Re-Engineering Counter-Terrorism Efforts in Nigeria’s North East: The Pursuit of Peace

The key issue that continues to threaten peace and security in Nigeria, and to a large extent the rest of the West African sub-region, is terrorism. The region's most nefarious perpetrators are Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the West African Province (ISWAP). Related issues that further undermine peace in the region are both structural and geographical. Structurally, complex inter-group relations, poor economic conditions, and intense political grievances have created fertile ground for terrorists and generated societal demands for better representation at sub-national levels. These issues have been further compounded by the challenges of state-building in West Africa and the greater Lake Chad Basin. Geographically, the interconnectedness of states in the region and their porous borders allow violent extremism to spill across national borders. Other issues that have fueled terrorism in the region include abuses by state security forces and unchecked government corruption.

Although these challenges are particularly acute in Nigeria's North East region, there are nonetheless opportunities for lasting peace. This begins with recent gains in the region's counter-terrorism efforts, such as the Nigerian military's ongoing Operation Lafiya Dole, targeted at degrading, dismantling, and defeating insurgent groups in the region, and Operation Safe Corridor, which is a disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration program for former Boko Haram fighters.

For these efforts to be sustained and made lasting, however, there is a need to integrate local ownership into the peace process. A key prerequisite for this is to establish mutuality between the state and society over shared security concerns.

The Centrality of Mutuality

One way to conceptualize mutuality in nurturing peace is to see it as a 'glue' that holds a cord together, after the cord has been cut. For the cord to be able to serve its purpose, it needs to be kept intact. Temporary remedies to repair the cord, such as retying it, are unlikely to withstand immense pressure and force, resulting in the cord fraying at the same spot or elsewhere. This analogy illustrates the centrality of mutuality in nurturing peace in a manner that is lasting and sustainable.

To further this illustration, let us consider two levels of mutuality, using the case study of Nigeria's North East region. The first level is international — the Nigerian state and its neighbors and partners under the umbrella of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJT) — which can be seen as the two ends of the same cord. For peace to be nurtured and achieved, it has to be rooted in mutuality between the two actors as distinct political entities. This requires their respective political leaders to commit to upholding agreements and commitments in the common war against the region's insurgencies.

A second level of mutuality needed to nurture and achieve lasting is internal: each state must be able to secure mutuality with its own society in attaining shared goals. This internal mutuality is what this essay focuses on. This essay argues that the chances of ensuring lasting peace are better when this second level of mutuality (internal) is pursued alongside the first level (international), rather than being completely ignored.

Unless and until society and the state agree on mutually-linked interests in the pursuit of peace, any initial gains recorded at the state-to-state level risk collapsing when one of the states in the region reneges on the peacebuilding strategy due to failure to reach the necessary internal political compromises within its own borders. In short, by including civil society organizations, youth, and women for instance in the peacemaking process, the prospects for lasting peace throughout the region are often increased. Mutuality here is the 'glue' that binds the cord's ends — state and society — in the quest to achieve the shared goal of peace and stability in the region as a whole.

Civil society actors are effective in this regard because they can translate the ideas of central political leaders — who in some parts of Africa are disconnected from their subjects — into practical goals that can be attained on the ground. Moreover, civil society actors will be more invested in the peace process if they feel they have a stake in it. The key is to find ways for civil society to participate in the peace process.

Achieving Mutually-Linked Security Concerns

One way to do this is through local ownership of and inclusion in the entire peace process. For instance, most African societies have traditional rulers who are non-state actors and yield significant influence over their subjects in the localities. Though traditional leaders may not have a constitutionally recognized role, failure to leverage their influence within society would be detrimental to achieving peace in fragile communities. Drawing on their authority and influence — albeit often restricted to their immediate sphere of local influence — traditional leaders can effectively mobilize others toward shared goals of peacebuilding. Other significant civil society actors, such as youth and women, are also essential to nurturing peace, not only in Nigeria's North East but also in the greater Lake Chad Basin.

Conclusion

Each of these civil society groups — traditional leaders, women, and youth — can and should reinforce each other in pursuing lasting peace in Nigeria's North East and beyond. A counterterrorism strategy that brings together all three groups, as a tripartite model, in a mutual effort with the state toward achieving the shared goal of peace would serve the interest of all. Local ownership of the peace process would be doubly effective in that it not only makes peacebuilding more appealing to the local populace, but also makes it more difficult for insurgent groups to gain community sympathy and build momentum.

Folahanmi Aina is a Doctoral Research Fellow studying security and development at the African Leadership Centre at King's College in London.

Photo Credit: Photographs and imagery on the U.S. Africa Command website, unless otherwise noted, are in the public domain. Attribution of the source is always appreciated by the military photographer.