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Paper short abstract:

Using a case study design that engages the local people in southwest Nigeria, we examine the "Amotekun Security Outfit" as a cultural security and development strategy. The objective of the study is to show the cultural strategies can be used to address poverty and underdevelopment in Africa.

Paper long abstract:

In the light of the failure of mainstream development strategies such as modernization to achieve security, employment and development in Africa, it is imperative that the continent find and follow a development path that is rooted in African culture. Anthologists have argued that the lack of cultural relativism in development strategies explains why "development" does not achieve its objectives in poor countries. The objective of the study is to examine how cultural strategies can be used to address increasing poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment in Africa. Specifically, this study shall examine the recent launch of Amotekun Security Outfit in South West, Nigeria in response to the failures of the Nigerian police to curb insecurity. Amotekun Security Outfit uses African (Yoruba) cultural values, particularly African communalism and spirituality, to restore the peace that communities need to develop. Despite criticism and debate from some quarters about its constitutionality Amotekun continues to have the endorsement of the governors and people of the Southwest region. The objectives of this study are to examine the perception of the Yoruba people on the appropriateness and effectiveness of Amotekun as a cultural security and development strategy, to discover the cultural principles that promote citizens' acceptability and effectiveness (or otherwise), and to show how these cultural principles can be scaled up to mobilize local support and achieve other development goals in southwest Nigeria and other similar contexts. This study is important because it highlights African traditional knowledge and how applicable it is to resolving problems in modern-day Africa.