Young people are the key to stopping Boko Haram
Boko Haram began like many other Islamic movements - geared towards promoting religious values. Their vision of building an Islamic State, and replacing the existing Government that they see as corrupt and ineffective, was attractive to many. They quickly established a system of leadership that was capable of recruiting and retaining members, as well as combatants.
Initially their attacks were focused in Borno State, in the northeast of Nigeria, but in 2011, they declared war on Yobe State – my home state. At least 25,000 civilians have died in the conflict and an estimated 2.1 million people have been displaced from their homes.
Boko Haram has thrived in the northeast of Nigeria, simply because of its ability to recruit (either voluntarily or through coercion), retain and motivate its fighters. Young people are more often than not the targets for their recruitment, especially those who have been marginalised by their communities, such as substance abusers, orphans or sex workers.
In the 10 years of the Boko Haram conflict, young people have been perpetrators, victims and game-changers. To weaken and deplete groups like Boko Haram, we have to engage with the young people who are vulnerable to their recruitment and coercion. We have to rebuild relationships between young people and the communities in which they live. But we also have to help young people realise that their own ingenuity, resourcefulness and passion means they have enormous potential to drive change.
I decided to set up Hope Interactive because I believe that by talking to one another, we can repair frayed social fabrics, bridge gaps and ultimately create a fair, healthy and sustainable future for the citizens of Yobe state.
In 2017, we partnered with Conciliation Resources to set up Youth Peace Platforms (YPPs) – networks run by, and for, young people. They aim to help young people from communities directly affected by the insurgency rebuild their confidence in themselves and the people around them. They give them a sense of belonging, hope for the future, and the skills they need to become a positive force for peace.
And already, in just a few years, we can see the change in our young people and our communities. They now have a different world view. Those involved in the YPPs have a sense of agency, responsibility and communalism. Through mentoring, training workshops and youth-led peace learning exchanges they have the maturity, poise and courage to non-violently confront conflict in their communities.
BBC Radio 4 Appeal with Aminatta Forna
In September 2019 the award-winning Scottish and Sierra Leonean author, Aminatta Forna OBE presented the BBC Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Conciliation Resources. The appeal focused on our work within communities, and in particular with Youth Peace Platforms in northeast Nigeria.
Through counselling, hundreds of young people have given up drugs, for good. Through ‘dialogue clubs’, gangs of young people that have been in conflict with each other for years have reconciled their differences and put down their weapons. And over 3,000 young people took part in campaigns to ensure peaceful general elections in early 2019.
Through these YPPs, young people are helping each other to carve out a better future for themselves, and for their communities. The network of support they now have means they can more easily resist the recruitment tactics of armed groups, and the commitment they have shown to peace and reconciliation is slowly transforming society’s negative view of young people as the instigators of violence. Through the YPPs, young people are now mediating community disputes themselves and are leading the way in repairing relationships damaged by violence and mistrust.
