SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN CRISES RAVAGED AREAS: A STUDY ON THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT BY NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS IN MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA

The protection of civilians is of importance in any armed conflict. In ancient times, this protection was not provided for, as both civilians and military personnel were liable to be attacked, taken prisoners or killed by the adverse party. Under the modern international humanitarian law, safeguards have been put in place to guarantee the protection of the civilian population during armed conflict. The objectives of this research is to examine the origin of Boko Haram activities in Nigeria; status of Boko Haram under international humanitarian law; effects of Boko Haram activities in Nigeria, and the protection of civilians in North-Eastern Nigeria. Doctrinal and non-doctrinal methods of research were adopted through the use of primary and secondary sources of law. The primary source includes statutory provisions, judicial reports and treaties. Secondary sources are opinions of legal writers, essays, newspaper reports and materials from internet. Boko Haram activities in North-eastern Nigeria fall under non-international armed conflicts. The Boko Haram insurgency has taken its toll on Nigeria as a nation. There is high number of victims mostly civilians. Some were killed, others displaced while women and children are raped and forced against their will. There has been also wanton destruction of property and pillage. There is no doubt that with all these atrocities committed by the Boko Haram members and the extra judicial killing by the military, the Boko Haram insurgency qualified as non-international armed conflict. However, this is not enough, the study has contributed to knowledge by showing that there is need for proper measures to be taken to prevent the reoccurrence of the inhuman acts that happened in the wake of Boko Haram. Though, the violations of International Humanitarian Laws are not due to the inadequacy of its rules, but the lack of willingness to respect them, or and also due to ignorance of the rules. Hence there is need for the government, Non-Governmental Organizations and humanitarian organizations such as Red Gross to intensify efforts of disseminating rules of IHL in peace time. This can be achieved through radio programs and incorporating the principles into civic education and general studies.

In Africa, and notably the Lake Chad Basin (LCB), Boko Haram is a major threat to human security. The region, which spans 427,500 km2 and contains large ungoverned areas, is made up of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Boko Haram has been responsible for several attacks in Northeast Nigeria since 2003 and is also the leading cause of forced migration in the Lake Chad Basin. In northeastern Nigeria and other LCB countries, this insurgency has caused widespread migration and increased the humanitarian crisis, socio-economic, and environmental consequences. This research aims to examine the developmental challenges emerging from Boko Haram-induced forced displacement in the LCB. Empirical evidence suggests that the Lake Chad Basin countries’ governments have failed to contain this group's aggression. However, there are still gaps in the literature regarding how this insurgency has affected social and economic lives of displaced people in the region. The study utilized a case study design, documentary method of data collection, and content analysis as the analytical technique. The study applies the Human Security Theory and Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) as the theoretical framework. Ultimately, the findings of this study revealed that forced migration severs social ties, leading to economic, social, and psychological impacts, including family separation and loss, with families often split up abruptly due to attacks and evacuation. In Addition, negative economic impacts disproportionately affect impoverished individuals, exacerbating chronic poverty and hindering their ability to escape poverty due to price volatility and wage declines. It was recommended that the governments of Lake Chad Basin countries should develop and implement policies that support the economic integration of refugees and displaced individuals, including measures to facilitate access to employment and promoting self-reliance and resilience. They should also foster initiatives that strengthen social ties and networks among displaced populations to facilitate integration into host communities and mitigate the negative impacts of social disconnection.

Boko Haram (BH) is an insurgent group that operates mainly in northeastern Nigeria. Its stated aim is to establish an Islamic state, and it employs terrorism as its strategy. Earlier interests of security analysts centred on the drivers of BH uprising and the possibility of its internationalisation. Today's concerns relate more to why the rebellion has lasted this long. In toeing the same line, this article demonstrates that BH is a purposive terror group against which the government has evolved no viable strategy. It examines some gains of BH over the past six years and how it benefitted from the government's underestimation of its capacity and determination. It concludes that to effectively engage BH, the Nigerian government must revaluate its threat and sincerely pursue an expanded strategy beyond the current military-centric approach. To be effective, government's response must be packaged in such a way as to enhance human security in the region.

-No doubt Nigeria and some continents across the globe are facing serious security challenges ranging from one reason to the other but with almost same agitation of both political or religious sentiment and extremism. One may not be wrong if affirm the link that is between Islamic insurgents splinters groups across the globe when on recent the Nigerian insurgent group (Boko Haram) paid allegiance to ISIS insurgent group which presently creating havoc, maim, massacre and destructions of properties in both Muslims and nonMuslims countries alike in the name of Holy war and exhibition of Islamic teachings and morals. The paper shall therefore debunk and distance Islam with such agitations and also,The paper shall examine the role of civil society organizations in the phase of contemporary security challenges: a global overview, considering Nigeria as the case study, it also highlighted the history of insurgency in Nigeria, insurgent groups, remote causes, the role of an ideal civil society organizations, the role of Muslims clerics, missionaries and scholars. The paper shall also discuss the inevitability of kin relationship between the government, the Ulama’u (Islamic scholars) and civil society in achieving sustainable security, peace and stability, short and long term measures, challenges and sponsorship for civil society shall form the concluding remark.

The article discusses the modern reform of the Russian foster care system and analyzes the possibilities of developing partnerships between various stakeholders. We are wondering what is the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in implementing programs related to the reform of the child welfare system. This question is comprehended from the perspective of social partnership. The main characteristics of social partnership are specialization, voluntariness and cooperation aimed at solving common problems. However, not all cooperation between government bodies and non-governmental organizations is a partnership. A successful partnership is characterized by the following features: mutual trust; additional benefits; mutual responsibility; joint decision making; clearly defined goals; fair distribution of costs and benefits; the use of performance measurement indicators and mechanisms for monitoring the results achieved; clear distribution of responsibilities of all parties. The role of non-state actors in the social protection system and the provision of other social services is increasing due to unfavorable demographic trends and the declining economic base at the state’s disposal and used to provide social services. The efforts of the state to dismantle the former centralized, state-oriented system of welfare of the population also led to the outsourcing of previously state obligations and services to non-governmental organizations in the system of social protection of children. Along with the growing role of NGOs in these processes, many new questions arose about the quality of their activities and the availability of the necessary skills for its implementation. Thus, the expansion of the social functions of NGOs in transforming the system of social protection of children potentially creates both opportunities and risks for its implementation. Despite the emergence of the first sprouts of partnership between government agencies and NGOs in this area, their relationship is not yet equal. Government bodies have the power and financial resources and, in many cases, public support; NGOs are enthusiastic, skilled and flexible in their approaches. Russian NGOs need to strengthen their social status and improve the quality of their work, which will allow them to obtain their own voice in determining their positions in partnership with various government entities.

PurposeThis study aimed at exploring support for older people in protracted displacement in Nigeria, emphasising the available support and the gap in the support provided to them.Design/methodology/approachQualitative interviews were used to collect data from ten displaced older people in New-Kuchingoro internally displaced persons (IDP) camp Abuja, Nigeria. The collected data were analysed thematically with NVivo 12.FindingsResults show that older people received material, emotional and psychological supports from their families, neighbours, friends, religious organisations and non-governmental organisations. Several gaps were identified in the support provided to displaced older people. For example, their special nutritional or medical needs were neglected, and their support was primarily material, sporadic and spontaneous, as there is no existing framework guiding the care and support of older people in displacement.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides a foundation for further research on older people in displacement, an area that has received minimal scholarly attention.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends that researchers and displaced persons’ care providers should pay more attention to the peculiar support needs of this less visible vulnerable group and adopt the internal displacement policy for the long-term protection of older people in displacement.Originality/valueOlder people in displacement remain less visible as humanitarian aid programmes and research focus more on women and children. This lack of attention may put older people in displacement at more risk as their peculiar needs may not be met. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the gap in support for older people in displacement in Nigeria.

