The Boko Haram Uprising and Islamic Revivalism in Nigeria, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Terrorism is the unlawful application of violence against the government or the general public, driven by the motive of promoting a political ideology(ies). Though terrorism cases have increased around the turn of the millennium, it is a phenomenon that has been present since the first century, as exhibited by the Jewish Zealots. It is a practice that can be executed by an individual or a group of people, and examples of modern-day terrorists include Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab, which were militant groups led by the ominous Osama Bin Laden. This paper wishes to investigate a terrorist group known as Boko Haram, its motives, modes of operation, and review suggestions directed to the UN security council on how to tackle it, with a view of trying to neutralize the threat it poses.

Executive Summary

Boko Haram is a Muslim militant group located in the northern regions of Nigeria, who have been radically fighting the government and other civilians as well, on the claims that the influential politicians from the said region are a bunch of greedy and corrupt fake Muslims who only have their interests at heart (Adesoji, 2010). Their current end goal is to achieve successful cessation from Nigeria and establish a ‘pure’ state run by Muslim Sharia laws. Relentless in their quest, the sect has been performing terrorist attacks since 2009, attacking the military, police forces, and even government institutions such as schools, resulting in multiple deaths and scores injured. Furthermore, the activities of the terrorist group have also brought about economic losses, psychological trauma, and political tension among citizens and even potential immigrants. Statistics indicate that, ever since the insurgency began, close to 36,000 people have died as a result of terrorist activities by Boko Haram. It is quite an alarming number, considering the economic potential of such an economy, which is one of the largest producers of oil globally, holds out at eleventh position and number in its continent (Carpenter, 2015).

Economic Implications

Firstly, the terror gang has paralyzed almost all economic activities in the northern area. It is because they are intent on chasing ‘foreign’ Christians from their land and, in doing so, end up creating turmoil from the chaos. Business owners are afraid of conducting operations around the region, which has had heavy financial implications on the inhabitants of this locale. As a result, development has been a fruit that only the south can devour, and this makes the leaders of the group irked and get filled by angst, thus resulting in intermittent attacks on the southern region.

Foreign investors have also fallen victim to the acts of terror by the sect, driving away potential immigrants, tourists, and investors. Such individuals are scared by the insecurity witnessed in the north and the instability and uncertainty available in the south. Immigration had brought a benefit of increased economic output and standard of living to the country. It also brought about labor force increase and hence the capacity of productivity of the economy.

These economic benefits were brought about by the country’s increased tax revenues and government spending. Immigration was also of great benefit to Nigeria in terms of economic growth. Furthermore, potential entrepreneurs benefit from immigration in that most immigrants are motivated to start businesses and innovation ventures as most of them are young and very mobile (Kerr, 2020). Immigrants are very ambitious and willing to engage in a lot of risk-taking ventures.

Social Implications

The biggest story highlighting the negative impacts on the social activities brought about by Boko Haram is the infamous attack they executed on a girl’s school, kidnapping over 300 of the students back in 2014 (Maiangwa & Agbiboa, 2014). As a result, schools were closed, and the unfortunate kids whose families never moved from the northern region have been subsequently deprived of their right to learn. Moreover, their attacks on military camps, police forces, and other government administrative institutions have crippled the issue of security in the northern region, with the available law enforcement officers accounting for at least 2000 civilians for each police officer, which is a lob-sided ratio. Apart from this, Medicare facilities have also lost personnel who fled for their lives, thus resulting in a very undesirable situation, where incase one required medical attention, they had to travel hundreds of miles to access the few medical centers in the south that have medical practitioners.

Political Implications

When the militant group formed in 2009, the current president of Nigeria was Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a Muslim but still a very revolutionary leader who brought numerous progressive reforms driven by his 7-point agenda, which centered on food security and agricultural growth (Gadzama, 2013). Within a year, his regime had been run rugged by Boko Haram’s terrorist acts, that he had almost surrendered. His successor, Goodluck Jonathan, attempted countless times to negotiate, but the political situation only got worse; he even opted against vying for a second term due to the torrid times he and his administration had gone through. Following the girls’ school incident, the United Nations, alongside the African Union, decided to intervene, trying to negotiate and strike a peace deal with the terrorist, as the incident generated a lot of criticism from the global humanitarian community, especially institutions like Red Cross, International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization (Omenma, Onyishi, & Okolie, 2020). After close to three months of back and forth and hard-headedness by negotiating placeholders controlled by remote sect leaders, the talks broke down after they felt agitated by the terms being shoved down their throats. As a result, the country was delisted from countries that could receive goodwill from the international humanitarian communities. Also, the United Nations disbanded all political refugee camps in the country, forcing the inhabitants to relocate.

Crime Control

Crime refers to the act of breaking laws and regulations. All around the world, there are relevant authorities to maintain law and order and see that the land’s rules are adhered to, failure to which the perpetrator(s) is punishable by law. As a measure of dealing with crime, the justice system was developed, and in most countries, the judiciary is often an independent arm of the government, free of any influences. Upon apprehension, crime offenders are subjected to a trial to determine the most appropriate punishment they should receive. However, in the event of petty crimes, light punishments are administered; these may include instant fines or community service, or both. When dealing with a much bigger capital offense, the trial comes in. It may take place for a protracted period, depending on several variables, such as the admission by the perpetrator, whether guilty or innocent, the substantiality of the evidence, and whether the offended party(ies) get to decide to withdraw charges.

Following several accounts of attempting to negotiate with the terrorist group, all yielding no success, there are only two possible solutions to deal with this decade-long dilemma. The first solution would be to wage war on them, backed by United Nation’s troops; attacks should be organized so that the target is their leaders. The moment the leaders are eliminated, then the beast shall be rendered headless, and thus the threat that it has constantly posed shall be neutralized. This is a tried and tested method that has been used to combat the earlier mentioned terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab, which were led by the ominous Osama Bin Laden, who’s eventual killing by the US army eliminated the venom from the sects. However, despite this method seeming viable due to its surefire nature, this approach also has negative implications since it involves violence. Without a doubt, this shall promote a lot of bloodsheds, and a significant number of soldiers whose mission shall be to try and restore peace shall lose their lives on the battlefront.

The other solution would be to yield to their demands, grant them the cessation that they have been demanding for, and let them set up the nation that they have desired for so long. Though this is not the most advisable approach either, it will see an end to the long-running standoff that has been there for 12 years now. Moreover, there is a possibility that the sharia-ran nation that they ask for will be peaceful and highly prosperous after they are granted their wish. However, for this to take place, the negotiating parties should agree for free movement of individuals for a specified amount of time, for example, three months, so that whoever is in the north and feels that they would rather settle in the south or the other around be permitted to do so, before borders and other administrative structures are set-up.

As we wind up, these two suggestions are deemed the only remaining viable options for the UN security council to tackle the terrorist group known as Boko Haram and nullify the threat it has posed to the citizens and government of Nigeria. It is evident that the group has had negative impacts on Nigeria, causing economic, political, and social negative implications, alongside the loss of thousands of lives and slowing down the nation’s growth. Following the serious considerations of the above-listed suggestions, the UN security council shall make a credible and sober decision to the benefit of the citizens, the administration, and potential investors, immigrants, and tourists.

References

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