\”Weapons of War\”

The Nigerian Army says the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) is engaging in massive recruitment. In July 2021, reports claimed Boko Haram and ISWAP were \”reshuffling their leadership and structures\” after their \”dangerous merger\”. This was followed by the mass return of repentant Boko Haram fighters in August. The Nigerian forces attributed the repentant insurgents\’ homecoming to increased counter-terrorism operations. While the latest report of recruitment reinforces the claims of the Nigerian military, it also favours the July report that ISWAP and Boko Haram were revamping after its merger. Irrespective of what is more accurate, terrorists in the war-torn northeast are recruiting, which means the likelihood of continued terror and human tragedies.

ISWAP\’s recruitment drive may be a walk in the park. The twelve years of jihadist war have exacerbated humanitarian needs and stalled relative development in the northeast and its environs. About 10.6 million need humanitarian interventions. Millions of children and young adults have limited access to learning environments, and meaningful livelihood activities are stifled due to the unsafe security climate. The realities of the war reinforce the vulnerability of many residents and predispose them to socio-economic and sexual exploitations. Generally, in Nigeria, the unemployment rate is at 32.5 per cent. The realities on the ground will be worse in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states, where economic activities are significantly impeded by terrorism and counter-terrorism operations. The atmosphere creates a large pool of out-of-school, unskilled and unemployed population. A fraction of the population may also hold grievances against the state for some reasons and are subscribers of terrorists\’ anti-state and pro-jihadi messages.

Existing practices may also aid ISWAP\’s recruitments. Largely overlooked socio-cultural practices such as children working in farms to support families or being outsourced for labour create avenues for young people\’s exploitation and weaponisation. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) attributes the rise of working children worldwide to sub-Saharan Africa. According to The Economist, children from this pool are often exploited by relatives, acquaintances and criminal gangs, which can be a slippery slope to child trafficking and other forms of abuse. In the northeast, lax regulations for the protection of children can aid recruitment into terrorist organisations. In affirmation, the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) states that Boko Haram draws its members mainly from disaffected youth, unemployed high school and university graduates, and destitute children.

Ending terrorists\’ rich pool of recruitment is a war of policy interventions and military actions. It is good that the Nigerian military is already aware of the jihadists\’ strategy. Therefore, security agencies should enhance their intelligence gathering to tackle the recruitment plan.  Also, policy actions must be increased to achieve self-sufficiency, human capital development, and the enforcement of child labour laws. Terrorists in the northeast benefit from the humanitarian crises the war has reinforced and the deepening poverty that has trapped many residents. In the interim, the Nigerian government must collaborate with its development partners, civil society organisations, faith-based institutions, and local stakeholders to counteract the insurgents\’ recruitment propaganda. Creating tailored messaging with the local people can mitigate terrorists\’ anti-Nigeria campaigns.

Nigeria needs long-term measures for long-term impact. Managing development deficits in the northeast requires evidence-based policies and strategies as well as time. Therefore, Nigeria must seek development partners\’ support to scale up the activities of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) and the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP). The NSIP programmes must be contextualised at the state level based on priority needs. For instance, the N-Power programme can address increased unemployment due to insecurity, provide teaching staff for decimated and now mostly make-shift learning environments. The School Feeding programme is another opportunity to drive school enrolment and intervene on malnutrition issues prevalent with children in Internally Displaced Persons Camps (IDPs). Also, the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) can be used to augment meagre income for conflict-impacted households, businesses, and individuals. For instance, in Ecuador, it was recorded that cash transfers were effective at keeping children in school and out of the fields.

Snatching recruits from terrorists lies in government\’s implementation drive. To ensure that government\’s intervention efforts achieve the desired results, there is a need to increase accountability, monitoring and evaluation frameworks. Robust accountability mechanisms will help the government ensure that budgeted resources are efficiently utilised and reach the target population. Also, implementing internal and external monitoring and evaluation components in government\’s programmes will help match objectives with outcomes and efforts with results. Armed groups must not continue to access a pool of potential recruits when multiple intervention efforts exist to lift people out of poverty and engender self-reliance. Additionally, the northeast\’s young population needs increased tailored interventions to match the margins of vulnerability they have been exposed to because of violent conflict. While military engagement wages war against unrelenting jihadist fighters, rigorous policy intervention efforts will set the region\’s pathway for stabilisation and an end to vulnerability.