IMPACT OF BIGOTRY AND TERRORISM ON NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA

The primary responsibility of governments is to preserve the state, maintain order, as well as the socio-economic well-being of the citizens.To achieve these responsibilities, most states employ the elements of national power, which include both soft and hard power means.These approaches have often been undermined by the impact of bigotry, which, to a large extent, has aided the exacerbation of contemporary security situations.Some of these contemporary security situations are in the form of terrorism, banditry, and insurgency, among others, which negatively affect the national security of states globally.The intricate relationship between bigotry and terrorism is a pressing concern that significantly impacts national security across the globe.Bigotry, as a social concept, refers to strong, irrational intolerance or prejudice toward individuals or groups based on characteristics like race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.By breeding intolerance and resentment, discrimination, marginalization and exclusion, and other prejudices, which are expressed as racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and homophobia, bigotry fuels terrorism that capitalizes on societal divisions.Terrorism, on the other hand, connotes the use of subversive actions by criminals within, to force political change using propaganda, killings, kidnapping, and destruction of properties, amongst others.This dynamic of bigotry and terrorism creates situations that alter the socio-economic well-being of a state, thereby negatively affecting national security.National security refers to the measures a state takes to ensure the safety and stability of its society, economy, and institutions against threats.The dynamics of the intricacies between bigotry on terrorism and national security are evident not only in broad international contexts but also within the African continent, where diverse ethnic and religious identities intersect with socio-political grievances.Globally, the impact of bigotry on terrorism can be illustrated by the rise of extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, which have successfully exploited sectarian divides to garner