BETWEEN LEVIATHAN AND ANARCHY: HOBBES AND THE CRISIS OF SECURITY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria’s post-independence history has been marked by recurrent security challenges, including the civil war that nearly led to its fragmentation. In recent years, however, persistent insecurity—manifested in insurgency, banditry, communal violence, kidnapping, and secessionist agitations—has reached alarming proportions, raising critical questions about the state’s capacity to maintain order and exercise effective sovereignty. This study interrogates these challenges within the theoretical framework of Thomas Hobbes’s political philosophy, particularly his concept of the Leviathan, which contends that only a strong, centralized sovereign can prevent societal descent into chaos. Adopting documentary analysis and conceptual inquiry as its methodological approach, the paper examines the disjunction between Nigeria’s formal sovereignty and its limited capacity to monopolize the legitimate means of coercion across its territory. Drawing on insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, secessionist violence in the South-East, and recurring ethno-communal conflicts as illustrative cases, the paper argues that the erosion of effective sovereign authority underlies the country’s deepening insecurity, weak state structures, and a crisis of legitimacy. It contends that restoring state authority requires not only enhanced coercive capacity but also strengthened institutional coordination, adherence to the rule of law, and the rebuilding of public trust. The paper concludes that Hobbesian insights provide a compelling framework for diagnosing Nigeria’s security crisis and rethinking pathways toward sustainable political order.