Child Soldiers In Nigeria Essay

With the long term and continued violence between the governments of African nations and insurgent or terrorist groups, the involvement of children within such clashes has become a pressing issue. This is emphasized by the fact that about 40% of child soldiers globally are located in Africa alone as of 2016, revealing just how prevalent and wide-spread this practice is as well as just how necessary international action is 1.

In Nigeria, child soldiers are being utilized - in most cases, unwillingly - by the terrorist group Islamic State’s West African Province, more commonly known as Boko Haram. The Human Rights Watch has condemned the group’s killing of civilians, raping women and girls, and abduction of children as a “horrifying human rights violation”, which is truly what this issue of child soldiering is 2.

In response to the overwhelming amount

They are viewed as “expendable, replaceable” and less fearful than adults, making them prime soldiers for more aggressive and dangerous activities 1. They are also cheap to maintain and make up about half of most African nation’s populations. Most importantly, children are seen as more psychologically vulnerable than adults, and therefore able to be manipulated. However, though abduction is the most common method by which recruitment takes place, it is important to keep in mind that some choose it voluntarily. Children in communities of poverty, pollution, and destruction join militant groups because they’re “seeking security in fighting forces, provision of food, a sense of belonging and ideology or group identity, as well as economic reasons” 1. Furthermore, children are able to have a place in combat because of the widespread supply and accessibility of weapons. Measures to demilitarize post-conflict areas and reduce the amount of arms have been put forth by several governments, yet they are hindered by the tenuous peace of ceasefires