Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna could not have put it more succinctly at the summit’s outset: “A purely military or law enforcement approach, while necessary, is not sufficient. We must address the root causes of violent extremism—poverty, inequality, exclusion, poor governance, and lack of opportunities, particularly for our young people.” With that, he set the tone — a mandate not only for force, but for a fusion of inclusion, justice, and community empowerment, to eclipse the false two-track of “security versus social development.”
The two-day Northwest Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) Summit in Kaduna was more than a high-profile gathering—it marked a paradigm shift. From Summit rooms emerged lessons that could recalibrate Nigeria’s response to violent extremism at every level: