Nigeria’s CVE Program, by NSA: NIGERIA faces a threat from ideological militant groups that would either derail us from a difficult but promising journey into prosperity or compel us to more aggressively pursue reforms in almost every corner of our national life. Not since our experience with civil war in the 1960s have we been confronted by an existential threat so determined to shake the foundations of our unity. The initial presentation of this threat was markedly different from previous threats we had encountered, making our response at the beginning hesitant and perhaps inadequate. This knowledge gap led us to apply old solutions to new problems, complicating the conflict environment. The rise of Muslim centrifugal forces against the state though not totally new has in recent times been more ideological in nature. The categorization is necessary if we are to appreciate the threat posed by loosely affiliated violent extremist groups such as the Jama atu ahius sunna lidda awaiti wal jihad (Boko Haram) and the splinter group known as Jama atu ansarul Muslima fi biladus sudan (Ansuru). In laying a foundation from which to counter violent extremism it is important to firstly understand the ideological leanings of the violent extremist groups operating in Nigeria. Boko Haram in particular objects to what it considers the corrupting influence of western civilization and seeks to restore Nigeria (starting with the Muslim north) to a strict Islamic state. The group is against democracy as a system of government, believes it is unlawful for Muslims to subject themselves to constitutional governments, does not believe or support political parties and has as its major strategic goal to destabilize, degrade and finally destroy the Nigerian nation. Boko Haram considers Muslims who believe in Nigeria, work for the Nigerian government to be legitimate targets of attack, The group believes Islamic scholars who hold different opinions are hypocrites. The Boko Haram sect is ideologically linked to Al Qaeda. Both groups have issued open support for each other. From all that can be gleaned these past years Boko Haram has consistently worked towards entrenching the group within the global jihad movement. It further rejects peaceful co-existence with Christians as practiced by the prophet of Islam and encouraged in the Holy Qu’ran. The group has identified inter-religious crises and unresolved conflicts as reasons for targeting Christians in Nigeria. It furthermore states that Muslim civilians who die or lose property as a result of their war are making sacrifices for Islam. The group has for years successfully recruited members from among the public, by targeting disaffected youth whose Islamic knowledge base is rudimentary and vulnerable Muslims searching for meaning. For these youth the combination of poor religious knowledge and contact with a charismatic leader who manipulates religious text as justification for an alternative movement that takes on the state has been able to offer them hope and a sense of belonging. Thus it is imperative that their recruitment pool is significantly reduced and we begin this by understanding and strengthening both the sources of religious instruction and the structures and institutions where youth gain religious knowledge in our societies. A Muslim in the North learns religious literature through: Traditional Quranic schools in rural and urban communities: These schools are mostly populated by the poor and the religious teaching they receive is at best poor. They have had no opportunity for conventional education, have no access to social services, and have had no contact with other cultures within Nigeria. From the age of 6 to 16 they move from villages to urban centres to make ends meet. These are the ones who see the Nigerian project as completely alien an unconnected to them. The only contact they might have had with government is through the police, and often the encounter has been negative. This group is vulnerable for recruitment as foot soldiers into the movement. Modern Islamiyyah schools: Here the religious literature is richer and the curriculum wider. People learn to read and write Arabic as a tool for communication (this is an advantage over the Quranic schools where Arabic language is not taught). In the last two decades and more, the Islamiyyah schools served as a source for large-scale Islamic tutoring and had increased in number and enrolment. Whereas religious extremism is not directly propagated in these schools, a subculture of conspiracy theories and misinformation about the world had developed over time. Because the economic status of the attendees of the Islamiyyah school system surpasses those of the Quranic schools, they have had access to conventional education and subsequently at higher institutions these students might gravitate towards political Islam through the religious organisations on campus. It is from this class that the terrorist leader emerges: angry, educated and confined. The Muslim Student Societies on campuses crystallizes the tension that breeds terrorist ideology because of the nature of its discourses. At the mosques, congregations are often charged and the dialogue is extreme. The moderate voices are excluded and blocked away from the discourse and termed hypocrites. The Friday sermons and the Ramadan Tafsir: The Friday sermons are sometimes avenues for spreading religious extremism and unbalanced reportage of the abuses suffered by the Muslims in the hands of non-Muslims. The Ramadan Tafsir, instead of teaching religious practice, have become an avenue where toddling scholars seek attention through fiery preaching and calculated comments manufactured to incite Muslims against political leaders. The combined long-term effect of this is that the culture of tolerance and fairness is gradually being eroded and replaced with a myopic abhorrence, nay fear of anything Western, Christian, Nigerian. Credit: Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) Congrats, Lagos CP Aderanti I congratulate Mr. Kayode Aderanti on his appointment as the Commissioner of Police in charge of Lagos State Command. Going by your robust scholarship and international professional antecedents, I have the conviction that you will excel in your latest tour of duty in this Centre of Excellence. Your predecessor in office was a monumental disaster in all ramifications of policing! I wish you God’s protection. Multifarious things are systemically wrong in your latest sphere. Good luck! Original link Read More goo.gl/31PfIj (y) ✍comment ☏share
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 00:18:25 +0000
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