CONFRONTING TERRORISM AND ITS AFTERMATH IN NIGERIA: THE SOCIAL WORKERS EXPECTATIONS

Abstract

Among the multifarious mandates of the Social Workers is a rapid response to terrorism and its aftermath. Terrorism has become so disastrous, worrisome and overpowering that Nigeria and indeed the global communities have beamed their searchlight on it to check it. From the realities on ground, it is suggestive that the security agencies can no longer win this battle alone hence the need for a collaborative working relationship between the military and other agencies, particularly the Social Workers. The study therefore seeks to assess what the Social Workers need to do in fighting terrorism and its aftermath in Nigeria. To achieve this, the study borrows approaches from literature in countries that have successfully utilized the services of the Social Workers and blends them with local content approaches that can be resourceful to curb the menace of terrorism in Nigeria. State fragility theory was adopted as the underpinning theoretical construct for the study. The findings revealed that Social Workers can confront terrorism using intervention strategies like de-radicalization, psychosocial support, protection and reintegration, as well as macro level intervention strategies such as advocacy and community based development; among others.