Artificial Intelligence: The Missing Critical Component in Nigeria’s Security Architecture

Abstract

Nigeria, a country of over 200 million people, has been battling with various national security threats since independence in 1960. Some of these core threats include religious extremism, ethnic conflicts, poor public health facilities, porous and poorly-manned borders; and, added to these in the 21st century are terrorism, insurgency, banditry and cybercrimes. This study discovers that the country has deployed various multi-levered measures that are a mix of both traditional defence mechanisms and socio-economic and political measures designed to ensure the survival of the Nigerian state. However, the study discovers that artificial intelligence has zero presence in the country’s strategic policy document and doctrine. It argues that Nigeria should follow in the footsteps of countries like the United States, Russia, China, Israel and Estonia that have effectively integrated artificial intelligence into their overall national security architecture. This integration, it discovers, has helped in the creation of a more secured environments in such states. The study concludes by arguing strongly for the integration of artificial intelligence into the Nigerian national security architecture in the areas of cybersecurity, intelligence, defence and internal security.