Regional armies deal blow to Nigeria militants

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Aid ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
The North

Significance Boko Haram has been severely weakened by the regional military offensive underway since February. With some assistance from Nigerian soldiers, troops from Chad, Cameroon and Niger have forced the insurgents to retreat from the majority of areas under their control. Completing the defeat of Boko Haram -- at least as a guerrilla force -- will be one of the incoming administration's first priorities. Impacts The incoming government will seek to fund pledges to accelerate reconstruction and rehabilitation of the north-east. However, it is set to inherit a cash-strapped economy, after one of Nigeria's most expensive elections. As laid out by the respected Borno state governor, substantial international aid assistance will be required. Such reconstruction work will also be important to allow the return of tens of thousands of refugees.

West Africa move against militants poses blowback risk

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Aid ◽  
The United States ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
The Past ◽  
North East ◽  
Border Areas ◽  
Training Exercises

Significance Mass protests took place yesterday in Niger's capital against the insurgency, while Chad's military announced training exercises with the United States to "warm up" for the fight. Over the past year, Boko Haram militants have encroached from north-east Nigeria into remote border areas of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The regionalisation of the insurgency and the response will see the intensity and impact of the conflict increase. Impacts Population displacements could become a significant problem, bringing added instability risks to the border region. The risk of attacks on international aid organisation personnel will grow as they seek to deliver aid to affected communities. The conflict will not yet impinge on oil operations in Chad and Niger; existing fields and infrastructure are not close to affected areas.

Delayed vote raises Nigeria stability risks

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Space ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Outward Appearance ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The Postponement

Significance Presidential and parliamentary elections have been rescheduled for March 28, with state and governorship elections due on April 11. Attahiru Jega, the head of the INEC, said that while the commission was fully prepared to conduct the election, last minute warnings from the security and intelligence chiefs stated that electoral security could not be guaranteed given the demand on troops needed to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east. While constitutional provisions allow for this short-term extension, the reason given for the postponement opens up the prospect for further delay. Impacts A severely flawed electoral process will have a knock-on effect on broader perceptions about Africa's democracy trends. Across the region, the outward appearance of democracy through holding elections rarely indicates free opposition participation. Regional Islamist militancy challenges will continue to be associated with reducing political space, from Chad to Kenya.

Boko Haram will expose Nigerian army's narrow strategy

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The Town

Significance In recent weeks, ISWAP captured the town of Kangarwa and reportedly massacred over 100 soldiers in the nearby town of Metele. Coming just months before the February 2019 presidential election, mounting ISWAP attacks are raising questions over the military’s strategy and President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance since taking office in 2015. Impacts The humanitarian situation in the north-east will likely worsen, as insecurity forces aid agencies to reduce their presence in rural Borno. Growing accusations about the military's politicisation could affect the credibility of Buhari’s victory should he win re-election. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau may be able to win back some rival ISWAP members upset over recent turmoil within their faction.

scholarly journals An Ethical investigation of State and the Management of Internally Displaced Persons: Nigeria as a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeanyichukwu M. Abada ◽  
Nneka Ifeoma Okafor ◽  
Nkemjika C. Duru
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
The State ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Population Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Rising Incidence

The decision among human beings to change their places of residence has remained an age-long strategy of survival practiced for a very long time. However, the migratory activities associated with internal population displacement are often propelled by forced migration occasioned by natural or anthropogenic forces or a combination of both. The upsurge of internal population displacement in the Nigerian state is incontrovertible given the maniacal campaign of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east region. The dilemma of internally displaced persons and the imperative management have proven a formidable challenge to the Nigerian state. The aim of this paper therefore is to ethically investigate whether the ineffective control of the Boko Haram insurgency by the state is implicated in the rising incidence of internally displaced persons and evident vulnerabilities. The study adopted qualitative research which relied heavily on the documentary method of data collection and, guided by the ‘Marxist theory of the post-colonial state’ as a theoretical underpinning. The findings of this paper showed that the ineffective control of Boko Haram insurgency by the state was implicated in the rising incidence of internal population displacement in the North-east. The paper critically observed that the state and its agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), National Commission for Refugees, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), Presidential Committee on the North-East Initiative (PCNI), among others have become the main instruments for the advancement of the interests of the dominant class. The study however recommends amongst other things that the state should ethically rethink its narrow strategy against Boko Haram insurgency through the adoption of a broader approach according to the dictates of Nigeria’s Countering Violent Extremism framework.

Addressing the “gender gap” in the managerial labour market

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 942-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pooran Wynarczyk
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Model Platform

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the “gender management gap” in the scientific labour market in the North East of England. The paper seeks to compare and contrast employment, ownership, management structure and capacity between men and women in the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) sector.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical investigation is based on a survey of 60 SET‐based small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), operating in the North East of England.FindingsThe results show that women are particularly under‐represented in managerial and senior positions of scientific nature in the private sector in the North East of England. The “glass ceiling” effect appears to be widespread.Research limitations/implicationsThere are very limited empirical data and research on the nature and level of participation of women in the scientific managerial labour market at firm level in the UK. There is a need for more rigorous research at firm and regional levels to examine the cumulative effects of underlying factors that prevent women from progression, beyond the “glass ceiling”, in the scientific labour market.Practical implicationsThis paper builds upon a research project funded by the ESRC Science in Society Programme. The key findings have resulted in a subsequent award from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Grants to establish the “North East Role Model Platform for Innovative Women” in the light of the Science City Initiative.Originality/valueThe “gender management gap” in the scientific labour market in the North East of England has not, empirically, been investigated before and appears to be a highly neglected area of public policy and research.

