Beyond a Silver Bullet : Nigeria's Borno Model and Its Paradoxes of Vernacular Security

Titelangaben

Akintayo, Joshua:
Beyond a Silver Bullet : Nigeria's Borno Model and Its Paradoxes of Vernacular Security.
In: Jarvis, Lee ; Lister, Michael ; Oyawale, Akinyemi (Hrsg.): New Directions in Vernacular Security Research. - Cham : Palgrave Macmillan , 2025 . - S. 69-91
ISBN 978-3-031-97717-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97717-6_4

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Abstract

One of the underlying logics of vernacular security is its ability to simplify complex security issues—translating intricate abstract notions of security into relatable everyday narrative—by privileging the constructions of subjects of security policies. This position, which has been foregrounded in the existing literature, underscores that safety, security and peace have been constructed in the vernacular, through the vernacular, and by the vernacular. However, little is empirically known about how security measures aimed for and targeted at the vernacular facilitate and trigger feelings of (in)security for the vernacular, through its exclusionary practices, particularly when practically implemented. This chapter addresses this gap by analysing and critiquing the so-called Borno Model (BM), a community rehabilitation and reintegration program in Borno State, Nigeria. The article argues that despite posturing as a vernacular security archetype aimed at rebuilding communal coexistence and fostering inclusivity, the Borno Model fosters feelings of (in)security, suspicion, and anxiety amongst community members. Findings demonstrate a disconnect between the theoretical promises of the Borno Model as a vernacular approach and its practical implementation, arguing that the model adopts a lip-service and tokenistic operationalisation of the principles of vernacular security that it rhetorically claims. While the chapter argues for caution in the over-romanticisation of vernacular security measures as a silver bullet, it also proposes a ‘vernacular studies policy approach’ as a way to bridge the theory-practice divide.