The Borno State Government has warned that failure to address the psychological trauma suffered by children affected by insurgency could create a new generation vulnerable to extremist recruitment, criminality and social instability.
The warning was issued by the state’s Deputy Governor, Umar Usman Kadafur, who represented Governor Babagana Umara Zulum at the two-day National Dialogue on the Psychosocial Impact of Conflict on Children in Nigeria, held in Maiduguri.
Kadafur said the consequences of more than a decade of insurgency in the North-East extended far beyond deaths, displacement and destruction of infrastructure, stressing that the psychological scars left on children represented one of the most dangerous and enduring consequences of the conflict.
He disclosed that more than 1,400 schools had been destroyed across the region, while 2,295 teachers had been killed and about 19,000 displaced, leaving nearly three million children in urgent need of emergency education support.
According to him, children exposed to prolonged violence, grief, displacement and insecurity could become susceptible to manipulation by extremist organisations and criminal networks if their psychological needs were neglected.
“If left untreated, it creates a pipeline of bitterness, alienation, and vulnerability to recruitment, perpetuating the very cycle of violence we are fighting to end,” Kadafur said.
He stressed that military victories alone could not guarantee sustainable peace, arguing that security operations must be complemented by programmes designed to heal children and restore their ability to trust their families and communities.
“Trauma does not end when the guns fall silent. It embeds itself in their developing brains. It alters their cognition, behaviour, and their capacity to trust,” he said.
Kadafur called for the development of a national mental health framework specifically targeting conflict-affected children and the deployment of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers and counsellors to rural communities, internally displaced persons’ camps and schools.
He also advocated the integration of psychosocial support into counter-terrorism and anti-radicalisation programmes, describing schools as critical platforms for restoring stability and hope among affected children.
“Schools are not merely a place for learning arithmetic and grammar. For a conflict-affected child, the classroom represents normalcy, safety, and hope,” he said.
Trauma a National Security Issue
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, backed the call, warning that untreated childhood trauma should be treated as a national security concern rather than solely a humanitarian challenge.
Representing Ribadu, the Director of Medical Intelligence, Dr Patience Omokri, said children exposed to terrorism, insurgency and communal violence had suffered the loss of parents and homes, while some had endured abduction, forced recruitment, displacement and exploitation.
“A traumatised child is not only a victim. If left unsupported, they can become a vector of instability,” Ribadu said.
He warned that unresolved trauma could manifest in aggression, mistrust, poor judgment and alienation, increasing children’s vulnerability to extremist recruiters, traffickers and criminal networks.
“The resilience of Nigeria depends on the resilience of its children,” he added.
UNICEF Raises Alarm
The scale of the crisis was underscored by UNICEF, which disclosed that 270,864 children across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe require mental health and psychosocial support under the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.
The UNICEF representative, Francis Otuochi, said continuing conflict had exposed children to fear, anxiety, family separation, disrupted education, violence and severe psychological distress.
He called for psychosocial support to be systematically integrated into Nigeria’s child protection, healthcare, education and social welfare systems.
Professor Andrew Zamani, who delivered the keynote address, described the psychological impact of prolonged conflict as a national emergency.
Zamani recalled encountering a child in Borno who had lost his parents and siblings to insurgency and expressed a desire to obtain a gun to avenge their deaths before taking his own life.
He said the case demonstrated how unresolved grief could evolve into a desire for revenge and perpetuate violence.
The professor warned that the crisis could become intergenerational, noting that some children exposed to conflict two decades ago had grown into adults and parents without having experienced stable family structures themselves.
“You can’t give what you don’t have,” he said.
Calls for Dedicated Funding
The dialogue called for a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s response to conflict-affected communities, moving beyond predominantly military and humanitarian interventions to place children’s psychological recovery, education and long-term reintegration at the centre of peacebuilding efforts.
Former Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, urged the Federal Government to establish a dedicated budgetary provision for children growing up in conflict zones.
He also called for stronger implementation mechanisms under the Child Rights Act and urged Nigerian universities to expand research into effective psychosocial interventions for conflict-affected children.
The North East Development Commission also stressed the need to combine security operations with reconstruction, youth empowerment, livelihood restoration, support for displaced persons and initiatives promoting social cohesion.
Representing the commission, Borno State Coordinator, Engineer Muhammadu Umar Maska, said sustainable peace required development to be treated as a tool for conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
“Development should be regarded not as a mere economic activity, but as a powerful instrument of conflict prevention and peacebuilding,” Maska said.
The Maiduguri dialogue underscored a growing concern that defeating insurgents and rebuilding damaged infrastructure alone will not guarantee lasting peace. Without sustained investment in the psychological recovery, education and reintegration of conflict-affected children, the wounds of today’s violence could become a source of instability for future generations.
