Politicisation of the Counter-Insurgence Operations in Nigeria: Implication for the Political Economy (Published)
Political partisanship is a very intriguing game. However, the tendency among some megalomaniacs to politicise sensitive national issues has undermined Nigeria’s national interest as well as exacerbated its fragile security. Many political actors mainly from the two major political parties— PDP and APC— were more inclined to using incendiary utterances in order to score cheap political followership in the build up to the 2015 General Election. The study relied on documentary evidence through which data were generated for the validation of its hypothesis. It found that the inclination among these politicians and ethnic jingoists to politicise the counter-insurgence operations has not only sustained the insurgency but also undermined Nigeria’s political economy. Basically, it recommended the adoption of a non-partisan counter-insurgence approach as a remedy for Boko Haram insurgence.
Keywords: Boko Haram, Common Good, National Security, Political Economy, Politicisation
Examining the Boko Haram Insurgency in Northern Nigeria and the Quest for A Permanent Resolution Of The Crisis (Published)
The state of insecurity engendered by Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, especially in the North-Eastern part of the country is quiet worrisome, disheartening and alarming. Terrorist attacks of the Boko Haram sect have resulted in the killing of countless number of innocent people and wanton destruction of properties that worth billions of naira through bombings. More worrisome however, is the fact that all the efforts of the Nigerian government to curtail the activities of the sect have not yielded any meaningful positive result. Thus, the Boko Haram scourge remains intractable to the government who appears helpless in curtailing/curbing their activities. The dynamics and sophistication of the Boko Haram operations have raised fundamental questions about national security, governance issue and Nigeria’s corporate existence. The major thrust of this paper is to investigate the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria and to underscore the urgent need for a permanent resolution of the crisis. The paper argues that most of the circumstances that led to this insurgency are not unconnected with frustration caused by high rate of poverty, unemployment, weak governance, religious fanaticism among others. It also addresses the effects of the insurgency which among others include serious threat to national interest, peace and security, internal population displacement, violation of fundamental human rights, debilitating effects on the entrenchment of democratic principles in Nigeria among others. The paper recommends among others, the necessity to address poverty reduction, religious secularism and political re-orientation. The need for adequate collaboration and partnership between the government, non governmental organizations, civil society organization as well as the individuals is also advocated. Finally, the need for the re-evaluation of the country’s domestic and foreign policies as a means of combating the menace of this domestic terrorism is also stressed.
Keywords: Boko Haram, Crisis, Domestic Terrorism, Insurgency, National Security, Permanent Resolution