Are social media platforms not effective? Analysis of social movements for the release of Nigerian school girl Leah Sharibu abducted by Boko-Haram

Nwammuo, Angela Nkiru; Salawu, Abiodun

doi:10.31920/2050-4950/2018/v7n2a5

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The criticism relates to the fact that radicalization dates back to the works of experts who have studied the negative influence of social movements and how they contribute to exposing individuals and groups to radicalization and terror-related activities (McAdam 2000;Benford 2002;Della Porta 2006Snow and Cross 2011;Demetriou 2016). Relating this theory to the radicalization process and pattern of Boko Haram, several extant studies have traced the origin, recruitment, funding and survival patterns of the group to various social movements such as the Maitatsine, the Yobe Taliban, the Saharaba Muslim Youth Organization, the Sara-Suka movements, etc., considered hostile to the establishment and the modern state system, accusing it of creating a Nigerian society polluted by western values that they see as totally inimical to Islam (Rogers 2012;Mohammed 2018;Nwammuo and Salawu 2018;Pieri and Zenn 2018). It was movements like these that later transformed into the present-day Boko Haram.…”

Section: Radicalization and Counter-radicalization: Theoretical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Counter-Radicalization in Nigeria: The Case of Boko Haram

2021

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This article examines the role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in counter-radicalization in Nigeria, with emphasis on the Boko Haram terrorist group operating in northeast Nigeria and the greater Lake Chad region. A qualitative methodological approach is employed that makes use of primary and secondary documents, key informant and stakeholder interviews, and focus group discussions with critical religious actors and organizations. The findings of the article suggest that FBOs play a critical role in the disengagement and deradicalization process of countering the ideological and radical messages of Boko Haram. However, challenges such as the lack of effective stakeholder involvement in the various initiatives by the state in counterterrorism, fear of reprisal and attacks, lack of unison by various FBOs and clerics in countering these negative messages, and the inability of relevant stakeholders in addressing structural factors such as poverty, social and economic exclusion, and unemployment that give rise to radicalization amongst other challenges, have impeded the effectiveness of the FBO sector in its counter-radicalization efforts in Nigeria. To address these challenges, the article proposes a bottom-up approach to counterterrorism that provides room for the multi-sectoral involvement of major stakeholders, especially FBOs, to complement pre-existing initiatives and other measures to counter the negative weaponization of religion by radical and rogue clerics, and also to prevent Boko Haram from expanding its frontiers.

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