CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48

The document analyzes the 'troubling confusion' in Nigeria's strategy against Boko Haram, contrasting a military-oriented approach supported by the EU with reports of secret peace talks in Senegal. It suggests that the government's responses are incoherent and may be driven by political motives related to President Jonathan's 2015 re-election bid. The briefing recommends moving toward a bottom-up dialogue strategy and improving the delivery of public goods to address the underlying socio-economic grievances that fuel the violence.

• Reports from the ECOWAS Early Warning Daily and the newspaper Punch indicate that the Nigerian government and Boko Haram held secret peace talks in Senegal, mediated by officials from Senegal and Mali, to find political alternatives to the group's terrorism.
• The Nigerian government exhibits an incoherent strategy, balancing a military-oriented approach—which has involved a 'disproportionate use of force' and is supported by the European Union—against these reported political negotiations.
• The legitimacy of the peace talks is questioned because they occurred without a ceasefire agreement while violence continued in northern Nigeria, suggesting the talks might be a political strategy to support President Jonathan's 2015 re-election bid.
• Boko Haram's activities are linked to a 'political economy of violence,' with specific demands including the release of detained members and compensation for demolished houses and mosques.
• To resolve the conflict, the briefing recommends a bottom-up strategy to address grievances such as high unemployment, political marginalisation, and deficient infrastructure, noting that the management of such exclusion may have prevented violence in Katsina state.

APA

Zounmenou, D., Atta-Asamoah, A., Motsamai, D., Dzinesa, G. A., Kok, N., Warries, T., & Segui, N. R. (2012). CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf

Chicago

Zounmenou, David, Andrew Atta-Asamoah, Dimpho Motsamai, Gwinyayi A. Dzinesa, Naomi Kok, Tarryn Warries, and Neus Ramis Segui. CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48. Institute for Security Studies, 2012. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zounmenou |first1=David |last2=Atta-Asamoah |first2=Andrew |last3=Motsamai |first3=Dimpho |last4=Dzinesa |first4=Gwinyayi A. |last5=Kok |first5=Naomi |last6=Warries |first6=Tarryn |last7=Segui |first7=Neus Ramis |title=CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=13 December 2012 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zounmenou2012cpra, author = {Zounmenou, David and Atta-Asamoah, Andrew and Motsamai, Dimpho and Dzinesa, Gwinyayi A. and Kok, Naomi and Warries, Tarryn and Segui, Neus Ramis}, title = {{CPRA Daily Briefings Week 48}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2012}, month = dec, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/13Dec2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }