Why insecurity persists in N’West —Foundation

Security experts, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), media and staff of Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) have identified poor governance, poverty, inequality and lack of community resilience as the major factors why insecurity persist in the North-West and other parts of the country.

Chairman of the Partnership Against Violent Extremism (PAVE) National Steering Committee, Jaye Gaskiya, and the National Coordinator of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), Geneva, Yetunde Adegoke, made the assertion  in Kaduna at the end of a one-day media engagement on promoting PCVE and Stakeholders’ Initiatives in the North-West.

The engagement organised, in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and ActionAid Nigeria, with funding from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), brought together journalists, civil society organisations, focused on strengthening partnerships to tackle extremist ideologies, improve governance, and amplify peace narratives in communities vulnerable to extremist recruitment.

Gaskiya, a veteran civil society leader, warned that insecurity in the North-West and beyond would persist unless the country tackled the root causes of violent extremism.

 According to him, extremist groups thrive in areas where governance structures are weak and citizens feel abandoned.

He listed rampant poverty, deepening inequality, historical grievances between communities and the collapse of education as some of the factors creating fertile ground for radicalisation.

“You have children being raised with no sense of future, no jobs and no basic services. All that is needed is a charismatic leader to emerge and mobilise them.

“We are advocating for reforming and enabling local governance, strengthening local governments, ensuring local government autonomy.

“Credible persons must emerge from council elections, and communities must be empowered to take ownership of peacebuilding efforts.

“We want governors and state governments to work together so that they address not just the security impact but also the underlying causes,” he said.

On her part, Adegoke said the Geneva-based GCERF had been working in Nigeria since 2016 to strengthen resilience against extremist recruitment, particularly among women and youth.

She said GCERF had supported non-governmental organisations piloting interventions in the North-Central and North-West states but was now moving to scale up those interventions in partnership with the ONSA.

“Our aim is to support ONSA through PAVE and the Citizens’ Knowledge Hub to ensure innovative solutions are integrated into local and state action plans. Through this, we hope to achieve a coordinated regional and eventually national approach to preventing violent extremism,” she said.

She described engagement as the beginning of a new phase, noting that the media had a critical role to play in mainstreaming discussions on security and amplifying solutions rather than just reporting violent incidents.

“We are hoping that through this type of activity, these partnerships will be strengthened and become vehicles for collective action,” she added.

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