AMJD Volume. 10, Issue 1 (2021)

The paper examines the significance of demographic trends to national security, development, and regional/global influence. Specifically, it interrogates the impact of countries’ populations, their varying demographic presentations inclusive, on their domestic and external affairs. One stream of thought contends that the larger the population of a nation, the more active and influential roles it plays abroad. This is predicated upon the assumption that population constitutes a key element of national power. If properly harnessed, a relatively big population translates into big market opportunity for economic growth, as well as huge reserve for military service. This, in turn, serves as a critical indicator for national security and stability. It is in this context, coupled with its geographical size and location, among other power elements, that Nigeria is often conceived as the ‘giant of Africa’ - a country with ‘manifest destiny’ to lead the West African sub-region, and indeed the entire continent. Nonetheless, it is evident that mere population advantage, without corresponding positive mobilization, does not equate national security and development. Indeed, it could become a threat to national security where a large segment of such population is alienated and unproductive. This emblematizes Nigeria’s emergent security challenges as depicted in the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast, militancy in the Niger Delta, banditry in the Northwest, farmers-herders’ clashes in the Benue Valley, kidnapping in the Southeast, robbery and gangsterism in the Southwest, and several intra-and inter-ethnic conflicts festering around the country. It is, therefore, the contention of this paper that particular demographic trends can hinder human security, as well as other dimensions of a country's national security and overall development, even if it does not necessarily depict shortage of regional influence. The paper deploys secondary data, and uses content analysis to demonstrate the inseparable linkage between a nation's shifting demographic configuration and national security and development; and the paradox attendant upon the exercise of regional influence even in the face of evident population and demographic challenges.