Since 2011, the northeastern part of Nigeria has been plagued with incessant terrorist attacks propagated by Boko Haram insurgents, leaving thousands of people dead and even more homeless. In a bid to safeguard the lives and property of its citizens, the Federal Government of Nigeria has adopted a military approach, amongst other things, to combat the terrorist group.
President Buhari’s administration has recorded successes in the fight against Boko Haram. This is based on the continuous capturing of the insurgents by the Nigerian military and further demilitarisation of the northeast.
To put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency, the Federal Government is set to embark on an anti-terrorist campaign, aimed at sensitising local members of the affected communities and protecting them from being vulnerable to Boko Haram recruitment. This proposed move was disclosed by President Buhari during the launching of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) at Abuja, on Tuesday.
“…As we think through our strategy, we must remember that to permanently win the physical battle, we must win the battle of the minds of even the most impressionable young men who sign up to join Boko Haram and other violent extremist groups,” he said.
As laudable as the Federal Government’s move sounds, several fundamental factors need to be considered. Having achieved numerable victories in the war against the insurgents, keeping the region from being vulnerable to future terrorist attacks requires concerted efforts by the Federal Government.
Here are four things President Buhari and his security team should tackle, in order to achieve long-lasting security in the northeastern region of Nigeria.
Poverty: The northern region has the highest level of poverty in Nigeria. This is evident in the United Nations Multi-dimensional poverty index, which reveals that 80.9 percent of the inhabitants residing in the northwest of the country live in poverty while 76.8 percent in the north east live in poverty.
The impoverished state of the north has made its inhabitants vulnerable to recruitment by Boko Haram insurgents. Most of the individuals being recruited as members and suicide bombers by the sect are drawn from the ‘almajiris,’ the poor street children. Unfortunately, most of these recruited Boko Haram members are aware of the corrupt nature of their state governments as state funds are being squandered by the elite. By the virtue of promising food and shelter for these children, they accept the offer wholeheartedly.
If the federal government wants to end terrorism in the north, the impoverished nature of these states need to be rectified. The ‘almajiris’ need to be catered for, otherwise, the threat still remains.
Religious Extremism: Northern Nigeria is widely known for its brand of Islam, which tends to be extreme in practice. This is not unconnected to the pervasive wrongful preaching that was championed by Usman Dan fodio. Some of the teachings in the northern Arabic schools tilt towards the radical, serving as a basis for recruitment. In light of this, an effective fight against religious terrorism necessitates regulating religious preaching. This makes the move by Governor Nasir el-Rufai to regulate religious preaching in Kaduna state a laudable one. It is believed that such policies should be adopted in other states too. Religious places should be used to preach against terrorism.
Malnutrition: Many people in the northeast cannot afford three meals a day. In this vein, scores of children have died of hunger in the northeast and some have had to resort to begging. According to a report by the United Nations, about 4.5million people need food in northeastern Nigeria. Most of the individuals in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps are hungry and underfed. Another evidence of this was the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report that Nigeria stands the chance of losing over 300,000 children to malnutrition. With this condition, the people in this region could be easily manipulated by the insurgents with the promise of food. Thus, the president and his security team need to work towards providing means for these individuals to be well fed.
Poor Education: The literacy level in northern states is very low. Presently, the north still has the highest level of illiterates in Nigeria. Apparently, this works against the fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which states that we must “Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.” Children would rather roam about on the streets than attend school and this makes them vulnerable to being recruited by Boko Haram. Based on this, the region still remains a ‘dragon’s den’ if members of the communities are not educated.
…beyond the aforementioned
As the federal and state governments work towards sustainable development in northeastern states, continuous efforts need to be made in putting security forces on standby. The Nigerian military, in conjunction with the local police, need to work hard to protect the people, in order to move forward.
