Abstract:
The Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria has precipitated a complex humanitarian crisis characterized by mass displacement, loss of lives, and socioeconomic disruption. Different development assistance organizations, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), have intervened to mitigate the adverse effects of Boko Haram terrorism in the northeast and Nigeria generally. These organizations’ activities have received scholars’ attention; however, the American University of Nigeria (AUN), a development university in the heart of the conflict zone, has received limited critical attention on its roles in combating the Boko Haram menace. This paper holistically examines AUN's strategic interventions in education, community engagement, and peacebuilding, underscoring the pivotal role of development universities in crisis mitigation and community resilience, especially in the developing world. Such initiatives include the Chibok Girls Education Initiative, the Feed and Read program, the Waste to Wealth project, and the AUN Adamawa Peace Initiative (API). Through these humanitarian-centered programs, AUN demonstrates its dedication to fostering human capital, empowering vulnerable populations, and promoting a culture of peace to alleviate Boko Haram terrorism. This research highlights the potential of development universities as agents of positive change in conflict-ridden societies, providing a model for community-engaged higher education institutions seeking to contribute to sustainable development and post-conflict recovery. By uniting research efforts and translating findings into action, AUN exemplifies the transformative power of knowledge and humanitarianism in combating security challenges and building a more resilient future for Northeast Nigeria.
Description:
The emergence of Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, terrorism in 2009 after the extrajudicial killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, has undermined various forms of development in Northeast Nigeria and caused unimaginable humanitarian crises. Boko Haram terrorism remains one of the most prominent and devastating conflicts in Nigeria since independence (Adeleke & Omobowale, 2023). Some of the harmful effects of the Boko Haram conflicts include limited economic activities in the Northeast, such as restricted access to farmlands (Ikpe, 2017), food shortages in the region and northern Cameroon (Kah, 2017), kidnappings, “furthered displacement of people, and…hampered human developments” (Moshood and Thovoethin, 109). Development organizations, such as United Nations agencies and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have mitigated these negative socio-economic effects; however, studies have focalized international organizations’ humanitarian interventions more than their local partners. Equally, there are limited studies on the American University of Nigeria’s humanitarian efforts to mitigate the Boko Haram terror in the Northeast, especially in Adamawa State. The American University of Nigeria (AUN) is significant and strategic because it is the only development university in the region and connects humanitarian services with education.
