Deradicalizing the Radicalized Youth for Peace, Security and Development in the North Eastern Region of Nigeria

The concept of deradicalization has been synonymously used as counter radicalism, counter terrorism or counter insurgency among other terms. It is indeed the direct opposite of the term radicalization. This study covered the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in the north eastern region of Nigeria since 2009 where government has been fighting Boko Haram insurgency.450 respondents were involved in the study as respondents that were given questionnaires where 417 returned the completed questionnaires. It was observed that military option combined with deradicalization may yield better result in ending insurgency in the region. That parents, traditional institutions, religious institutions and the NGOs need to be involved in the process due to their closeness to the people and indeed the trust people have in them. With this, there is the tendency that the radically minded persons will understand and better appreciate the roles of these institutions. Although the idea for adopting deradicalization was supported by the respondents, skepticism was also expressed with regard to total success in relinquishing the ideology. There was agreement with regard to institutionalized deradicalization policy initiated and supported by government, equally it was observed that non-institutionalized deradicalization policy initiated and supported by government may likely yield significant result.