Mr Abubakar Bala

Miami University

Bio

Abubakar Bala is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership at Miami University Oxford, Ohio. He possesses instructional experience in Nigeria, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, he served as a Fulbright Foreign Language Assistant (FLTA) at Michigan State University and is an alumnus of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Abubakar’s research focuses on the intersection of educational leadership, language education, and multiculturalism.

Women's Education as a Security Asset: Examining the Role of Female Schooling in Countering Violent Extremism in North-Western Nigeria

Abstract

This qualitative study examines women's education as a security asset in North-Western Nigeria, where banditry and insecurity disrupt schooling and threaten families. Drawing on interviews with ten women and Kabeer's resources–agency–achievements model, thematic analysis shows that education and economic resources strengthen maternal vigilance, reducing children's recruitment risk and women's vulnerability to financial incentives. Insecurity constrains these resources, creating a feedback loop. Education and economic empowerment are complementary, non-substitutable security interventions requiring simultaneous attention to insecurity.