Solar Empowerment
How Solar Power Could Reduce Terrorism in the Sahel
By Adam Kanwal
The sub-Saharan Sahel region of Africa is facing a seemingly inescapable cycle of poverty, hunger, and terrorism. A total of 4.2 million people have been displaced due to armed conflict—much of which is associated with terrorist organizations such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram.[i] In order to try to stem this displacement and increase stability, the recent UN Support Plan for the Sahel focuses on harnessing the Sahel’s unique portfolio of natural resources—specifically, its abundance of solar energy and its youthful population.[ii] Effective solutions to complex sources of conflict, such as local terrorism, are often best implemented by those who know the complexities most intimately. Therefore, it is important to explore ways in which solar energy might be used to empower locals and ultimately weaken terrorist organizations.
The Sahel and Terrorism
Wedged between the Sahara and the Savanna, the Sahel region consists of portions of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan.[iii] The Sahel is one of the poorest regions of the world: 80% of its people live on less than $2 a day.[iv] Furthermore, the region faces a wide range of environmental stresses. Temperature increases due to climate change, are, on average, significantly greater in the Sahel compared to the rest of the world. Additionally, many of these countries face rapid population growth rates, severe overfarming, and harsh droughts, which coalesce to drive extreme food insecurity. It is under these deteriorating ecological conditions, and against a backdrop of political ineffectiveness and corruption, that the terrorist activities of groups like the Nigeria-based Boko Haram have increased.
Contrary to the essentialization of these two groups as parts of a global Jihadist movement, both their motives and their attacks appear to be localized. For example, one researcher at the University of Auckland cites electoral malpractice, kleptocratic corruption, and poverty as factors crucial to the formation of Boko Haram.[v] Consequently, any viable solution to terrorism in the Sahel must address community impoverishment and corruption. A bottom-up, solar energy approach could work through various channels to alleviate this local poverty, reduce corruption, and disincentivize youth from joining these terrorist organizations.
The Solar Solution
Solar energy in the Sahel is uniquely abundant. With recent drops in the costs of solar energy production, projects by the UN, World Bank, and African Development Bank have focused on using solar energy to drive Sahelian nations’ economic development. Perhaps the most well-known project is the recent 2019 Desert to Action initiative, which proposes installing networks of solar power plants across the Sahel in order to reach the ambitious goal of supplying every household with electricity by 2030. But, installing the number of power plants required for the Desert to Action initiative to succeed requires large amounts of private investment.[vi] With high levels of government corruption and low ratings in terms of “ease of doing business,” and therefore high levels of risk, investors are unlikely to park cash in this region.[vii] Sahelian countries would instead be best suited for decentralized approaches toward solar power, which involves harnessing energy from small power producers in rural household settings, rather than large corporate plants. These decentralized approaches toward solar energy could minimize the economic and political turmoil that sustains groups like Boko Haram, and even create alternative opportunities for potential young recruits.
Irrigation
In Nigeria’s Borno State, poverty and unemployment rates are high, and there are few economic opportunities for the Nigerian youth. Organizations like Boko Haram provide Nigerians with a potential source of financial security that may not be otherwise available through subsistence farming. Borno’s local economy is largely based on agriculture, and the state’s poverty stems primarily from low farming productivity. Specifically, as researchers from Nigeria’s University of Maiduguri noted in 2014, technological deficiencies prevent Borno from harnessing anything close to its full irrigation potential.[viii] Solar powered irrigation pumps have been shown to significantly increase household income and food security.[ix] Thus, promoting household-based solar-powered irrigation systems and proper training on how to use this technology could encourage youth to engage in subsistence farming to provide for themselves, rather than engaging in the kidnapping, looting, spying, and murder practices which fund Boko Haram. Access to a sustainable food source and potential income would increase the opportunity cost of a risky life in Boko Haram. Overall, solar-based technologies that increase agricultural productivity could spur economic development in regions of the Sahel like the Borno State, increasing the economic prospects for many formerly susceptible young people.
Light
The installation of solar-powered artificial light sources also has the potential to reduce terrorism. First, much of Boko Haram’s activity, including its kidnapping of the Chibok girls and its burning of 12 public Maiduguru schools in 2012, takes place at night—when natural light is unavailable.[x] Providing solar-powered lamps could reduce these night-time kidnappings and improve the general security of villagers. This could, in turn, limit ransoms, one of Boko Haram’s major sources of income.
Another mechanism through which solar-powered light could reduce terrorism in the Borno State, is by facilitating an increase in women’s productivity. Zakaria (2001) noted that women play an important role in the informal economy by generating additional household income through the sale of items like woven goods and cooked foods. Now, with women experiencing increased participation in the agricultural sector on top of sustained household duties, any extra weaving and cooking would have to be completed at night.[xi] Bringing solar powered light to households could enable women to continue generating these additional sources of income—even at night. As a result of this increased productivity, these women could provide a more financially secure life for their children, who might then be more likely to engage in legitimate labor practices rather than the riskier, and economically unproductive practices of Boko Haram. This would in turn continue to develop the local economies of Borno.