Scholars have called to study how social cohesion is discursively negotiated and produced in communication behavior. However, empirical evidence remains scarce. In this study, we investigate to what extent and how civil society organizations (CSOs), part of the backbone of social integration in modern democracies, make references to social cohesion in their public self-portrayals. We develop a standardized measure for content analyzing the manifestation of social cohesion along three theoretical dimensions: social relations, connectedness, and orientation towards the common good. We apply our innovative content measure to the external communication of an original sample of nearly 800 CSOs in Germany, using their websites. Subsequently, we use data from an accompanying organizational survey of these institutions to investigate whether and how certain organizational features help explain variance in social cohesion rhetoric. Findings suggest that CSOs’ external communications employ themes from all key dimensions of social cohesion, revealing a fair amount of variation on all three subdimensions and a summary index of the overall strength social cohesion rhetoric. These different emphases are contingent upon various organizational characteristics, namely the spheres in which CSOs are primarily active, their locations, and their target groups. Whereas culturally and media-oriented organizations as well as sports clubs are largely reluctant to make references to social cohesion, politically active CSOs and those addressing socially disadvantaged communities tend to push more in this direction. The latter tend to operate in more professionalized structures, indicating that referencing social cohesion legitimizes these groups’ political and social purposes in the public sphere.

Author uses secondary analysis of the results of empirical sociological and statistical studies to identify the main trends in the development of non-government organizations (NGOs) in Ukraine: the growing number of registered NGOs; increasing number of non-government social organizations and increasing number of implemented projects for the provision of social services to internally displaced persons, anti-terrorist operation participants and people who belong to vulnerable groups, or/and are in complicated life circumstances. The purpose of the article is to consider the current state of social responsibility of NGOs in Ukraine. The social responsibility of NGOs is defined in the paper as “a characteristic that is integrated into the activities of the NGO based on its Statute and implemented in practice by providing services on a professional basis, following international norms, to achieve socially significant goals, solving acute social problems, ensuring sustainable development of the community, the region, and the country as a whole”. To have an in-depth study of the basic principles of social responsibility of NGOs, the author conducted a content analysis of 200 websites of NGOs. Content analysis questionnaire included such indicators as annual financial report; annual non-financial report; NGO’s development strategy; information about partners, etc. The main indicators of social responsibility of NGOs are in compliance of the organization’s charter developed according to requirements of the current Ukrainian legislation and the provisions of international standards; transparent activities taking into account the interests of stakeholders, availability of annual reports (financial and non-financial), etc.