scholarly journals “The way things get done around here…” Exploring spatial biographies, social policy and governance in the North East of England

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 655-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Warren
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Health Related

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue that the application of social policy in the North East of England is often characterised by tension and conflict. The agencies and professionals charged with implementation of Westminster driven policies constantly seek to deploy their knowledge of local conditions in order to make them both practical and palatable. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the region via established literature from history, geography, sociology and social policy. The paper gives illustrations via empirical work which has evaluated initiatives to improve the health of long term health-related benefit recipients and to sustain individuals in employment in the region. Findings Central to the paper’s argument is the notion of “biographies of place”. The core of this idea is that places have biographies in the same way as individuals and possess specific identities. These biographies have been shaped by the intersections between environment, history, culture and economic and social policy. The paper identifies the region’s economic development, subsequent decline and the alliance of labour politics and industrial employers around a common consensus that sought economic prosperity and social progress via a vision of “modernisation” as a key component of this biography. Originality/value The paper argues that an appreciation of these spatial biographies can result in innovative and more effective social policy interventions with the potential to address issues that affect entire localities.

Nigeria's security chiefs may not ease north-east woes

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North West ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
General Elections

Significance Although many recent jihadist attacks have occurred in border regions with Niger (to the north of Borno State) or Cameroon (to the east of Borno and neighbouring Adamawa State), the Maiduguri attack underscores that security in Borno’s major towns is tenuous. Impacts Already faltering efforts to resettle displaced persons could be further complicated if the security situation degrades in Maiduguri. The new service chiefs’ attention will be overstretched as they also attempt to respond to worsening insecurity in the north-west. With general elections in 2023, there is no immediate political outlet for public frustration with authorities’ poor handling of security.

Boko Haram and Islamic State

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Comolli
Keyword(s):  
West African ◽  
Al Qaeda ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The Future ◽  
Territorial Control

This chapter briefly charts the emerge of the violent Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria before detailing its international connections and interactions with Al-Qaeda and, more significantly, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). It goes on to discuss the group’s successful attempts at territorial control in the north east and its leader’s ambition to establish an Islamic state. The text explains how the Nigerians converged with ISIS, pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and rebranded Boko Haram as Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP). This is complemented by an analysis of the practical manifestations of this allegiance, the remaining differences between ISWAP and ISIL/ISIS, and the possibly opportunistic reasons that may have motivated this move and that, in the future, could make the Nigerian outfit look elsewhere for more productive partnerships.

May trust and solidarity defy food scares? The case of Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO sales in the aftermath of natural disaster

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (12) ◽  
pp. 3119-3134
Author(s):  
Davide Menozzi ◽  
Corrado Finardi
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Food System ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Protected Designation Of Origin ◽  
Main Determinants ◽  
Parmigiano Reggiano

Purpose A major earthquake and aftershocks have hit the North-East part of Italy in May 2012, and caused 26 deaths and diffuse economic damage in the localised agri-food system (LAFS) of Parmigiano-Reggiano protected designation of origin (PDO), including several dairy warehouses. In the broad mobilization to help the stricken people, the LAFS actors played a primary role, giving rise to the sales of “Parmigiano-Reggiano damaged by the earthquake” (PR-T). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main determinants of PR-T purchasing using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Design/methodology/approach A survey on 200 consumers was performed. Data were collected with face-to-face interviews in stores and markets where the PR-T has been sold, and analyzed by structural equation modelling. Findings The TPB model predictors accounted for 52 per cent of the variance of intentions to purchase PR-T in the future and 21 per cent of the variance of behaviour. Perceived behavioural control is the main predictor of intention and behaviour, indicating that making easier the access to key resources and increasing people’s capability seems a major aspect to reach the intended goals. Trust in producers and retailers communication, positive image of the PDO label, sense of belonging to the region of origin and socio-demographics, i.e. age and educational levels, are correlated with intention and behaviour. The food scare flare up in the media was not a reason impeding purchasing PR-T. Originality/value These findings show the solidarity aspects underlying the collective purchases of PR-T in the aftermath of the 2012 earthquake waves, and the importance of increasing people’s capability and trust to reach the goal of facing dreadful food scares effectively.

Vote breakdown will shape Nigeria poll outcome

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Candidate ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Boko Haram ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The North ◽  
Run Off

Subject Scenarios for Nigeria's presidential and legislative elections. Significance Presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for February 14, with governorship polls set for February 28. The ruling People's Democratic Party's (PDP) candidate is President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running for a second term. The opposition All Progressives Congress' presidential candidate is General Muhammadu Buhari. The presidential polls are expected to be the most competitive since 1999, laying the groundwork for several different outcomes. Impacts On one level, the security chief's call for electoral delay was designed to detract from the army's failure against Boko Haram. However, it also reflects valid concerns about voter card distribution challenges, particularly in the north. Yet a decision by the commission to delay the election at this stage would be highly controversial, likely to create a backlash. The commission called the election three months ahead of the constitutional requirement, although primarily to make time for a run-off. Yet low popular confidence in electoral administration will raise violence risks, particularly in the north.

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