J. Shola Omotola – författare

Providing unique perspectives on one of the leading hotspots of kidnapping in the world, this book examines the political and socioeconomic dimensions of the causes, manifestations, and consequences of kidnapping in Nigeria, as well as some of the control measures that have been adopted at different levels of governance and their effectiveness.

The topics covered in the volume include details on the framework of understanding kidnapping, the evolution of kidnapping from pre-colonial to post-colonial eras, and the relationship between ungoverned spaces and kidnapping in the country. The book further sheds light on kidnapping in the context of insurgent campaigns, with insights into oil-related militancy in the Niger Delta region, with the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism in the Northern region of Nigeria. It discusses non-insurgent kidnapping, situating kidnapping in the contexts of banditry, ransoming, ritualism, baby factory, and human trafficking. Additionally,the volume analyses the emerging gender and transnational frontiers of kidnapping in Nigeria. Expanding the discussion on state responses, this book also looks into responses of non-state actors to kidnapping as well as negotiations in hostage crisis management. Finally, it examines other unique subjects, such as media coverage of kidnapping, and the consequences for Nigeria’s international image.

The book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political science, international relations, economics, sociology, history, law and business management in general, as well as African studies, security studies, criminology, peace and conflict studies, and geography and area studies. It will also be helpful for public policy-makers, African security experts and professionals, as well as business managers, risk analysists and insurance industry that are interested in a better understanding of kidnapping and associated political, social, economic, and security dynamicsin Nigeria and beyond.

This book seeks to deepen empirical understandings of herder–farmer conflicts in Africa from the perspective of peacebuilding. Thus, the focus of the book is on the manifestations, causes, consequences and management of these conflicts (responses) by both state and non-state actors and lessons for sustainable peacebuilding.

By adopting a comparative approach spanning five countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sudan and Togo), our study seeks not only to fill the gap, but also expand the frontier of knowledge on the subject, exploring important cross-cutting issues such as human rights, rule of law, gender and youth. The interconnections between these conflicts and security, safety and development at all levels underscore the urgency and pertinence of this study.

This book examines the significance of the 2015 elections in consolidating Nigeria’s democracy, in the context of the difficulty of routinizing democracy since the attainment of nationhood in 1960 and the return to civil rule in May 1999, in particular. It offers a complete analysis of Nigeria’s electoral process, outlining how the dynamics of limited changes in the constitutional, institutional, attitudinal and behavioural frameworks that underpin electoral competition played out in the elections. The authors further examine the conduct and outcome of the 2015 elections against the background of the pattern of electoralism that had been established since the return to democracy in 1999. In doing so, they draw attention to the dialectics of continuity and change that have been thrown up by the elections and how the lessons learned can be used to build a more enduring democratic system. The book will be of interest to students and academics of political science, development studies,democratisation and election studies, and African government and politics.