Case Study: The Boko Haram Insurgency (Essay Sample)

Case Study: The Boko Haram Insurgency Name Institutional Affiliation Case Study: The Boko Haram Insurgency The roots of Boko Haram could be traced back to 2002 when it emerged as a local Islamic group. According to Shaibu and Salleh (2015), the term “Boko Haram” means that Western education is prohibited. Boko Haram culminated into Boko Haram insurgency in 2009 when the jihadist group began a series of rebellious actions against the Nigerian government. The group has metamorphosed over the years of its existence with infightings leading to its split in 2012 where Abubakar Shekau took over the leadership of the violent faction of the Boko Haram insurgents while Abu Usmatul al-Ansari remained with the conservative faction (Shaibu and Salleh, 2015). Some of the key causes of the insurgency have been linked to poverty and the misconception of the Islamic religion where they torture and kill in the name of religion. Boko Haram insurgency remains one of the biggest threats to the people and economy of not only Nigeria, but also Chad, Cameroon, and Niger. Causes One of the most significant causes of the Boko Haram insurgency is the high levels of poverty in Northern Nigeria. Cook (2014) reveals that the rampant imbalance in the distribution of resources and development between Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria. The limited resources in the North have been used by jihadists to recruit youths into Boko Haram by preaching against the government and the democratic setting, which has not favored the region in terms of economic prosperity. With high levels of poverty, youths are easily manipulated to join the movement as an escape route from their poverty. The feeling of neglect by the government presents an opportunity for youths to wage rebellious actions against it through the militia group. Therefore, the group looks at taking advantage of the poverty-stricken youths to build a stronger movement and justify its atrocities and rebellion against the government. The second notable cause of the Boko Haram insurgency is the misconception of the Islamic religion. The leaders of Boko Haram find it easier to radicalize younger people by linking their actions to the Islamic religion. As explained by Shaibu and Salleh (2015), the Boko Haram recruits its members by using undesirable strategies such as kidnapping young people aged between 15 and 30 years before radicalizing them in line with the extremist Islamic ideologies the Salafist ideology that guides the operations of the group. Thus, the group justifies its killings and torture on people based on its religion. However, Islamic scholars do not agree with the view that the insurgency operates in line with Islamic values and ideologies. Another notable cause of the insurgency is politics. When talking of the Boko Haram insurgency, it is difficult to forget the political question and the role that politicians plays in leading to the movement. Thus, Cook (2014) affirms that in the context of politics, it is alleged that politicians have been in charge of sponsoring the Boko Haram insurgency through financial resources. This is with the view of weakening the government to advance their own interests in the country, especially in the oil sector. It has also been believed that the group received outside funding to conduct its operations across Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. The continued arguments on political financing of the militia group continues to leave gaps in the process of finding a lasting solution to the menace it poses. Characteristics The first notable characteristic of the Boko Haram insurgency the possession of political goals that are aimed at serving its own interests rather than the larger interests of the country. According to Lacey (2012), as a terrorist group, Boko Haram is characterized by political ideologies and rhetoric that focuses on effecting change in the political landscape for the benefit of the Muslim constituency. With the political goals in mind, the focus of the terrorist group is to utilize its ‘holy war’ ideology to dislodge the incumbent political dispensation with the view of converting the affected countries such as Nigeria into Islamic States. Lacey (2012) opines that the large political goals of the group are enshrined in its name Jama’atu Ahlis Ladda’awati wal-Jihad, which translates to forceful struggle using the ‘holy war’. Second, the Boko Haram insurgency is characterized by the intent to terrorize the people as well as the government with the view of inflicting fear and possible support. According to Lacey (2012), the group aims at terrorizing individuals with the view of influencing. The nature of the violence that is employed by the group is always geared toward impacting the psychology of victims. For instance, it terrorizes the Nigerian population primarily through unpredictable and constant bombings. Suicide bombings are also a strategy for the group when it comes to terrorizing the members of the population and the government with the hope of winning the war related to converting Nigeria into an Islamic state. One of the key instances indicating its intent to continue terrorizing came out when the group informed the government in August 2012 that it should not dream of peace in Nigeria if the Sharia law as well as the Quran are not adopted as main reference points of the law (Lacey 2012). Last, Boko Haram is characterized by non-state perpetrators. Lacey (2012) states that similar to any other terrorist group, the Boko Haram insurgency is advanced by non-state actors since the group is not in any way an agent of the Nigerian government. The group functions independently and has on many occasions attacked the state agents. These attacks are reflective of the view that it is a non-state actor that only works to promote its own interests rather than genuine interests of the state. In its ideologies, the group upholds the anti-state ideology as a key driving force for its actions. Consequences of the Boko Haram Insurgency The Boko Haram insurgency has come with undesirable consequences to the countries affected as a whole. Nigeria has been the most affected country in respect to these consequences. Thus, one of the key consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency is slowing down the rate of economic growth and development. In line with the views of Shehu (2015), the constant attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents have been unfavorable to the economy as different sectors of the economy including businesses, the banking sector, and even the transport sector are always paralyzed in light of the attacks. Specifically, the development of the economy is negated by the low levels of investment as investors lack faith in the security of their investments. This is especially because of the fear of impending attacks on most occasions. The second notable consequence of the Boko Haram insurgency has been the rampant loss of lives among individuals. The Boko Haram finds bliss in killing the masses and they have done so on many occasions through unpredictable and surprise attacks on the population. As aforementioned, the intention is always to scare the population by kidnapping and subsequently killing them to instill fear. For instance, Cook (2014) reveals that the attacks by the group have always been destructive as illustrated by the 2,053 people who were killed in the first half of 2014 as a result of the mass attacks launched by Boko Haram. It also resolved to kidnapping taking an estimated 219 school girls from Chibok with the view of holding the government at ransom (Cook, 2014). Thus, the lives of civilians have been lost while others have been put at risk as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. Another notable consequence of the insurgency has been the effect on the political systems where it has led to suspicions in the system. According to Shehu (2015), the political environment has been affected because of the group and its tendency to advance the extremist Islamic perspectives in the course of its activities. This has created mistrust in the political arena especially among Christian and Muslim regions because of the feeling that the Boko Haram insurgency is advancing a religious war. The political landscape has been unstable because of the continued attacks by the group, which constantly pushes for its interests with any given opportunity. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Counter-Insurgency Campaign The counter-insurgency campaign has been primarily advanced by Nigeria and its local neighbors such as Chad and Cameroon. More so, international counter-insurgency campaign has come in handy. However, there diverse strengths and weaknesses associated with the counter-insurgency campaign. Strengths The first key strengths of the counter-insurgency campaign is the promotion of interfaith dialogue. According to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (2015), the campaign looks forward t...