Summary: | Nigeria’s present insecurity situation has compelled various theories aimed at surmounting the
condition. However, most of the theories emphasize ethno-religious dimensions than the
character of policymaking to overcome the insecurity. Pundits barely deliberate the nexus
between Nigeria’s present insecurity and relegation of local governments’ political
communication (LGPC) in intergovernmental policymaking relations (IPR) to neutralize the
circumstance. Incidentally, the overwhelming victims of Nigeria’s present insecurity domicile
within local government jurisdictions. Consequently, the study aims to accentuate what LGPC
offers the Nigerian state to overcome the recent insecurity. Its all-encompassing objective is to
promote consideration of LGPC in IPR to effectively overwhelm the current insecurity. It
eclectically deploys political communication theory, a constructed Functional Intergovernmental
Relations Model and political culture theory as its theoretic framework of analysis. The study’s
methodological orientation is explorative qualitative research design, based on secondary
analyzed textual and interview qualitative data. It finds that non-consideration of LGPC as inputs
– utilizing Nigerian local governments’ experiences, advocacies, activisms, human cum material
resources and policy suggestions - in the IPR to mitigate the insecurity ultimately worsens the
circumstance. Incessant discounting of local government inputs in the problem-solving
policymaking schemes by the higher tiers demonstrates why Nigeria's present insecurity remains
intractable. The reality of IPR in Nigeria is that feedback of local governments for the resolution
of societal disorders like insecurity is habitually disregarded. Conclusively, the study theorizes
that Nigeria's present insecurity will continue to exacerbate if local government contributions are
not considered in the alleviation dynamics.
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