Assessing the impact of the securitization narrative on climate change adaptation in Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, the threat posed by climate change is leading policymakers and the media to frame climate change as a security threat that warrants support for adaptive actions. We draw upon securitization theory to examine how security narratives affect climate change adaptation. Using primary and secondary data, we find that although securitization arguments are easily identified in climate change policies and action plans in Nigeria, the implications of securitization for adaptation policy and practice are harder to discern. We find that adaptation is not as urgent a policy as would be expected from the logic of securitization. The transformation of security framing into urgent adaptation actions appears difficult because there are no urgent adaptation measures. We also find that people’s level of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change is a function of deeper socio-political dynamics and processes that defy the political theatre of securitization.