Journal of Politics and Law; Vol. 7, No. 1; 2014 ISSN 1913-9047 E-ISSN 1913-9055 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 23 The Arab Spring and Its Implications for Nigerian National Security Chukwuma Osakwe 1 1 Department of History and International Studies, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna Correspondence: Chukwuma Osakwe, Department of History and International Studies, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. Tel: 234-807-949-5577. E-mail: lecturec@yahoo.com Received: November 29, 2013 Accepted: December 18, 2013 Online Published: January 28, 2014 doi:10.5539/jpl.v7n1p23 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v7n1p23 Abstract Demographic changes, growing unemployment, social media penetration, an interplay of religion and politics provided the combustible mix for the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring has helped generate awareness about quality of governance, legitimacy and relationship between state and society but is muted as it relates to its effects on national security in Nigeria. Indeed, from a historical perspective, a direct effect of the Arab Spring on Nigerian National Security is not obvious. The paper argues that the challenges facing national security in Nigeria is independent of the Arab Spring but identifies some ripples from the Arab Spring that could create anxious moments for national security planners in Nigeria. Keywords: Africa, Arab Spring, Arab Awakening, Middle East, national security, Nigeria 1. Introduction Momentous events have a way of connecting individuals to one another and ultimately to history. What has gone down in history as the “Arab Spring” was a series of social protests, demonstrations, riots and uprisings that began in Tunisia, in January of 2011. Subsequently it spread to other North African countries such as Egypt, into the Middle East countries and has percolated to as far as Iran. The initial characteristic fervor of the so called Arab Spring may have mellowed but its agitation is continuing and in some countries it has mutated into civil war and all manner of reform and repression bordering on human rights abuses. However, for an on-going process a full assessment or a post mortem, or even its implication will be a difficult undertaking. What is clear is that an examination of the root cause is interwoven in an interplay between socio-economic factors, geo-strategic environment and the realities of both politics and religious understandings. Therefore an assessment of these factors is highly relevant to an understanding of their relationship as a whole to Nigerian National Security. If anything, it should be analyzed conveniently in the short term, the mid-term and the long term. But before engaging in any analyses it would be proper to clarify some concepts, terms and terminology. 2. Clarifications Arab Spring: Does the Noun Fit the Event? As a precursor to this discussion, it is important to note that the use of “Arab Spring” to describe the momentous events that have engulfed the region is a misnomer. First, since it is still on-going from January of 2011, it stands to reason that these events have gone past more than one spring season notwithstanding other European seasons such as the Fall, Summer and Autumn. Thus, there is no consensus on what to call these seismic like movements that have engulfed North Africa, the Middle East and Persia. People in the Arab World prefer to call it the “Arab Awakening” (Rogan, 2011) while others call it names depending from which ocular perspective they are analyzing the events. For instance, “Tunisian Spring”, “Tunisian Wind”, “Tunisian Revolution” or the “Jasmine Revolution” (Alfano, 2011) (because of the preponderance of the Jasmine flower in Tunisia) have come to be found in some of the literature of this trend. Yet as an event or movement that is still on-going, the historian would most likely refrain from calling these events a reform or a revolution. What is certain is that as the events unfold the scholar, in order not to rush into judgment, would consider the Arab Spring to date as evolving and the entire phenomenon evolutionary. For the purposes of this paper we will use these nouns and terms interchangeably respecting the preferred nomenclature in any of the countries under consideration. 3. Origin and Cause(s) of the "Arab Spring" It is not in doubt that cataclysmic events, reformist or revolutionary as it may be must have remote and immediate causes. While the remote cause(s) is outside the scope of this paper, the immediate cause(s) and course which may have implications for Nigerian National Security is difficult to account for. First, the