The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in collaboration with the British Council has suggested non-violence approach to addressing insurgency in the country.
CITAD said this is part of its recommendations to government, policy makers and other stakeholders working to end insurgency in the North-east during the validation of its policy brief on prospects and challenges of non-violent resolution of insurgency in North-east Nigeria.
Speaking at meeting with stakeholders cutting across the media, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, religious leaders amongst others, CITAD representative, Mallam Hamza Ibrahim said the document was an outcome of an action and policy-oriented research conducted to assist government and other stakeholders in exploring options for the resolution of the conflict.
The research focused basically on exploring the prospects and possibilities as well as the challenges of dialogue and negotiation as an option to ending or creating the conditions for ending the insurgency.
He said the research was conducted in the three most affected states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe as well as Kano to understand how best insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria could be addressed using stakeholders approach.
He said from the research findings, though the military has succeeded in containing and rolling back the insurgents as many territories previously in the hands of the insurgents have been recovered and the insurgents flushed out of many of those places, the insurgency is far from being defeated.
“In spite of military successes recorded against the Boko Haram insurgents, the conflict has continued to linger with spell of attacks. This stage of the crisis is unsettling and more insidious given that many of the insurgents that have been flushed out have somehow become embedded in communities, which makes it easier for them to spring surprising attacks.
“These sporadic attacks have made it difficult to resettle displaced people and restore normalcy in the areas and communities deeply affected by the insurgency.”
BLUEPRINT
