CONSULTANCY FOR DEVELOPING A SECURITY FRAMEWORK IN NIGERIA

ABOUT BSF  

Founded in 2007 by French historian Patrick Weil, Libraries Without Borders is a non-governmental organization that strengthens the capacities of vulnerable populations by promoting culture, education, and information sharing. She implements inclusive and innovative projects in over 30 countries, enabling people affected by crises and precarious situations to educate themselves, dream, and (re)build their lives. Through its innovative tools, content library, and expertise in mediation, BSF and its partners tackle major challenges of the 21st century such as education, culture, citizenship, community empowerment, health, employment, and entrepreneurship. 

CONTEXT OF THE CONSULTANCY  

BSF has been operating in West Africa for several years. In 2023, the organization established its regional office for West Africa based in Dakar, with the aim of expanding BSF’s activities in the sub-region. The regional office oversees operations in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Niger, Burkina Faso, and, as part of a new program “Innovative technologies to prevent and combat sexual violence”, in Nigeria.   

With a GDP of $440 billion and a population of nearly 215 million (63% of whom are under 25 years old), Nigeria is the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. The country is nevertheless one of the most unequal in the world with 22 billionaires, 34,000 millionaires and 61% of the population living on less than a dollar a day.   

Nigeria is marked by great social, economic and geographical disparities. The conflict linked to the actions of the Boko Haram group in the northeast, whose epicentre is in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states (BAY), is the most dramatic illustration of this.  Nearly 40% (200 million) of Nigeria’s population lives below the poverty line. President Bola Tinubu, elected in February 2023, has already undertaken spectacular economic and social reforms.  

After 13 years of conflict, the humanitarian crisis in the BAY States has changed little in scale and severity. The impact is profound: some 8.3 million people need humanitarian assistance and protection, mainly women and children. Of the two million displaced people in BAY States, 83% reside in Borno, overcrowded camps or host communities with no adequate shelter and limited access to already precarious basic services, including health care, water and sanitation, education and livelihoods. However, some areas of the BAY states have become relatively stable, encouraging about 1.5 million people to return to their places of origin. They are returning to communities devastated by conflict and trying to rebuild their lives.  

Gender is a determinant of vulnerability. Women and children are disproportionately affected by the conflict and bear the brunt of humanitarian needs. Women and girls have significantly greater needs than men and boys and often have less access to humanitarian assistance and protection. Women and children make up 81% (6.7 million) of those in need, with women and girls making up the largest share (53%).  

In late July 2016, Human Rights Watch documented sexual abuse, including rape, and exploitation of 43 women and girls living in seven displacement camps in Maiduguri, Borno State. Sexual exploitation, rape and other sexual abuse were also identified as a major concern in 14 camps out of 26 sites hosting internally displaced persons in Borno State. The failure of the police to investigate sexual violence deprives victims of justice. 11,200 cases of rape were reported in 2022. Although the Nigerian authorities have declared a « state of emergency » in relation to sexual and gender-based violence, sexual violence persists at crisis levels, with most victims deprived of justice, rapists evading prosecution, and hundreds of cases going unreported due to widespread corruption.  stigmatization and blaming of victims.  

On 13 October 2022, Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC), and BSF signed an unprecedented partnership agreement to combat sexual violence in conflict. The main focus of this partnership is the deployment of innovative tools to support survivors of sexual violence, as well as their families and communities In this context and in association with the organization We Are NOT Weapons of War (WWoW), BSF has started a pilot initiative in Nigeria. This initiative, in conjunction with local players in the sector, will focus on developing and deploying WWoW’s Back Up tool by backing it up with BSF’s offline internet solutions.   

During this project, BSF and WWoW will focus their actions on Borno State in northeastern Nigeria.  

BSF does not currently have a security plan or framework on security in Nigeria, neither on the specific context of the Borno State.