Boko Haram: Dialogue, key to eradicating insurgency – CITAD

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has said for Boko Haram attacks to be eliminated completely in the Northern part of the country, adequate dialogue must be carried out by the incoming administration.

Executive Director of CITAD, Dr Y.Z Ya’u, said this during the preview of  a book titled, ‘Boko Haram’s Community Perception of Dialogue and Reconciliation in Northern Nigeria’, in Abuja on Friday.

The 227-page book launched by CITAD in Bauchi last week suggested ways for peace in Northern Nigeria, rather than the use of the military to resolve the problem of insecurity in the region.

Ya’u said some chapters of the book highlighted and discussed the dialogue conducted in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in the last 12 years of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“This book is not only after ending the battle but also to restore peace, because there are a wider spectrum of stakeholders that need to be established. The three chapters of the book looked at the previous dialogues conducted in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.”

“Also, one of the chapters deals with the specific experience of non-kinetic response in Kano state which looked at lessons and negotiations, therefore I believe the use of non-kinetic methods is still relevant in ending the conflict,” he said.

The Executive Director said women and girls consist of the largest victims of the Boko Haram Insurgency, because many of them were either abducted, kidnapped or forced to perform suicide attack, adding that many youths were forced to carry weapons.

He called for the inclusion of women and youths in every move for reconciliation and dialogue.