria to be able to face an enemy, because we do not generally regard that enemy as our common enemy. We don’t have this commonality of vision, and it weakens us as a country,” he maintained.
Responding to whether the spread of terrorism and banditry across the country is creating a shared sense of urgency, Professor Moghalu said increased exposure to insecurity does not automatically translate into nation-building.
“Well, yes, but that’s not the same thing as building nationhood. The fact that we all feel more and more threatened by this doesn’t mean we have built nationhood. Building nationhood is a very conscious process, and it takes leadership,” he said.
Moghalu, who was also a former presidential candidate also called for a major constitutional redesign of Nigeria, arguing that measures such as state policing, while potentially useful, would not by themselves resolve the deeper challenges of weak national integration.
“And it can be done in a number of ways. One, of course, is constitutionally. Nigeria needs a major constitutional redesign. And I argue that state police, while helpful, is not enough,” he argued.
Tracing Nigeria’s challenges to its formation through amalgamation rather than organic nationhood, the political economist said true nationhood remains possible but would require visionary leadership that rises above ethnic interests.
“What went wrong, it was at the creation. Nigeria is not an organic nation. Nigeria came about as a result of the amalgamation of the North and South. Now, does this mean we cannot become a nation? No, it doesn’t mean that. We can.
“But for us to become a nation, the level of leadership that requires—in terms of vision, in terms of conceptualization, and mobilizing citizens without any vested self-interest—does not exist in our political elite,” he said.
He also said Nigeria’s founding structure lacked a single unifying vision, describing it as a “tripod” that entrenched ethno-religious politics over time. While acknowledging arguments that early regional governance supported development, Moghalu suggested that Nigeria may need a revised system that reflects ethnic realities while promoting stability and balanced national growth.
“We did not have a country in which there was one founding father. We had a country with three founding fathers. And you might again argue that Nnamdi Azikiwe was primus inter pares (first among equals) in terms of being at the forefront, which is why he became ceremonially the President. And so that three—tripartite, like a tripod thing—meant that even from the beginning, there was no unified national vision. So, the country has been built, developed, and anchored on ethno-religious sentiment.
“There are two approaches to nationhood. One approach is to take the approach that, ‘Well, for the nation to live, the tribe must die.’ You can take that approach. Another approach is to recognize the reality of ethnic nationalities in a country like Nigeria and come out with a constitutional structure that recognizes their reality and creates incentives for development and stability,” he advised.
Speaking on the broader implications of Nigeria’s governance and security challenges, Prof Moghalu reiterated that fragmented political and ethnic interests continue to weaken national unity.
“This failure to become a nation now affects governance, it affects the economy, it affects security—you know, because we all have divided interpretations and divided agendas. And the politics of Nigeria is not driven by nationhood; it’s driven by ethnic and religious sentiment.”
Insisting that Nigeria is exhibiting characteristics of a failing state, Moghalu said that visible order in cities like Lagos and Abuja does not reflect the insecurity in many other regions. He contended that the state’s inability to protect lives across the country weakens its legitimacy and shows a breakdown of the social contract.
“I think the trend can be reversed. But I don’t think you can argue seriously that Nigeria is not a failing state. The fact that you have the appearance of normalcy in Lagos or in Abuja—all these ungoverned spaces in the northern parts of the country, in some parts of the Southwest, in some parts of the East, these are all indications of state failure. Because a state exists and justifies its existence by its ability to protect the lives and the territory of its citizens,” he argued.
On whether Nigeria can achieve meaningful economic progress without first resolving its security challenges, Moghalu maintained that lasting reform is unlikely under current conditions. He said persistent insecurity and perceptions of exclusion continue to weaken citizens’ trust in the state, making national development difficult to sustain without addressing deeper issues of nationhood and fairness.
“I don’t think, in the long term, it’s not possible. I believe we must go back to this problem of creating a proper nationhood in Nigeria. Because many people in Nigeria do not feel loyal to the Nigerian state, because they do not feel protected by the Nigerian state, or they do not feel fairly treated by the Nigerian state.
“If you’re talking about unity, but some parts of the country or some individuals in the country feel they have some right to lord it over others, you’re not creating a nation. You’re creating a contest within a geographical space. And that contest is existential, and it will continue to tear away at the prospects for real prosperity,” he warned.
Reiterating his call for constitutional restructuring, Prof. Moghalu said Nigeria needs genuine federalism that allows its diverse regions to develop independently.
“I am making the case for real federalism because we are a pluralistic society. In every plural society, if you do not have a federal system of government that gives space for the components to be able to develop themselves from below—if you try to lord it from on top, as we are trying to do in Nigeria—it never works,” he stressed.
Speaking on Nigeria’s security challenges, Moghalu said the absence of strong political will has weakened the country’s ability to implement any coherent national security strategy. He argued that leadership priorities often centre on political survival rather than citizen protection, making even well-designed security plans ineffective in practice.
“It it is action that speaks. When you have political leaders talking about these things, but you don’t see any personal care for the lives of Nigerians in their actions—because they are more interested in gaining, obtaining, and retaining power—then it doesn’t matter what national security document you design. There is no real weight behind it; there is no real political will behind it,” he said.
Suggesting mercenaries for insecurity, Moghalu said Nigeria may need short-term external support due to weakened security structures, citing past gains under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I would go for mercenaries. I have said this before: Nigeria should use them. President Jonathan tried it, and it was working until Buhari came and canceled that contract. That should tell us something because, within a short space of a few months, those mercenaries had recovered several local government areas that were under the control of terrorists.
“We should take this approach for two reasons. The truth is, because of the absence of nationhood, the security structure in Nigeria is already penetrated by those forces.
“So, the only way we can gain control in the immediate term is to get a group of people who listen to the language of money. You put the cash on the table, and they give you the results. Period. It’s a bargain. Now, that gives us time to begin to clean out and reorganize our internal security forces,” he explained.
Calling for stronger leadership consciousness, Prof. Moghalu said Nigeria needs a long-term strategy to effectively combat terrorism. He also described insecurity in the country as part of a wider global jihadist movement, noting that nations with stronger cohesion are better equipped to resist such threats, unlike Nigeria, which he said remains weakened by limited national unity.
“I think we really need a different level of leadership consciousness to be able to drive a national security strategy that wins the war against terrorism over the long term.
“There is one aspect I have missed in all of this: the international dimension. The terrorism we face in Nigeria is not local. It is part of a global jihadist operation. It is part of a global war or clash of civilizations in which a particular ideology is waging war against secular governance around the world, not just in Nigeria. We see this in the Sahel countries and so on.
“This complicates the problem for us because countries that are nations in the real sense are internally resilient; they can fight and withstand these kinds of forces. Mere countries like Nigeria—a country, but not yet a nation—will have a hard time,” he concluded.
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