North East Regional Initiative: A Lasting Legacy

REDUCING INDIVIDUALS’ AND COMMUNITIES’ VULNERABILITIES TO VIOLENT EXTREMISM Thank you, NERI, for these magnificent, productive, solar-powered boreholes in our communities. With these we have come to stay — no more migration to anywhere.” — Mallam Ali Baushe Sule, herdsman, Geidam LGA, Yobe State

The results allowed NERI to conduct crucial activities such as widening access to information and communication and improving living conditions by supplying training and tools to help foster economic independence and confidence. NERI partnered with telecom provider Airtel to restore mobile network connectivity in areas such as Monguno, Dikwa, Gwoza and Ngala LGAs in Borno State, providing more than 200,000 citizens access to a phone network for the first time in years. The local population now has a vital connection to the outside world and vendors can contact their suppliers and clients without having to travel.

D etermining what drives people to join violent extremist organizations must be done to learn how to interrupt and thwart their recruitment process and structure, giving Nigerians in the Northeast a better chance to live in peace. To this end, NERI conducted a vulnerability analysis to identify weak spots in communities, then launched initiatives to strengthen resiliency. The analysis included evaluating locals’ willingness to engage with violent extremists and assessed residents’ levels of fear. NERI also noted the types and frequencies of interactions among residents and violent extremists, government officials and security personnel.

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