When referring to the terrorist group known as “Boko Haram,” observers are broadly pointing to a violent, Salafist-jihadist group (in its various incarnations and often encompassing its offshoots) based in northeastern Nigeria, which seeks to establish a caliphate ruled by sharia law in northeastern Nigeria and its environs. The group that served as its predecessor was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri, Nigeria, by Mohammed Yusuf, and was named “Jama’atu Ahil as-Sunna li ad-Da’wa wa al-Jihad,” or “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad” (JAS). By the time that the group became violent in 2009—also the year that Yusuf died and the group was taken over by Abubakar Shekau—observers had begun to refer to the group as “Boko Haram,” broadly meaning “Western education is sinful” or “forbidden.” Even after the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and became the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) in March 2015, and later faced the breakaway of a splinter group in 2016, observers have still referred to these iterations as “Boko Haram.” In other words, this article, which is ostensibly about “Boko Haram,” is more generally about the various incarnations of the above-referenced group, the nature of its violence, its cycles of leadership, its shifting global and regional affiliations, and the offshoot groups which it has engendered, all of which continue to be referred to by more casual observers as “Boko Haram,” even though none of the above iterations of the group referred to themselves as such, at least formally. While this article is one that seeks to provide an overview of the best literature available on the emergence, evolution, and current activities of the “Boko Haram” phenomenon, given the multi- and interdisciplinary study of the group—most commonly undertaken by scholars of political science, history, religion, and conflict and security—there is no singular, unifying intellectual framework by which to study the group. Instead, writings on Boko Haram have occurred across disciplines, and as we articulate in the subsections below, have been defined by two general approaches. On one hand, scholars of Boko Haram have often written comprehensive histories of the group, attempting to understand the organization writ large, while on the other, others have written about particular facets of the group relating to Boko Haram’s emergence, ideology, patterns of violence, treatment of gender and age, and interactions with global jihadist organizations, and impact on communities in which it operates. In the pages below, we detail what we view to be the most rigorous pieces written to date in each of these two broad categories, keeping in mind that given space restrictions, we were not able to include sections on every facet of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Sexual violence is one of the human rights violations characterising the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. These violations include rape, sexual slavery and the abduction of women and girls by members of the insurgent group. Unfortunately, the emphasis has always been on the provision of humanitarian aid rather than redressing these violations. This article argues that although there are laws in place regulating sexual violence in Nigeria, these laws are inadequate in providing redress for the victims. Besides, the laws are rarely implemented to ensure a system of justice for victims, given the patriarchal and cultural antecedents of Nigeria. It is against this background that the article evaluates the legal framework for redressing sexual violence in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria with a view to revealing the gap that exists therein. To achieve this aim, the article defines sexual violence and instances of such in the Boko Haram context. It also examines the legal framework for redressing sexual violence in Nigeria and the limitations of these laws in that regard. The article further considers the concept of redress and what it entails. Although the article adopts a legal approach, it is concluded that this approach is inadequate in addressing the issue at stake and that, in addition, a resort to extra-legal or other radical measures is needed. To address this challenge, the article among other things, recommends the eradication of cultural practices and negative values encouraging sexual violence; stipulation of a timeframe within which cases of sexual violence must be redressed; the appointment of an independent monitoring body to ensure the implementation of constitutional provisions in that regard; judicial independence; and advocacy by both civil society organisations and the media as tools to compel the relevant authorities to fulfil their responsibility to protect victims of sexual violence. This, it is submitted, will go a long way to address the vulnerability of Nigerian women and girls faced with sexual violence by insurgent groups.

Background: Nigeria like the rest of the world is exposed to a wide range of natural and human-induced disasters such as flood, plane crash, communal clashes, and postelection violence and recently, insurgency from Boko Haram. Most of these disasters have led to population displacement and its consequences. This study assessed the social characteristics and risk factors for diseases among the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Stefano's foundation camp in Jos, Nigeria. Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive in nature carried out on March 1–30, 2015. The data were collected using 312 interviewer-administered questionnaire, key informant interview, and participant's observation and analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Majority (85%) of the respondents were within the age bracket of 18–49 years, 61% of females, 39% had no formal education, 53% of farmers by profession among others, 96% and 4% of them were displaced as a result of the insurgency in Borno and Adamawa States, respectively and had stayed in the camp for 3 months (43.8%). There was report of several morbidities and one case of mortality from malaria, diarrhea, and cholera due to inadequate water supply, poor refuse, and fecal disposal and the presence of disease vectors in the camp and a case of death of a 6-year-old child from malaria. Majority (83%) of the IDPs obtained medical treatment at the ill-equipped camp clinic. Conclusion: This study showed that the IDPs were faced with so many challenges and the nongovernmental organization has been rendering assistance. There is a need for all relevant stakeholders to key in to make life meaningful to this vulnerable group.

