A very important point to note is, defeating the insurgency and rebuilding the North East are at the centre of the agenda of the ruling APC Government. This underscores the importance of the success of the efforts to the Government of the day. Consequentl

a shadow of themselves in terms of capacity and service delivery. Poor funding and lack of commitment could be attributed to this.

It is therefore not surprising that most of those attracted to the ideology of the insurgents are the unemployed, poor and marginalized who see it as an avenue to vent their anger on the status quo. The situation in some of the North Eastern states is a classical example of the nexus between leadership bankruptcy, pervasive poverty and insurgency. The insurgency without doubt is partly as a result of, gross negligence, marginalization and frustration. What should be noted is, this perception rightly or wrongly invariably pushes the people especially the youths, into some form of rebellion.

Furthermore, today, only very few of the impacted areas have benefited from any semblance of dividends of democracy. Most people affected by the insurgency are still wallowing in abject poverty. The presence of government is far removed from them. The resultant grievances, frustration and poverty therefore continue to engender sentiments inimical to peace in able bodied youths. This is why any strategy to check attraction to extremism should include strategies and polities to address the pervasive poverty and unemployment. Government at all levels must truly be seen to impact positively on the life of the citizenry.

To be continued…

A. A. Gadzama is a former Director General of the State Security Service (SSS)