Unemployment is cited as the most common factor driving people to join extremist groups in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the two-year UN Development Programme report. Close to 25pc of the individuals who joined were driven by joblessness with only 17pc claiming to be motivated by religious ideas.

The report suggests a conflation of several factors contributes to Africa becoming the global epicentre for violent extremism. In the year 2021, 40pc of all deaths from acts of violent terrorism worldwide occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, the only region in the world to experience escalating terrorism during the period.

Although Ethiopia is not included in the study, Yonas Adaye (PhD), director of the Institute for Peace & Security Studies (IPSS), recognizes the role of unemployment as a contributing factor to joining an extremist group. However, he cautions against making a one-to-one causal relationship when analysing the issue.

"A multi-factorial inquiry is the only way to understand radicalization," he told Fortune.

The survey conducted in eight Sub-Saharan countries with over 2,000 subjects attempted to comprehend divergent path selection for those arising from the same socio-economic background. Nigeria, Mali and Cameroon accounted for the majority of respondents while the least number of respondents were from Sudan.

The publication is a follow-up to a similar study conducted by the UN five years ago with a questionnaire tailored to trigger nuanced responses to help the researchers understand the underlying motivations of members joining these groups.

Nearly all the extremist groups within the region posture outward with global ideological rhetoric while exploiting local socio-economic grievance and serving as proto-states in areas where the 'real government' is absent.

An ecological threat, political instability and exaggerated violence by counter-terrorism missions were also seen as contributing factors to the unprecedented proliferation of extremism in the region.

Somalia was identified as the country most affected by ecological threats with a protracted drought during the study period. Al -Shabab has long been viewed as an alternative provider of justice to the government.

The exploitation of local grievances such as the shortage of government spending on social welfare was a motif for recruitment by both Boko-Haram and the JNIM, with the latter intensifying inter-ethnic conflicts to further isolate and incorporate.