The largely democratised media space of the twenty-first century provides certain strategic advantages that tilt the balance of the media’s narrative of terrorism against the state. For instance, the information and technological revolution has allowed insurgent groups, through media-oriented means, to gain a tactical advantage over state militaries by driving the media narrative. This chapter critically analyses how Boko Haram has deployed media-oriented terrorism to project the Nigerian army as weak and inept, while sustaining an impression of themselves as a murderous juggernaut. Focusing on four selected events in Nigeria’s ongoing counterinsurgency strategy against Boko Haram: the controversy over the death of Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau; the tactical manoeuvre story, where Nigerian soldiers retreated into Cameroon following a Boko Haram onslaught; the disappearance of 105 Nigerian soldiers after a Boko Haram ambush; and the Dalori attack, the chapter highlights how Nigeria’s military effort towards ending the Boko Haram terrorism campaign is weakened by a lack of coordination of its media strategy, thus surrendering the narrative to Boko Haram. The chapter concludes that when dealing with insurgents who instrumentalise both mainstream and social media, state militaries must be as devoted to winning the information war as they are to winning the physical war.

This paper argues that the aggressive and gratuitously violent insurgency in northeastern Nigeria – Boko Haram – is the entirely understandable consequence of more than a half-century of misrule by what I call the parasitic and predatory Nigerian political class. Evidence of widespread human rights abuses including extortion, rape and theft comes from investigations by various international human rights organizations, international non-governmental organizations, church groups, press reports and interviews. I focus primarily on incidents and practices in the northeast but examples are adduced from other parts of the country as well. I discuss the policy of coercion and brutality embedded in the very nature of the colonial and post-colonial state using Crawford Young’s concept of bula matari (the state as rock crusher).

Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are one of the most trusted and visible institutions recognized by community, Nepal government, donors and development stakeholders in Nepal. Nepal government has given authority to Social Welfare Council (SWC) to create favourable environment for NGOs to work effectively in the field. The study was conducted in Karnali Zone, Midwestern Development Region of Nepal where Nepal government and donor communities have highly prioritized to address people’s needs. The objective of this research was to explore the contribution of Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) in Karnali Zone, Nepal. The study was qualitative based with an explorative and descriptive approach. The study had collected the opinion of beneficiaries, NGO board and staff members, government and civil society representatives. Purposively qualitative research instruments were administered to generate the information i.e. key informants interview, focus group discussion, case studies and observation were done for data collection. Instruments were self-reported semi-structured. A total 45 interviews (beneficiaries - 20, NGOs board - 5, NGOs staff - 5, Civil society representative – 5 and Government Official – 10), 15 focus group discussions were conducted and 15 case studies were collected. NGOs contributed to enhance the knowledge of health service utilization, promotion of education, child rights and women empowerment as well as impact of climate changes. NGOs also contributed to develop the infrastructures; schools building, road, building drinking water’s tank and sanitary units. It was also observed that some NGOs were working from 'need based approach' and some were working from 'right based approach'. NGOs had made significant contribution in change and development of Karnali Zone in relation to the up-lift of socio-economic status of community. Joint collaboration between the like-minded organizations was needed to reduce the duplication of activities and will be effective to provide the services in hard to reach areas of the Karnali Zone.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are formed by mutual members in conducting activities to enhance social welfare of its members and public. The issue of governance of NGO arises when such social welfare fail to be achieved. Principal-agent theory explains that agent (elected CEO or key committees) is responsible to carry out NGO activities aligned with principal’s interest (which described in NGO missions and goals). If CEO or key committees are being paid to govern NGO, emolument is primarily perceived as a signal to level of governance of NGO. This study objectively to determine factors that influence the decision of emoluments paid to elected CEO or key committees. Subsequently, this study is to analyze the level of governance of NGO. NGO registered in Melaka will be selected from Registrar of Societies (ROS) in Melaka. Therefore, data for this study will be collected using data from ROS Melaka. 594 registered NGO that located in Melaka will be contacted and interviewed to complete structured questionnaire. Data collected will be analyzed using SPSS software to determine the factors that influences emolument decision. Subsequently, data will be analyzed to determine the level of governance of NGOs in Malaysia, which related to emoluments decision making.