have been accessible through remote interviews alone. Her
observation that humanitarian intervention outside a few
urban pockets is next to impossible given the extent to which
the insurgents still control territory and maintain the capacity
to engage in raids and attacks, despite reported Nigerian state
military gains, 6 is insightful as “Protection here is a huge issue,
because the insurgents kill, the soldiers kill, there is massive
displacement [of the civilian population].” 7 Matfess’s field work
provides valuable insight into a largely non-permissive environ-
ment.
Matfess thoroughly treats a myriad of challenges to affected
communities in Chapter 6, but chooses to view the future in
a positive light given that, “The post-conflict environment
presents not only an array of challenges, but also a valuable
opportunity to lay the groundwork for gender equality through
thoughtful, inclusive programming.” 8 The concluding chapter
continues, “Although the post-conflict era is not a tabula rasa
in which history, cultural practices and political economies are
erased, reforms made in this period can provide the foundation
for more stable, less oppressive societies. Disarmament, demo-
bilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programmes, legislative
reform and transitional justice programmes provide valuable
venues for these reforms to be implemented.” 9 Truer words
have not been written.
Notes:
Matfess 37
Kendhammer, Brandon (2016) Muslims Talking Politics:
Framing Islam, Democracy, and Law in Northern Nigeria. Chi-
cago, IL: University of Chicago.
3
Matfess 37
4
Kendhammer 2016
5
Matfess 186
6
Matfess 180
7
Interview with UNHCR field staff, Maiduguri, Borno State,
June 2016.
8
Matfess 185
9
Matfess 201
1
2
Overall, this book provides even-handed analysis of a breadth
of issues, including a discussion on the merits of Boko Haram’s
organization through the provision of social and educational
services – even if the efforts are self-serving and propagandistic
– thus allowing practitioners to understand the forces that must
be equalized to disincentivize participation in similar groups.
The further exploration of broader sociopolitical and economic
factors that plague Internally Displaced Persons and analysis of
continued marginalization, offers lessons valuable not only in
Nigeria, but in complex environments worldwide.
About the Author:
Whitney Grespin is a contracted Peace Operations Analyst at
PKSOI and a PhD candidate at King’s College London study-
ing contingency contracting in complex operations. She also
serves as a researcher and subject matter expert at the UK Cen-
tre for Military Ethics, and is a Lecturer at the George Washing-
ton University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She can
be reached at [email protected].
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