Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria: A Nation-State in Search of Cohesion for National Development

Abstract

For any nation to attain development in all aspects of its life there is need for it to have cohesion, which is a state of unity and orderliness. The absence of cohesion especially in the face of insurgency and insecurity spells doom. Hence this paper attempts to state the need why Nigeria, in the present state of the nation’s insecurity occasioned by the Boko Haram terrorist group, should be cohesive so that it can fight the insurgency. All the segments of the nation – military, regions, governments states and federal), the religious groups – need to unite to be able to fight the insurgency in order to enable the country attain national development. The historical and content analysis method was used in the paper. The paper reveals that in spite of the state of emergency declared in the three states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, the government does not seem to be on top of the situation; and the armed forces are being blamed for not demonstrating enough professionalism in handling the war against the insurgency. The paper further reveals that both the former president and the present president are not in good term; and the military services are up arms against the minister of finance for non-release of funds. The paper recommends, amongst others, that the morale of the military should be kept high, all citizens should be security conscious at all times, while more budgetary allocations be given to the military to enable it fight the insurgency.

Key words: Boko Haram, cohesion, insurgency, Nigeria, Yusuf Mohammed