ESTABLISHING THE NEXUS BETWEEN WOMEN, SECURITY AND PEACEBUILDING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Security is the defense, policing, and intelligent functions of states, and the management of threats to the breach of peace through multilateral and bilateral processes. Security is often used to imply safety or freedom from danger and protection from external attack or infiltration. It is also a state of mind of the individual that is confidently secured of his/her well-being. Nigeria today lives in socially functional challenging times that make the state to be in a state of terror and has become quite paranoid and fearful of flying, of going to certain places, and fearful of certain people. These insecurity indices informed Nigerian search security, peace, and peace building through various methods that have yielded minimal positive results. Using the structural-functional theory, the paper qualitatively provided answers to questions such as: What roles can women play in curbing insecurity in Nigeria? To what extent has the women’s roles and position been utilized by the Nigerian government in peace and security? To what extent have previous security strategies of government worked without women's involvement? The paper revealed that without the adequate engagement of women in the management of insecurity the Nigerian search for a secured Nigeria may not yield the desired result. Women are veritable tools in the development of peace and security and should therefore not be neglected.