Not less than 95% of the conflicts in Nigeria including banditry, kidnapping, killings, cattle rustling, and thuggery are carried out by youth and can be attributed to unemployment, poverty, poor education, ActionAid Nigeria has said.
Nigeria suffered spate of conflicts and insecurity across the country with almost all states of the federation reeling from one form of conflict or the other, just as the political campaigns for the 2023 general elections were already marred by acts of thuggery as witnessed in Kaduna, Maiduguri and Jos.
The Resilient Programme Coordinator, ActionAid Nigeria, Anicetus Atakpu, said this while addressing A Policy Dialogue and Prevention of Violent Extremism- Centered Policy Brief Dissemination Roundtable Meeting in Kaduna organised by ActionAid Nigeria and Global Peace Development with funding from Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).
The themes of the dialogue are: “Strenghtening Community Structures in the Prevention of Violent Extremism in Nigeria” and “Youth Inclusion on Politics and Governance: Pragmatic Strategy in Preventing Violent Extremism in Nigeria.”
According to Anicetus, violent extremism is a phenomenon that affects communities, destabilizes countries and impacts negatively on the peace and security of an area.
“95% of every conflict or violence that took place in Nigeria is perpetrated by the youth. All the conflicts even banditry, kidnapping are carried out mostly by youth between 16-30 years.
“Quite often, poverty and inequality, lack of education, unemployment and lack of economic opportunities among other issues have been identified as the main factors leading vulnerable youth into joining violent extremist groups in their communities. There is also strong belief that social exclusion and feelings of marginalisation, drive youth to embrace extreme ideologies,” Anicetus said.
The Project Officer, Kaduna, ActionAid Nigeria, Mr Cornelius Shija, said 50 people participated in the dialogue, adding that they were drawn from civil society organisations, youth groups, government ministries, departments and agencies, as well as security agencies.
