Running to Fight Another Day: Commodification of Peace and the Resurgence of Violence in Post-amnesty Niger Delta
In: African security, Band 9, Heft 2, S. 136-159
ISSN: 1939-2214
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In: African security, Band 9, Heft 2, S. 136-159
ISSN: 1939-2214
In: African security, Band 9, Heft 2, S. 136-159
ISSN: 1939-2206
World Affairs Online
In: India quarterly: a journal of international affairs, Band 71, Heft 4, S. 318-334
ISSN: 0975-2684
Contrary to mainstream thinking, the existence of diversity does not necessarily condemn a state to instability and chaos. In fact, difference is a good ingredient for progress because each group contributes its unique experiences and peculiar qualities to the cause of a nation. To produce crisis, diversity must be worked on or manipulated. With a view to gaining deeper understanding of the factors that impact on identity diversity to create conflict in Nigeria, a number of conflict theatres in the country were examined. Having explored each case, the article notes that the policies of the colonial state, that emphasised group differentiation, laid the foundation for identity conflicts. The post-colonial state is just as guilty. Its administrative arrangement for managing diversity, the federal character principle (FCP), has failed to exploit the country's diversity to produce development. Instead, it has deepened the isolation of certain groups, thus, inhibiting national integration. Added to the deliberate manipulation of diversity for personal interests by the political class, the incidence of identity conflicts in the country can be explained. Going forward, the author stresses the need to review the FCP and close all loopholes in its enabling laws that allow for easy misinterpretation and deliberate misapplication.
In: Defense and security analysis, Band 31, Heft 4, S. 319-329
ISSN: 1475-1801
In: The round table: the Commonwealth journal of international affairs, Band 104, Heft 3, S. 281-296
ISSN: 1474-029X
In: Defense & security analysis, Band 31, Heft 4, S. 319-329
ISSN: 1475-1798
World Affairs Online
In: Journal of Asian and African studies: JAAS, Band 50, Heft 6, S. 750-764
ISSN: 0021-9096
World Affairs Online
In: Journal of Asian and African studies: JAAS, Band 50, Heft 6, S. 750-764
ISSN: 1745-2538
The peace accord between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Niger Delta (ND) militants, within the framework of the 2009 amnesty programme, immediately yielded positive results. Daily oil production, which had drastically declined to an all time low of 1.4 million barrels, soon shot up to 2.2 million barrels as the deal restored relative calm in the region. In recent times, however, the seeming peace in the region has disappeared, to the consternation of those who had touted a DDR approach to the conflict in Nigeria's oil 'republic'. Kidnapping, for ransom in the region, shifted from high profile abduction to anyone in society that can offer a price. More than any other explanation, this article locates the resurgence of violence in the region in the fault lines of the DDR programme implemented in 2009. The author contends that the deal was a 'cash for peace' programme cloaked in 'amnesty'; which has inadvertently created a violence appeal for those who seek a slice of the so-called 'national cake'.
In: African studies, Band 75, Heft 1, S. 133-152
ISSN: 1469-2872
In: African identities, Band 14, Heft 3, S. 209-221
ISSN: 1472-5851
In: Korean journal of policy studies: KJPS, Band 28, Heft 3, S. 97-123
State and multinational efforts aimed at containing jihadist terrorismin northern Nigeria have only yielded modest results despite the repressivenature of these efforts. The ranks of the foot soldiers of Boko Haram and Ansarufundamentalist Islamic sects continue to swell even in the face of the ferociousonslaught on their membership by state troops. In contrast to mainstream analysesthat highlight the salience of radical Islamism in coming to terms with insurgentproliferation, this article demonstrates that jihadist insurgency in northern Nigeriais better understood as a consequence of youth bulge syndrome, particularly thelow-cost availability of foot soldiers from the almajiri demographic cohort. Abandoned by parents and the state, the itinerant Quranic pupils resort to street, begging for alms and survival. And "street life" exposes the urchins to abuse, criminalization and subsequent mobilization for violent causes including terrorism. It is argued that until the practices of rampant child abuse and state neglect of thealmajirai and other vulnerable groups are addressed through better education, employment opportunities and poverty reduction, northern Nigeria is likely toremain a breeding ground of violent conflicts.