Internet
Solar power can also be used to increase local internet access, allowing for greater access to information and thereby providing another potential opportunity for reduction in local terrorism. Companies like the Israeli Nefatim have recently started installing solar-paired cell towers to create greater access to the internet. Replicating this on a larger scale may help fill one major societal void that has contributed to youth susceptibility to radicalization and recruitment into organizations like Boko Haram—the lack of availability of non-Jihadist portrayals of Islam. Without access to alternative interpretations of Islamic doctrines, youthful populations are more susceptible to Boko Haram’s radical religious narratives.[xii]
These radical religious narratives are able to gain traction particularly within the Borno State’s context of economic turmoil. Increases in information access via solar-powered internet access may, however, also have the ability to improve the economy. Researchers Saleh and Lasisi of the University of Nebraska (2010) found that women in the Sahel cited lack of information related to agriculture, health, and education as major hindrances to overall productivity.[xiii] Through interviews, they learned that women in the Borno State felt inadequately informed on how to help their children navigate the schooling process. Education is a significant predictor of agricultural productivity.[xiv] Therefore, access to information via the internet could improve the overall economy by increasing productivity for women and their children.
Through increasing farming productivity, providing light, and powering internet access, solar energy can be a sustainable resource in decreasing the effectiveness of groups like Boko Haram. Industrialized countries should view terrorism in the Sahel as a symptom of local poverty and insecurity, rather than as another embodiment of global Islamist terror. By focusing efforts on decentralized, household-based solar energy, locals—specifically women and youth—can be empowered to build economically strong and secure communities.
[i] Skretteberg, Richard. “Sahel - The World's Most Neglected and Conflict-Ridden Region.” Norwegian Refugee Council. Accessed November 4, 2019. https://www.nrc.no/shorthand/fr/sahel---the-worlds-most-neglected-and-conflict-ridden-region/index.html (https://www.nrc.no/shorthand/fr/sahel---the-worlds-most-neglected-and-conflict-ridden-region/index.html).
[ii] Anon. “The Sahel: Land of Opportunities | Africa Renewal.” United Nations. Retrieved November 4, 2019 (https://www.un.org/africarenewal/sahel#targetText=Sahel, one of the world's youthful region&targetText=The Sahel is also endowed,average over the past decade.).
[iii] The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Sahel.” Accessed November 13th, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sahel
[iv] Harsch, Ernest. “The new face of the Sahel”. August, 2017. Accessed November 13th, 2019. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-november-2017/new-face-sahel#targetText=With%20up%20to%2080%25%20of,is%20among%20the%20world's%20highest.
[v] Iyekekpolo, Wisdom Oghoso. “The political process of Boko Haram insurgency onset: a political relevance model.” Critical Studies on Terrorism, 12, 4 (2019).
[vi] Anon. “Desert to Power Initiative for Africa”. African Development Bank Group. Dec 19, 2018. Accessed Nov 13, 2019. https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/desert-to-power-initiative-for-africa-18887
[vii] Anon. “Ease of doing business index (1=most business-friendly regulations)”. World Bank. Accessed Nov 13, 2019. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ic.bus.ease.xq
[viii] Mustafa, S.B., Gwary M.M., & Makinta, A.A. “Harnessing The Economic Potentials of Borno State for Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria.” International Journal for Research in Agriculture and Food Science, 2, 5 (2014).
[ix] Burney, Jennifer et al. “Solar-powered drip irrigation enhances food security in the Sudano–Sahel.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 5 (2010).
[x] Walker, Andrew. “What is Boko Haram”. United Stateas Institute of Peace. June, 2012. Accessed Nov 13, 2019. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/resources/SR308.pdf
[xi] Zakaria, Yakubu. “Entrepreneurs at Home: Secluded Muslim Women and Hidden Economic Activities in Northern Nigeria.” Nordic Journal of African Studies, 10, 1 (2001).
[xii] Walker, Andrew. “What is Boko Haram”. United Stateas Institute of Peace. June, 2012. Accessed Nov 13, 2019. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/resources/SR308.pdf
[xiii] Saleh, A.G., and Lasisis, F.I., Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Rural Women in Borno State, Nigeria.” Library Philosophies and Practice, 12, 2 (2013).
[xiv] Mustafa, S.B., Gwary M.M., & Makinta, A.A. “Harnessing The Economic Potentials of
Borno State for Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria.” International Journal for Research in
Agriculture and Food Science, 2, 5 (2014).
