The Intractable Malaise: Understanding the Patterns That Maintain the Terrorist Stronghold in Nigeria

Abstract

The global manifestation of terrorism has been evident in Africa, with a significant allusion to Boko Haram jihadists in Nigeria. A critical corollary of this manifestation is a decade of humanitarian crisis that threatens human security in the country. Following Boko Haram’s re-emergence in Nigeria, the group has taken pre-eminence to present itself as the most intractable malaise ever known to ravage the peace and social fabric of the northern Nigerian state. The undue supremacy of the sect has not only earned it global notoriety but has also generated a continuum of controversial academic debates on the patterns that maintain the sect as a terrorist stronghold in Nigeria. However, rather than dwell on the questions of “who Boko Haram terrorists are” or “what the nature of their modus operandi and the number of casualties of their activities in Nigeria have been,” the study focuses on determining the influential factors that have fueled the burning flame of the insurgency in the affected region. It contends that submerging the problem in the traumatized region would have to do with resolving the causal efficacy of each of the foregoing triggering factors that are known to be fanning the flames of the insurgency. Accomplishing this aim, the study recommends provision and implementation of more effective research designs and policy recommendations to address the challenges and reposition the fight for better results.