Countering violent extremism in Africa

Abstract

There has been a surge in acts of violent extremism in Africa recently. Mostly, extremist groups have developed as a result of political instability that has created power vacuum and security lapses, discrimination, religious marginalisation, economic crises including social penury and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Using force alone to curb extremism can exacerbate the problem hence the need for a multi-pronged approach, which includes methods to win hearts and minds. In addition to measures outlined in Article 4 of the AU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, this chapter recommends that to effectively counter violent extremism in Africa, there is need for a shift in approach from predominantly state-centric, military-heavy and territorial counterinsurgency concept to people-centric, governance and proactive prevention strategies. Further, there should be dialogues across faiths, cultures, political groupings and countries. To this end, African leaders, clerics and scholars at all levels should devise effective strategies to tackle the root causes of extremism and terrorism. The idea is to cultivate a culture of peace, tolerance and acceptance of unity in diversity using diverse African values. In doing so, governments should provide a forum conducive to debunking and correct misinterpreted political and religious ideologies as well as cutting access to funding by potentially violent extremist groups. States should confront socioeconomic grievances by promoting broad-based economic growth and development, fighting corruption, job creation for the youth, including women and girls, without discrimination and devoting more resources to education, which is one of the most effective tools that can eradicate extremist attitudes.