Project Description
The Deradicalization of Radicalized Minds Project (DRMP) was a pilot peacebuilding intervention geared towards deconstructing religious extremism among men, women, and youths in Jos North and empowering them with entrepreneurial skills. The project selected 15 beneficiaries and deradicalized them by way of training and empowerment with skills and resources towards self-reliance, transformation, and resilience to crime.
This initiative was born out of the inseparable relationship that exists between idleness, unemployment, and conflict, which ultimately lead to violent, extreme, and radicalized behaviors.
Project Objectives
- To bring to the direct and indirect beneficiaries knowledge of personal and social ills of religious fanatism and extremism and provide them with better perspectives and alternatives of peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
- To empower beneficiaries with requisite technical skills and materials/equipment for economic independence and multiplier effect of retraining and empowering more people through the mentorship component of the project.
Project Outcomes
- 15 religious extremists and fundamentalists are constructively deradicalized and provided with peaceful alternatives to violence.
- 15 direct beneficiaries and 150 indirect beneficiaries (family dependents) are economically empowered with entrepreneurial skills and resources to independently start their own business to avoid further financial inducement to crime.
Key Activities
1. Participant Selection
The beneficiaries comprised jobless youths, less privileged, school dropouts, and out-casted members of the society with criminal records or fanatical tendencies. They were identified and recommended by the local leadership structures (CDAs) of CCAPAD. The final selection included 10 young men and 5 young women.
2. Capacity Building Workshop
A one-week intensive training workshop was conducted for the 15 beneficiaries on Islamic perspective to extremism, fanatism, and radicalism, peaceful coexistence, human rights, drug abuse, and business management. The training took place at the lifesaving skills centre in Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos.
3. Mentorship Programme
After the capacity development training, beneficiaries were saddled with the responsibility of going back into the community to mentor at least two people who also have tendencies of radicalism, stepping down what they learnt to ensure a multiplier effect.
4. Skills Acquisition Training
Beneficiaries were trained in skills of their choice including tailoring, shoe and bag making for a period of 3 months. This empowered them with requisite skills for economic independence.
5. Graduation and Empowerment
Upon completion of training, the 15 beneficiaries were empowered with working tools and equipment as start-up capital to stand on their own.
Sustainability
The project's mentorship component ensures sustainability as each beneficiary mentors others in their community. The economic empowerment aspect provides a long-term solution to unemployment-induced radicalization, fostering resilience against negative influences.