BOKO HARAM AND SECURITY CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria has been be devilled by ethno-religious conflicts with devastating human and
material losses since the return of democracy in 1999. But the Boko Haram uprising of July
2009 was significant in that it not only set a precedent, but also reinforced the attempts by
Islamic conservative elements at imposing a variant of Islamic religious ideology on a secular
Nigerian state. Whereas the religious sensitivity of Nigerians provided fertile ground for the
breeding of the Boko Haram sect, the sect’s blossoming was also aided by the prevailing
economic dislocation in Nigerian society, the advent of party politics and politics of anxiety
(and the associated desperation of politicians for political power), and the ambivalence of
some vocal Islamic leaders, who, though they did not actively embark on insurrection, either
did nothing to stop it from fomenting, or only feebly condemned it. These internal factors
coupled with growing Islamic fundamentalism around the globe make a highly volatile
Nigerian society prone to violence, as evidenced by the Boko Haram uprising. Given the
approach of the Nigerian state to religious conflict, this violence may remain a recurring
problem. This paper documents and analyses the Boko Haram uprising, as well as its links
with the promotion of Islamic revivalism and the challenges it poses to the secularity of the
Nigerian state and security agencies