Surveying and Mapping: Panacea to the Challenges of Sustainable Development and National Security in Nigeria

Sustainable development and national security have received a great deal of attention from a number of developed and developing countries of the world including Nigeria. Various efforts are put in place to ensure sustainable development and national security through reliable information on the location, extent and quality of the development put in place (serve as basic requirements for land use, land use planning and national security) in Nigeria. It is the responsibility of the Federal and State governments respectively to deliver political goods such as health, education, economic opportunity, good governance, fundamental infrastructure (transport and communication) and security. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used for the research to know why people build houses and other structures along river banks, within the areas liable to flooding, as well as under electricity high tension. It draws attention to the challenges facing sustainable development and security in Nigeria. The paper discusses the ignorance of people towards the existing rules and standards provided through Land Information System (LIS) on land such as setbacks (offsets) and reveals that most governments (federal, states, and local) in the course of carrying out their responsibilities waste resources due to non-compliance to the available guide map (land information provided).This made over 65% of developments to be under security threats and cause loss of lives and properties in Nigeria. The paper concluded that awareness and education should be given to the public and recommended that some states should take their priorities right by carrying out digital mapping in their states and ensuring compliance with the land information management (LIM) for national security in Nigeria.