Terrorism and Its Implications on Insecurity in Nigeria 2010-2020
Chapter One
Objective of the Research
The study will seek to unravel the terrorism and its implications on insecurity in Nigeria 2010-2020, using Boko Haram as the case study. The specific objectives of the study are as follows
- To investigate the challenges of terrorism and national security using Boko Haram as a case study
- To consider different socio economic implication of Boko Haram especially the issue of poverty and injustice as being expressed by leaders as the causes of Boko Haram crisis.
- To unravel the ideology driving Boko Haram insurrection.
- To make recommendation on possible solution to book Haram insurgencies
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Conceptual Review
The previous chapter gave an introduction to the study and stated the research problematic and objectives. This chapter comprises of a review of literature and theoretical framework. It is presented in a thematic manner with focus on states‘responses to insurgency within their borders. It examines some African countries’ response to insurgency like and finally Nigerian state‘s response to insurgency beginning with the Maitasine crisis of the 1980s, the Niger Delta insurgency and then the Boko Haram insurgency.
Insurgency
An insurgency is simply an armed revolution against the established political order. Riots are internal affairs and the insurgents are independent. They usually do not require support from foreign powers (Gen, 1976). Although civil war riots are riots, the situation becomes less clear when outside powers intervene in any way. Often this intervention is only about arming one or the other side or professional revolutionaries (like the Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara in Bolivia), who can organize and discipline something that might otherwise be a coincidence, which is easily destroyed by the police government in power. When interventions attract the attention of an opposing force, an uprising can quickly become a confrontation of the great power (Gen, 1976).
Gen (1976) believes that insurgencies are the basis of internal affairs, unless the role of one or both sides is co-opted by an intervening power. The conditions for uprisings in many areas of the Third World are ripe. Typically, developing Third World nations exhibit stark contrasts between unbelievable poverty for the majority of the population and fabulous wealth for the ruling elite. In addition, a middle class, which can be both stabilizing and perceived channel for upward mobility, is often very small or virtually non-existent in many areas. Therefore, an insurgent war is a fact of life in the Third World.
Characteristics of Insurgent Warfare
Every uprising has its unique characteristics. Successful uprisings, however, share certain characteristics that form the basis of insurgent warfare. According to Summers (1981), four characteristics are of particular importance for the identification of insurgency: the long-term nature of such struggles, the central role of insurgent political infrastructure, the subordinate role of insurgent forces, and the use of guerrilla tactics in military operations. These can be examined in detail in the following sections.
Protractedness
Summers (1981) states that uprisings are almost always protracted battles. For him, it would be highly unusual for rebels to try to overthrow an entrenched government in order to achieve a quick victory. However, time will become a double-edged sword in the hands of an insurgent, and both edges will be in support of the government. On the one hand, the rebels need time to build their political support and military strength over the government they are trying to overthrow. On the other hand, insurgents use time as a weapon to weaken the same government.
Any day an insurgent movement persists (not to speak of continued operations and economic growth) discredits the government and its ability to govern effectively and control its own destiny. Any insurrectionary day tends to give legitimacy to the cause of the insurgents, and may ultimately create a semblance of inevitability surrounding the eventual victory. Time is the prerequisite to defeat the enemy. In military matters, time is of the utmost importance. Time comes first among the three factors necessary for victory, in front of the terrain and the support of the people. Only with time can we defeat the enemy.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Data is of fundamental importance to the investigation as they form the building block of any investigation. The process of data collection is therefore the most important aspect of the research process. The data is essential to answer the research question or solve the research problem. This chapter therefore presents and discusses the various procedures used to conduct this research, including the various steps taken during fieldwork. Presents the type of research, the research design, the study population, the sampling and sampling methods and the method of data collection.
Type of Research
The investigation can be divided into three categories. These include experimental research, control analysis and survey research (Mbachu, 2005). The experimental design deals with studies in which the researcher controls the independent variable. It mainly includes laboratory experiments. The control analysis is an objective and systematic analysis of the content of the recorded information. The survey could be descriptive or analytical, longitudinal or horizontal. Their survey methods include questionnaires and interviews. Descriptive or analytical research is to describe a particular phenomenon within the limits of a people’s cosmology (Adogbo, 2009). This approach essentially aims to represent the real picture of a phenomenon. It is used to collect and analyze data for descriptive, evaluative or comparative purposes (Olayiwola, 2007). Descriptive research is classified into survey studies, case studies, developmental studies, correlation studies, and causal comparative studies or ex-post-facto studies.
The study uses the qualitative design and is descriptive in nature. It is what describes a particular state of things in a given time. It also presents information that can generate more research. It also includes a definite statement about the research problem, the collection of relevant and adequate data, a precise analysis and the scientific interpretation of the data (Olayiwola, 2007). The Boko Haram crisis has been reported by print media as well as electronic media, political analysts and other researchers. Due to the controversial and sensitive nature of the situation, it is necessary to carry out additional analytical investigations. Therefore, the survey method must be used to obtain relevant data. By accepting the research survey, the researcher can also get a selection of the opinions of relevant stakeholders and analysts. These stakeholders and analysts include security officers, academic institutions, civil servants, private sector professionals, media professionals, students, and religious clergy in the affected states.
