Security and Youth profiling on extremism eradication

Extremism eradication is a major call for security stabilization in the Horn of Africa region. It targets the youth majority in the population. Over 70% of Kenya’s population is less than 30 years of age. There is high sense of disenfranchisement for the bulging youth demographic resulting from unemployment and limited livelihood choices and social and political marginalization. Working together with partners like the UNDP, who notes that the impact and cost of insecurity resulting from violent extremism is enormous and is a risk to Africa’s development agenda, we intend to sustain our Youth friendly initiatives and support for youth friendly alternate economic activities. EPS Kenya reckons with what UNDP says that the radicalization and violent extremist phenomena are disproportionately impacting youth and women from marginalized areas. Organized radicalized groups in the region have successfully capitalized the perceived or real economic deprivation, marginalization, poor governance, land issues, and poverty to radicalize and recruit the bulging youth population into violent extremist and terrorist acts. UNDP interventions target the epicenter, spillover and at-risk communities where both the youth and women are at risk of both radicalization and being victims of violent extremist acts. These communities include: The Northern Kenya border regions (Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, and Wajir); the Coastline border region of Kenya (Kilifi, Kwale, Tana River, Lamu, Mombasa) and parts of Nairobi and Isiolo Counties.

We identify the following as the cause of youth radicalization extremism within African continent, and the Horn of Africa in particular:

1. Social economic factors
2. Individual factors
3. Political factors
4. (Foreign) terror cell factor

In Somalia precisely, the following are the Push Factors

1. Unemployment
2. Fear of victimization
3. AMISOM Bombardment
4. Revenge
5. Lack of Education