Abstract
Recently, northern Nigeria is attracting global media attention, albeit negatively, on issues which border on leadership failure, ethno-religious conflicts, youth unemployment and official corruption. The attendant poverty in the region has created a climate of frustration and disillusionment on the part of the citizens, which, together with similar problems in other parts of Nigeria, are transmuting into threats to corporate existence. The hydra-headed phenomenon of Boko Haram, for instance, is for all intents and purposes a product of multifaceted social problems. To worsen the case, there appears to be complete failure of imagination going by the way in which both the Nigerian state and the northern establishment are handling what is turning out to be a deplorable situation. The security problems in the north of Nigeria are now threatening to engulf not only Nigeria but the entire Sahel region of West Africa if appropriate measures are not deployed to address them. Furthermore, the Nigerian state only promotes the spiraling insecurity by solely relying on security apparatuses and instruments of violence as the only viable means to overcome the Boko Haram conundrum. The attempt by government to complicate the Boko Haram saga by trying to involve the international community without addressing urgent social and economic realities is only diffusing the tense situation. However, this paper contends that alternative measures must be sourced to the deepening social problems in the region. Solutions should be sought through the implementation of realistic social policies as opposed to the current failed strategy of total reliance on force. In addition, government must show a convincing resolve to fight corruption; engage constructively with restive youth all over the country; strengthen civil institutions and encourage civil society initiatives. Above all, a robust pursuit of enlightenment strategies through the mechanism of Theatre for Development (TFD) which has had positive antecedents in conflict resolution and community development in Africa should be employed in order to create awareness and behavioral change in northern Nigeria.
Theatre for Development is a legitimate political objective to discover strategies and organizational skills for functioning politically and creatively within the context of crisis.
(Aba and Etherton, 1982)
Start Date
15-3-2013 10:50 AM
End Date
15-3-2013 11:50 AM
Poverty and the Emergent Culture of Violence in Northern Nigeria: The Imperative of Theatre for Development (TFD) Intervention Strategy
Olscamp 101
Recently, northern Nigeria is attracting global media attention, albeit negatively, on issues which border on leadership failure, ethno-religious conflicts, youth unemployment and official corruption. The attendant poverty in the region has created a climate of frustration and disillusionment on the part of the citizens, which, together with similar problems in other parts of Nigeria, are transmuting into threats to corporate existence. The hydra-headed phenomenon of Boko Haram, for instance, is for all intents and purposes a product of multifaceted social problems. To worsen the case, there appears to be complete failure of imagination going by the way in which both the Nigerian state and the northern establishment are handling what is turning out to be a deplorable situation. The security problems in the north of Nigeria are now threatening to engulf not only Nigeria but the entire Sahel region of West Africa if appropriate measures are not deployed to address them. Furthermore, the Nigerian state only promotes the spiraling insecurity by solely relying on security apparatuses and instruments of violence as the only viable means to overcome the Boko Haram conundrum. The attempt by government to complicate the Boko Haram saga by trying to involve the international community without addressing urgent social and economic realities is only diffusing the tense situation. However, this paper contends that alternative measures must be sourced to the deepening social problems in the region. Solutions should be sought through the implementation of realistic social policies as opposed to the current failed strategy of total reliance on force. In addition, government must show a convincing resolve to fight corruption; engage constructively with restive youth all over the country; strengthen civil institutions and encourage civil society initiatives. Above all, a robust pursuit of enlightenment strategies through the mechanism of Theatre for Development (TFD) which has had positive antecedents in conflict resolution and community development in Africa should be employed in order to create awareness and behavioral change in northern Nigeria.
Theatre for Development is a legitimate political objective to discover strategies and organizational skills for functioning politically and creatively within the context of crisis.
(Aba and Etherton, 1982)