Nigeria’s Boko Haram and its Security Dynamics in the West African Sub-Region

Abstract

This study surveys the security implications of the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria and in the West African sub-region. It draws on the linkage theory as an explanatory paradigm to examine the group’s uprisings on the wider sub-regional security implications. The study finds that the resilient and intractable nature of Boko Haram derives from the internal and external linkages and material supports the group has been exposed to. The insurgent group, as the study further argues, will continue to pose a threat to sub-regional security, as long as, it retains the capacity to withstand and defy military containment. Therefore, a more actionable step to take would be for the government of Nigeria to go beyond the confines of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to solicit the cooperation of all countries in the West African sub-region to confront Boko Haram as a common enemy.

Keywords: Boko Haram, Security Dynamics West-Africa’s Sub-Region.