For more than two years, northwestern Nigeria has faced devastating attacks from armed bandits, particularly in the states of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, and Sokoto. But violent military operations are half-baked peace plans are not the answer.

In early March, over 300 schoolgirls were abducted by armed groups from a secondary school in Zamfara State. Last week, another set of students was kidnapped from a college in Kaduna State—the third mass kidnapping of students in Nigeria in 2021.

There are rarely any “quick wins” for MNCs in fragile and conflict affected environments like the Niger Delta, Nigeria, but the long term benefits of investing with foresight and knowledge can contribute to local and regional economies.

In May 1966, General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria’s first Military Head of State—also known as Johnny Ironside for his exploits in a peacekeeping mission in the Congo—promulgated the infamous Decree No. 34 of 1966, the “unification decree.”

Nigerian security agencies failed on Monday to produce Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the increasingly radical secessionist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in Federal High Court for his arraignment. While government lawyers cited “logistical problems” for Kanu’s absence, his lawyer told the court that he had been unable to access his client in ten days and that he believed his client’s life was in danger.