Abstract:
Since the return of power to the civilians by the military in 1999, Nigeria has been conversant with security threats such as militancy, vandalization of government properties, co-joined with private and corporate properties, kidnapping, armed robbery and suicide bombing, etc. up to 2015. Amidst these security challenges, the most threatening is the emergence of Boko Haram sect in 2002, a peaceful communal movement, in Northeast Nigeria, that turned violent in 2009 by terrorizing the peace of the region and Nigerian people. The sect made private citizens their primary targets. This led to the loss of over 6000 lives since they started terrorizing the nation. However, this study focuses on the nature of Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria from 2009 to 2015, with a comprehensive discourse on the meaning of insurgency and the drivers of insurgency, with reference to past events that occurred in the north. This study argues that Boko Haram insurgency is but a change in name of the movement of same past uprisings in the north. The study gives a full background to the emergence of Boko Haram insurgency, stating that it could be traced down to the Usman Dan Fodio invasion of the north in 1804, the 1903 rebellion of the north over the introduction of western education, values and administration in the region and lastly the Maita sine riot of 1980 – 1985. This research examines the socio-cultural cum economic effects of Boko Haram activities on Northeast Nigeria. The study also examines the steps Nigerian government took to curb the effects of Boko Haram activities on the populace, for example, the military, political and diplomatic approaches the Nigerian government adopted in a bid to tackling Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. The study affirms that religion, poverty and corruption are the drivers of insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. It offers possible recommendations such as poverty alleviation, stiff laws against corruption, secularization of the nation and a down play of ethnicity in the nations polity; to surmount these triggers. This research made use of both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, for example, the research got data through observation, analysis of documents and data, field trips to the area in discourse, oral interviews were used while carrying out this research.
