Essay · 2024
Boko Haram as a Threat to National Peace
This essay examines Boko Haram as a persistent threat to national peace in Nigeria, tracing the group's origins in North-Eastern Nigeria, the ideology that opposes Western education and institutions, and the conditions of inequality, poverty and marginalisation that have enabled its growth. Framed through a conflict-theory lens, it argues that religious fundamentalism here is entangled with unresolved socio-economic grievance rather than faith alone. The paper surveys the sociological consequences of the insurgency, mass displacement, stalled development, curfews and suspended economic activity, a heavy fiscal burden on the state, and the erosion of basic rights, including children's access to education. It also engages with counterarguments about why some marginalised individuals are drawn to the sect, before concluding that lasting peace will require confronting the structural conditions that sustain the crisis.
By Yemisi Johnson · Essay · PDF
Summary
This essay examines Boko Haram as a persistent threat to national peace in Nigeria, tracing the group's origins in North-Eastern Nigeria, the ideology that opposes Western education and institutions, and the conditions of inequality, poverty and marginalisation that have enabled its growth. Framed through a conflict-theory lens, it argues that religious fundamentalism here is entangled with unresolved socio-economic grievance rather than faith alone. The paper surveys the sociological consequences of the insurgency, mass displacement, stalled development, curfews and suspended economic activity, a heavy fiscal burden on the state, and the erosion of basic rights, including children's access to education. It also engages with counterarguments about why some marginalised individuals are drawn to the sect, before concluding that lasting peace will require confronting the structural conditions that sustain the crisis.
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