BEYOND GUNS, PROTOCOLS, AND CLASSROOMS: REFRAMING NIGERIA’S NATIONAL INTEREST THROUGH ECONOMIC, EDUCATIONAL, IDEOLOGICAL, AND PATRIOTIC LENSES

Abstract

This research interrogates the persistent dominance of military and diplomatic paradigms in the articulation of Nigeria’s national interest. While national interest is conceptually multidimensional encompassing security, economic development, ideological coherence, territorial integrity, and patriotic identity Nigeria’s post-independence statecraft has remained narrowly securitized and diplomatically elite-driven. Education, despite its role in civic mobilization, national integration, and global influence, has been largely sidelined. Grounded in Realist, Liberal, and Constructivist theories, this research applies thematic analysis to explore the ideological and structural underpinnings of this imbalance. It shows how decades of military rule and post-1999 political continuity has entrenched a top-down approach that neglects developmental, educational, and civic dimensions. Through case studies like Nigeria’s peacekeeping efforts, Bakassi Peninsula negotiations, Boko Haram insurgency, and the crisis of national civic identity, the study exposes the cost of excluding education from strategic planning. The study concludes by proposing a comprehensive redefinition of national interest one that integrates education, economic policy, ideological development, and patriotic unity as essential to Nigeria’s national renewal, social cohesion, and sustained international relevance.