The history of modern Nigerian State between 1960 and 2020 is characterized by violent and bloody conflicts such as the political crisis of the First Republic, the Nigerian civil war, the ethno-religious violence of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, the Niger-Delta crisis, the Boko-Haram insurgency and the armed herdsmen menace. All these antecedents have tremendous adverse effects on the nation’s social, political and economic development with attendant consequences and costs on the art of governance in the nation and on other African countries. It is against the aforementioned concerns that this article isolates and examines the consequences of the activities of Boko-Haram insurgency and armed herdsmen, not only particularly in North-Eastern and Northern region of Nigeria, but the whole country at large. The paper adopts a multi-disciplinary approach and analyzes the effects of the two phenomena on the Nigerian people and government. The paper establishes the fact that Boko-Haram insurgency and armed herdsmen attacks in North-Eastern region of Nigeria have led to social, political and economic instability, not only on the Northern region, but Nigeria as a whole. The paper concludes by suggesting among many ways, a robust security network to completely neutralize the activities of the two groups in North-Eastern Nigeria.
Keywords: Boko Haram, Instability, Insurgency, Violence, armed herdsmen
