By Solomon OKPO
In an era where violent extremism no longer respects regional boundaries or singular causes, Nigeria faces a critical inflection point. From Boko Haram in the Northeast to separatist movements in the Southeast, banditry in the Northwest, ritual killings in the Southwest, and militancy in the oil-rich South-South, the reach of extremist violence has transformed from isolated insurgencies into a full-blown national crisis.
This was the urgent message delivered in a powerful paper presented at the National Summit on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) held in Abuja from September 25–27, 2025. The summit, convened by the Knowledge, Innovation and Resource Hub (KIRH) under the Development and Management Team of the PAVE Network, brought together experts, policymakers, civil society leaders, and security practitioners to reimagine Nigeria’s strategy for tackling violent extremism.
A Landscape of Fragmented Violence: The paper lays bare the deeply fragmented nature of Nigeria’s current security challenges. Each of the six geo-political zones contends with its own brand of violent extremism, driven by unique historical, political, economic, and cultural factors. The North-East reels from terrorism rooted in ideology and poverty. The South-East battles secessionist agitations. In the North-West, the greed-fueled violence of banditry has taken hold. And in the South-West and South-South, the lines blur between organized crime, political agitation, and ethnic militancy.
Despite the wide variation in these threats, a unifying pattern emerges: state fragility, inequality, poor governance, and the disconnection between the government and local communities have all created fertile ground for radical ideologies and violent mobilization. According to the paper, nearly 50% of Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty, a critical “push factor” that leaves youth particularly vulnerable to extremist narratives.
Nigeria’s current responses, though numerous, have proven insufficient and disconnected. Military operations such as Operation Hadin Kai and Operation Delta Safe have made tactical gains, but the paper warns that an over-reliance on militarized solutions, while ignoring root causes like unemployment, political exclusion, and institutional distrust, has done little to break the cycle of violence.
Moreover, initiatives like the 2017 National Action Plan on PCVE and Operation Safe Corridor are hampered by a lack of coordination across the federal, state, and local governments. Agencies with overlapping mandates operate in silos, competing rather than collaborating. Implementation at the grassroots level is weak, and policies often fail to engage the very communities most affected by extremist violence.
According to a 2024 Afrobarometer survey cited in the paper, only 30% of Nigerians trust their public institutions—one of the lowest levels on the continent. This crisis of trust, coupled with recurring human rights abuses by security forces, has driven a wedge between citizens and the state, weakening efforts to build lasting peace.
In light of these realities, the paper makes a compelling case for a shift away from regionalized, militarized, and fragmented responses to what it terms a Pan-Nigerian Approach. This paradigm advocates for a unified, inclusive, and strategically coordinated response that engages all sectors of Nigerian society, from government and civil society to academia, traditional institutions, media, and the private sector.
At the heart of this approach is the whole-of-society and whole-of-government model outlined in the National Action Plan for PCVE. It emphasizes that violent extremism is not merely a security problem, it is a development, governance, and societal challenge. Therefore, everyone has a role to play.
Whole-of-Society Engagement: Encouraging community ownership, civil society participation, and partnerships with faith-based and traditional institutions.
Strategic Coordination Across Government Levels: Establishing clear implementation pathways and shared accountability frameworks among federal, state, and local governments.
Addressing Root Causes: Shifting focus toward tackling poverty, inequality, political marginalization, and weak governance systems, which form the breeding grounds of extremism.
Rebuilding Trust: Fostering institutional transparency, human rights compliance, and community-police collaboration to restore faith in the state.
As violent extremism becomes more sophisticated, tech-savvy, and embedded in socio-political grievances, the urgency of a unified national response cannot be overstated. The paper closes with a strong warning: unless Nigeria moves beyond fragmented firefighting and toward strategic, inclusive partnership, violent extremism will continue to metastasize across regions and generations.
What Nigeria needs is not just a new set of policies, but a new way of thinking. A national consensus that security is a shared responsibility, and that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice, opportunity, and trust.
This is the promise, and challenge, of a Pan-Nigerian approach. It is not only a call to action. It is, perhaps, Nigeria’s last best hope.
