THE ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PEACE BUILDING IN MAIDUGRI (A CASE STUDY OF ACTION AID INTERNATIONAL NIGERIA)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Highest on the list of prime value for Maiduguri a town in Bornu state, Nigeria, is peace. Peace is the most valuable public commodity, yet the most elusive (Francis David, 2006). These four years (2009-2014) of Insurgency has brought loss of lives and halted economic activities in various parts of Maiduguri. The
activities of boko haram have brought devastating elects on Maiduguri which has resulted in loss of lives both human and livestock, suering, destruction of infrastructures and public/private facilities, disruption of economic/socio-economic activities like agricultural, trade etc. This situation has threatened not
only the internal peace and security of Maiduguri but also the peace in Nigeria and beyond. So alarming is the fact that most of these areas acted by insurgency lack the will to stop this social charade and have fallen prey to continuous usury and subtle manipulation by politicians who take advantage of
this situation to involve in shady deals like kidnapping and arm deals using insurgency as a cover (Chiedu, 2013). Peace building has therefore become the most pressing challenge faced by Nigeria at large and Maiduguri in particular. This situation is so partly because of feudal system of leadership which
encourages total submission to authority without question which carries with it, ineffective
terror control means. Despite the sort of government through its institutions like the armed forces, religious bodies, NGOs etc, to curb the excesses of insurgence in Maiduguri, peace has continued to elude her and sustainable development, stopped. On that note, this project will seek to show the role of NGOs in peace building in
Maiduguri.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Although insurgency is not easily defined, it may be said to be the use of force, usually violent, as a means of coercing a target population to submit to the will of the terrorists (Asika,4:2009). Insurgency is intended to elicit or maximise fear and publicity, making no distinction as to combatants and non combatants in
a conflict.
There is no legally agreed upon definition of the term ‘Insurgency’, but a recent United Nations (UN) document describes it as any ‘act which is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an
international organisation to do or abstain from doing any act’. The word ‘Insurgency’ is both emotionally and politically laden, particularly as it imports issues of national liberation and self-determination. Insurgency takes many forms, including political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious and
ecological issues. The taxonomy of Insurgency, including precipitating motivations and considerations, is now a subject of intense study. Whether the one as seen in Maiduguri can be reduced to a type may be an interesting subject, but for purposes of this work, the primary concern is the threat of insurgency.
Insurgency is one objective of organised terrorism, just as terrorism is one of several strategies of insurgency. Both terrorism and insurgency may be used by states in their internal operations. Terrorism and terrorist tactics constitute part of the strategies and tactics of insurgency. The operational tactics are
essentially those of guerilla warfare. The object is to intimidate, frustrate and raise the feeling of uncertainty, imminent danger and the loss of hope, so as to cripple or limit all aspects of human activity and normal livelihoods. Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, MEND and, lately, Jama’atu Ahlissunnah Lidda’anati Wal Jihad,
are currently international and local Nigerian examples of terrorist networks. Until recently, Nigerian terrorist activity was thought to be motivated by ethnocentric considerations. Currently, there appears to be a pronounced religious content in the character of insurgency in Maiduguri. A few of the earlier experiences merit examination here, as a guide in estimating the character, trend and intensity of the current campaign, as well as the role of NGOs in peace building in Maiduguri.
