COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM AMIDST COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the trend of violent extremism in Northern Nigeria amidst
COVID-19 Pandemic. The region has been witnessing various forms of insecurity which
have resulted to loss of lives and property. The paper uses frustration aggression
theory and structural theory of social conflict which posited that aggression is a
product of frustration. The study adopts secondary sources of data collection. It also
adopts content analysis and logical inference as a statistical tool for analysis. The
research discovered that the administrative lacuna and lack of good governance
leading to their inability to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people hence
the insecurity. The violent extremism is a result of the inability of the government and
its apparatus to do the needful in respect of the groups' activities was responsible for
the violent extremism and not the religion or those that practice same. Ineffective
monitoring system of religious activities, bad governance, unemployment, poverty,
corruption and others are responsible for the violent extremism in Northern Nigeria.
Thus, their activities has affected the socio-economic development of Nigeria,
particularly the northern part leading to food scarcity and high cost of food, scared
away foreign and local investors, increased school drop outs among others. Therefore,
there is the need to review the operationalisation of the religious institutions in
Nigeria, the level of poverty and unemployment be reduced to the barest minimum
through massive jobs creation among other recommendations.