Coping and social support strategies of Nigerian military widows in the war against Boko Haram
| dc.contributor.advisor | Heinecken, Lindy | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Ajala, Olufisayo Temitope | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-02-27T13:14:40Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-18T07:13:27Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-02-27T13:14:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-05-18T07:13:27Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-03 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Nigerian Army has been engaged in asymmetric warfare with the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram since 2011, which is the single largest deployment of soldiers in any internal security operation in post-independence Nigeria. Since then, there has been an uncountable loss of military personnel and civilian casualties caught up in this conflict. This study examined how the Nigerian Army widows coped with their husbands' deaths and sustained their livelihoods in the absence of state support. The study looked at the welfare benefits for deceased servicemen in the Nigerian Army, the numerous challenges women faced in accessing the benefits, the influence and support provided by the military widows Association, the coping and social support strategies they adopted and the effect of the deaths on their livelihoods. The study contained seven chapters that include the background, theoretical and literature review, Nigerian Army structure and organization, widowhood in Nigeria, findings, methodology, and discussions of the study. The background chapter established the rationale of the study, locating it within the limited attention paid to military casualties of the conflict, and the need to understand the impact of the war on widows, and the military community. The theoretical and conceptual framework chapter discussed the bureaucracy, social capital and social support theories, and the extant literature on compensations for military widows, their challenges, and how they differ across various militaries. This chapter examines the coping and social support strategies used by military widows and other war widows in various societies. The next chapters focused on the Nigerian military and widowhood in Nigeria and discusses the structure, operations, and welfare schemes of the Nigerian Army. This chapter identified the dysfunctional nature of Nigeria’s military bureaucracy as a major factor impeding the payment of benefits to military widows, whereas the chapter on widowhood looked at the coping environment of widows in Nigerian society, and those of military widows from past operations. Further discussed in this chapter was the role and influence of the Nigerian Military Wives and Widows Associations. Following these were the methodology, findings, and discussion chapters. An interpretive qualitative method was used in this work to describe and derive meaning from the lived experiences of widows of Nigerian Army soldiers whose husbands died in the war against Boko Haram. The study was conducted over a period of four months from December 2020 to March 2021 in Lagos, Abuja, and Maiduguri in the Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria. Data for the study was collected in other sites in Jos, Bauchi, Osogbo and Ilorin, and virtually, through video-conferencing platforms and phone interviews. A total of 29 interviews with widows, and 14 interviews with members of the media, civil society and military communities were conducted during the period of the fieldwork. A key finding was the difficulties the women faced in accessing their benefits. Most of the participants experienced a lack of support from military officials in processing their benefits and were left alone to deal with a large and inefficient bureaucracy. However, some experienced more difficulties than others. Widows of officers were more able to access their benefits compared to those of non-commissioned officers due to their social status and personal connections within the military. For all widows, accessing benefits was influenced by a system of patronage. It was found that the Nigerian military bureaucracy functions along neo-patrimonial lines, which hampers the efficient functioning of the military bureaucracy and opens the way to corruption and the exploitation of women. Another key finding of the study was the support provided by the Military Widows Association. The discussions revealed that the Association has been able to provide some form of bridging social capital, the lacked the resources and ability to provide linking social capital to access the military institution and the wider civil society. Without state and associational support, military widows turned to their families and social charities for support. While families provided bonding capital that helped women cope and survive, this was limited by the cultural demands placed on widows in African societies. In comparison with other studies on military widows, an important finding within the African context was that bonding capital was often eroded by the traditional practices that occasioned widowhood, such as property inheritance, forced remarriage, and other forms of social vulnerability and stigmatization. Hence, they resort to other coping resources, such as spirituality, resilience, and personal strength to cope with the loss. Finally, this study evaluated the impact of death on the livelihood of women. The findings revealed that the death significantly altered the socioeconomic lives and ivelihood strategies of the women. The widows struggled with raising and educating children, playing dual parent roles, and overall family maintenance following their husband’s demise. Furthermore, the women’s vulnerable conditions were exploited by relatives who demanded their share of the late husband’s entitlements to members of the Nigerian military. They also encountered various forms of sexual exploitation, in exchange for their late husband's benefits from Nigerian Army officials. The study’s key conclusions are that Nigerian military widows experienced key difficulties accessing their benefits due to the centralized and dysfunctional nature of the neo-patrimonial Nigerian military bureaucracy. Although it was expected that the Military Widows Association would support the widows, their agency was limited by their lack of capacity to provide the needed bridging and linking social capital, and negative attitudes towards the military by wider society. As a result, they resorted to using different economic, social, and psychological support strategies, depending on the reach of their social capital, status, and education. The useful recommendations highlighted by this study include the need for the Nigerian military to streamline the bureaucracy associated with payments of benefits. Other recommendations are the establishment of a military ombudsman to address issues of bribery and sexual exploitation perpetrated by officers against widows and NOKs of deceased soldiers, the provision of institutional support to the military widow’s association, and the need for the military widows association to extend its activities into the civil society space. This study was not without limitations. One of them was the challenges of access to the participants. This was expected given the nature of the topic. Also, I interviewed more widows of non-commissioned officers than commissioned officers. This was due to the officer-enlisted ratio present in the Nigerian military. The study would have benefitted from interviews with widows of senior officers, from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and above for more comparison of experiences. The study’s focus on widows, rather than widowers of the Nigerian Army is another limitation of the study. This limitation, however, is a function of the overtly gendered nature of military institutions, and the exclusion of women from combat roles, including in the Nigerian military. Nonetheless, the findings and conclusions of this study are verifiable, generalizable, and reliable as they compare with the findings of other studies and correlate with the few studies on military families in Africa. Areas for further research identified by this study include focusing on the deployment and post-deployment challenges among Nigerian soldiers and military families involved in the Boko Haram conflict/and/or Internal Security Operations in Nigeria and studying the narratives of wives and families of disabled Nigerian soldiers in the Boko Haram conflict. Studies of this nature will open new vistas of knowledge on the experiences of serving Nigerian military families and the challenges they face in performing this crucial national duty and service. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Nigeriese weermag is sedert 2011 besig met asimmetriese oorlogvoering met die Islamitiese terreurgroep, Boko Haram, wat die enkele grootste ontplooiing van soldate in enige interne veiligheidsoperasie in Nigerië ná onafhanklikheid is. Sedertdien was daar 'n ontelbare verlies aan militêre personeel en burgerlike ongevalle wat in hierdie konflik vasgevang is. Hierdie studie het ondersoek hoe die weduwees van die Nigeriese weermag hul mans se dood hanteer het en hul lewensonderhoud volgehou het in die afwesigheid van staatsondersteuning. Die studie het gekyk na die welsynsvoordele vir afgestorwe dienspligtiges in die Nigeriese weermag, die talle uitdagings wat vroue in die gesig gestaar het om toegang tot die voordele te verkry, die invloed en ondersteuning wat deur die militêre weduweesvereniging verskaf word, die hanterings- en sosiale ondersteuningstrategieë wat hulle aangeneem het en die effek van die sterftes op hul lewensbestaan. Die studie het sewe hoofstukke bevat wat die agtergrond, teoretiese en literatuuroorsig, Nigeriese weermagstruktuur en organisasie, weduweeskap in Nigerië, bevindinge, metodologie en besprekings van die studie insluit. Die agtergrondhoofstuk het die rasionaal van die studie vasgestel en dit geplaas binne die beperkte aandag wat aan militêre ongevalle van die konflik gegee is, en die behoefte om die impak van die oorlog op weduwees en die militêre gemeenskap te verstaan. Die teoretiese en konseptuele raamwerk hoofstuk het die burokrasie, sosiale kapitaal en sosiale ondersteuningsteorieë bespreek, asook die bestaande literatuur oor vergoeding vir militêre weduwees, hul uitdagings en hoe hulle verskil oor verskeie weermagte. Hierdie hoofstuk ondersoek die hanterings- en sosiale ondersteuningstrategieë wat deur militêre weduwees en ander oorlogweduwees in verskeie samelewings gebruik word. Die volgende hoofstukke het gefokus op die Nigeriese weermag en weduweeskap in Nigerië en bespreek die struktuur, bedrywighede en welsynskemas van die Nigeriese weermag. Hierdie hoofstuk het die disfunksionele aard van Nigerië se militêre burokrasie geïdentifiseer as 'n belangrike faktor wat die betaling van voordele aan militêre weduwees belemmer, terwyl die hoofstuk oor weduweeskap gekyk het na die hanteringsomgewing van weduwees in die Nigeriese samelewing, en dié van militêre weduwees van vorige bedrywighede. Verder bespreek in hierdie hoofstuk was die rol en invloed van die Nigeriese Militêre Vroue en Weduwee Verenigings. Hierna volg die metodologie, bevindinge en besprekingshoofstukke. 'n Interpreterende kwalitatiewe metode is in hierdie werk gebruik om die geleefde ervarings van weduwees van Nigeriese weermagsoldate wie se mans in die oorlog teen Boko Haram gesterf het, te beskryf en betekenis te verkry. Die studie is oor 'n tydperk van vier maande van Desember 2020 tot Maart 2021 in Lagos, Abuja en Maiduguri in die suidelike en noordelike dele van Nigerië uitgevoer. Data vir die studie is op ander gebiede in Jos, Bauchi, Osogbo en Ilorin ingesamel, asook op virtuele platforms soos videokonferensieplatforms en telefoononderhoude. Altesaam was daar 29 onderhoude met weduwees, en 14 onderhoude met lede van die media, burgerlike samelewing en militêre gemeenskappe gedurende die tydperk van die veldwerk gevoer. 'n Sleutelbevinding was die probleme wat die vroue ondervind het om toegang tot hul voordele te kry. Die meeste van die deelnemers het 'n gebrek aan ondersteuning van militêre amptenare ervaar in die verwerking van hul voordele en is alleen gelaat om 'n groot en ondoeltreffende burokrasie te hanteer. Sommige het egter meer probleme as ander ervaar. Weduwees van offisiere kon meer toegang tot hul voordele kry in vergelyking met dié van onderoffisiere vanweë hul sosiale status en persoonlike verbintenisse binne die weermag. Vir alle weduwees is toegang tot voordele deur 'n stelsel van patronaatskap beïnvloed. Daar is gevind dat die Nigeriese militêre burokrasie volgens neo-patrimoniale lyne funksioneer, wat die doeltreffende funksionering van die militêre burokrasie belemmer en die weg oopmaak vir korrupsie en die uitbuiting van vroue. Nog 'n sleutelbevinding van die studie was die ondersteuning wat deur die Militêre Weduweevereniging verskaf is. Die besprekings het aan die lig gebring dat alhoewel die Vereniging in staat was om een of ander vorm van oorbruggingsmaatskaplike kapitaal te verskaf, hulle het nie die hulpbronne en vermoë gehad om koppelende sosiale kapitaal te verskaf om toegang tot die militêre instelling en die breër burgerlike samelewing te kry nie. Sonder staats- en verenigingsondersteuning het militêre weduwees hulle tot hul gesinne en maatskaplike liefdadigheidsorganisasies gewend vir ondersteuning. Terwyl gesinne bindingskapitaal verskaf het wat vroue gehelp het om die hoof te bied en te oorleef, is dit beperk deur die kulturele eise wat aan weduwees in Afrika-samelewings gestel is. In vergelyking met ander studies oor militêre weduwees, was 'n belangrike bevinding binne die Afrika-konteks dat bindingskapitaal dikwels geërodeer is deur die tradisionele praktyke wat weduweeskap veroorsaak het, soos eiendomsvererwing, gedwonge hertrou en ander vorme van sosiale kwesbaarheid en stigmatisering. Daarom wend hulle hulle tot ander hanteringshulpbronne, soos spiritualiteit, veerkragtigheid en persoonlike krag om die verlies te hanteer. Laastens het hierdie studie die impak van dood op die lewensbestaan van vroue geëvalueer. Die bevindinge het aan die lig gebring dat die dood die sosio-ekonomiese lewens en lewensbestaanstrategieë van die vroue aansienlik verander het. Die weduwees het gesukkel met die grootmaak en opvoeding van kinders, die vertolking van dubbele ouerrolle, en algehele gesinsonderhoud ná hul man se afsterwe. Verder is die vroue se kwesbare toestande uitgebuit deur familielede wat hul deel van die oorlede man se aansprake op lede van die Nigeriese weermag geëis het. Hulle het ook verskeie vorme van seksuele uitbuiting teëgekom, in ruil vir hul oorlede man se voordele van Nigeriese weermagamptenare. Die belangrikste gevolgtrekkings van die studie is dat Nigeriese militêre weduwees belangrike probleme ondervind het om toegang tot hul voordele te verkry as gevolg van die gesentraliseerde en disfunksionele aard van die neo-patrimoniale Nigeriese militêre burokrasie. Alhoewel daar verwag is dat die Militêre Weduweevereniging die weduwees sou ondersteun, was hul agentskap beperk deur hul gebrek aan kapasiteit om die nodige oorbrugging en skakeling van sosiale kapitaal te verskaf, asook weens die breër samelewing se negatiewe houdings. Gevolglik het hulle gebruik gemaak van verskillende ekonomiese, sosiale en sielkundige ondersteuningstrategieë, afhangende van die bereik van hul sosiale kapitaal, status en opvoeding. Nuttige aanbevelings wat deur hierdie studie uitgelig word, sluit in die behoefte vir die Nigeriese weermag om die burokrasie wat verband hou met die betalings van voordele te stroomlyn, die verskaffing van institusionele ondersteuning deur die Nigeriese weermag en ander militêre gesinne en veteraangroepe aan die militêre weduwee se vereniging, die uitbreiding van MIWA se aktiwiteite in die burgerlike samelewingsruimte, en die vestiging van 'n militêre ombudsman om kwessies van omkopery en korrupsie, en seksuele uitbuiting, gepleeg deur beamptes teen weduwees en NOK's van 'n afgestorwe soldaat, aan te spreek. Hierdie studie was nie sonder beperkings nie. Een daarvan was die uitdagings van toegang tot die deelnemers. Tog was dit ‘n verwagting gegewe die aard van die onderwerp. Ook het ek meer weduwees van onderoffisiere as onderoffisiere ondervra. Dit was te danke aan die verhouding tussen offisiere wat in die Nigeriese weermag teenwoordig is. Die studie sou baat gevind het by onderhoude met weduwees van senior offisiere, van die rang van luitenant-kolonel en hoër vir meer vergelyking van ervarings. Die studie se fokus op weduwees, eerder as weduwees van die Nigeriese weermag, is nog 'n beperking van die studie. Hierdie beperking is egter 'n funksie van die openlik geslagtelike aard van militêre instellings, en die uitsluiting van vroue van gevegsrolle, insluitend in die Nigeriese weermag. Nietemin is die bevindinge en gevolgtrekkings van hierdie studie verifieerbaar, veralgemeenbaar en betroubaar aangesien dit vergelyk word met die bevindinge van ander studies en korreleer met die min studies oor militêre gesinne in Afrika. Gebiede vir verdere navorsing wat deur hierdie studie geïdentifiseer is, sluit in fokus op die ontplooiings- en post-ontplooiingsuitdagings onder Nigeriese soldate en militêre gesinne betrokke by die Boko Haram-konflik/en/of Interne Veiligheidsoperasies in Nigerië, asook die bestudering van die vertellings van vrouens en gesinne van gestremde Nigeriërs soldate in die Boko Haram-konflik. Studies van hierdie aard sal nuwe uitsigte van kennis oopmaak oor die ervarings van dienende Nigeriese militêre gesinne en die uitdagings wat hulle in die gesig staar in die uitvoering van hierdie belangrike nasionale plig en diens. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Doctoral | en_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | xx, 204 pages | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/127274 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Boko Haram | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Terrorism -- Nigeria | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Counterinsurgency -- Nigeria | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Nigeria -- Nigerian Army | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Widowhood -- Nigeria -- Psychological aspects | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Widows -- Services for -- Nigeria | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Society of Military Widows | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Nigeria -- History -- Civil War, 1967-1970 | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.name | UCTD | |
| dc.title | Coping and social support strategies of Nigerian military widows in the war against Boko Haram | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |
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