Assessment of the National Security and Psychological Wellbeing in Democratic Process: Issues and Perspective

Security is one of the crucial factors that facilitate the development of a nation. The psychological well-being of its citizens is essential to the success of any society. However, in a society where insecurity is the order of the day, citizens will be psychologically disorganized to think about how to move society forward. Social scientists, especially psychologists, have a duty to intervene in this critical question. This paper, therefore, examined insecurity and psychological well-being as the related variables for the underdevelopment crisis in Nigeria and secondary data were obtained from textbooks, related journals, and online resources. This paper is based on Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, Emile Durkheim's anomic theory and Albert Bandura’s social learning theory. Findings show that Nigeria’s insecurity issues, such as terrorism, corruption, ethnic militias, herders attacks, kidnapping and youth unemployment, are increasing daily. At the same time, Nigeria’s mental well-being has declined. In light of the negative impact of insecurity on mental well-being, the paper recommends appropriate counselling and psychotherapeutic units at different levels of government in Nigeria. Candidates for various political offices should undergo psychological tests to assess their mental health. There should be a participatory democracy where people’s voices court, good governance should be in place, security agencies should be well-motivated and equipped with modern crime-fighting equipment, and the judiciary should be sanitized to facilitate justice.