Population of the Study
The population of a study is the group of interest to the researcher. It is the group or persons to which the results or results of the study are generalized (Olayiwola, 2007). The study’s population consists of security agencies, members of the academy, civil servants, journalists, private sector Nigerians, religious clergy, and other graduate students in the states of Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Yobe, and Kaduna. This includes some members of the Government’s Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in the Northeast, also known as the Amnesty Committee on the Boko Haram Crisis. Security personnel were selected because they are at the forefront of the fight against insurrection and their views can be considered credible as they were players of the debacle before and after the onset of the crisis, while the others were elected because they are positioned. to make an objective and impartial assessment of the situation or to be well informed about the uprising, hence the relevance of their views in this study.
CHAPTER FOUR
BOKO HARAM AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA
Introduction
The chapter begins with a background examination of the evolution of insurgency in Nigeria. It further discusses the history, ideology and philosophy of the Boko Haram sect. The chapter also gives an insight into the Salafi ideology upon which members of the Boko Haram sect base their activities and creed and an expose on the Sharia legal system as advocated by the Boko Haram sect. lastly the chapter also brings to light the remote and immediate causes of the Boko Haram crisis. An understanding of these will bring the modus operandi of the sect to clearer perspective.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Conclusion
This study was carried out on terrorism and its implications on insecurity in Nigeria 2010-2020. This academic research has tried to unravel the foreground of poverty as the instigating factor of the Boko Haram insurgency, although it may be a necessary factor, but it is not enough to explain why Boko Haram has become a terrorist organization. He disagrees with Gurr’s theory of relative deprivation as a precursor to the Boko Haram crisis, and also with Krueger’s position that the main lack of civil liberties is the main cause of terrorism. Having a single theory to explain terrorism, namely the Boko Haram rebellion, is fraught with inadequacies. For example, what has led to the revolt of Tamils in Sri Lanka differs significantly from that of Boko Haram. If both disturbances are measured on the same scale, this eventually leads to the falsification of the facts.
This work was able to reduce the metamorphosis of Boko Haram to the ideological beliefs of the group rooted in Islam. This belief system rejects any form of domination that is not based on the Qur’an. And I have clearly shown the influence of fundamentalism and the role played by the structure of political opportunity in the metamorphosis of the group. Due to the structural change, they had a space to satisfy their demands. Such a thing would not have happened during a despotic military regime where the only word in its dictionary is oppression. Groups like Boko Haram knew that they activated their borders during the democratic regime in Nigeria.
In addition, this work has clearly shown that Boko’s metamorphosis has to do with his ideology, which deviates from the secular democratic ideology in Nigeria. This is a political conflict between two different ideologies. Jürgensmeyer (2000) suggests that “an act of terrorism usually implies an underlying power and a legitimizing ideology” (125). It goes without saying that Boko Haram tried to legitimize his own ideology about the secular ideology in Nigeria, and this inevitably led to the political conflict destroying the country today.
It is quite regrettable that the activities of Boko Haram have had a negative impact on the country, Nigeria has been considered a terrorist country. A country that yearns for foreign direct investment to boost its economy is struggling to attract international investors. The activities of Boko Haram have also paralyzed social and economic activity in the north of the country.
Southerners who live and carry out their economic activities are retreating to the south. This has even led to speculation that the country could disintegrate if the Boko Haram uprising is not adequately addressed by the government. In addition, cases of retaliatory attacks were reported by Christians whose churches were bombed in Kaduna, fueling sectarian violence. This could lead to the failure of the country’s existence if the situation degenerates into a religious conflict.
In any case, although the issue of poverty is being promoted as the agent of the insurgence, injustice and lack of civil liberties of Boko Haram, the Nigerian government should try to adopt programs that remedy the situation as much as possible. Poor disenchanted, so groups like Boko Haram would not have created tools for their insidious activities.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are given taking into account the results of the study:
- The Nigerian government should intensify border patrols, particularly with Chad, Niger and Cameroon, and provide Nigerian immigration with sufficient resources to comply with its legal mandate to monitor the entry and exit of people, which makes it difficult for groups such as Boko Haram to invade and operate in Nigeria.
- Security officers, especially police and state security services, must also be adequately equipped in place of reagents. They should be proactive in getting the information to collect the key to beating Boko Haram instead of showing brutal violence after each terrorist attack.
- The Nigerian government should introduce a mechanism that allows financial institutions to monitor any unusual financial transaction. This would allow the government to prosecute the group’s financiers.
- Nigeria should also work with the international community to fight against Boko Haram by sharing information that could weaken the group’s capacity.
- The government should be willing to dialogue with the moderate groups of this group, since violence and repression alone cannot solve the problem of Boko Haram.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Abimbola, Adesoji (2010) The Boko Haram Uprising and Islamic Revivalism in Nigeria in: Africa Spectrum, 45,2, 95 – 108.
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- Bah, Abu Bakarr (2008) Breakdown and Reconstitution: Democracy, the Nation-State and Ethnicity in Nigeria (Lexington Books, USA).
- Boulden, Jane & Weiss, Thomas G. (2004) TERRORISM AND THE UN. Before and After September 11 (Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana).
- Krueger, B. Allan (2007) WHAT MAKES A TERRORISTS. Economics and the Roots of Terrorism (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey).
- Laqueur, Walter (2001) THE NEW TERRORISM. Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction (Phonex Press, London).
- Lechner, Frank J. and Boli, John (2008) The Globalization Reader (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK).