AN ASSESSMENT OF STATE AND NON STATE RESPONSES TO BOKO HARAM CRISIS IN NIGERIA
Olanrewaju, John. S & A.M Letswa
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Landmark University, Kwara State
Department of Political Science, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger StateEmail:srawsolly@gmail.com, ahmadletswa@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The new form of terrorism was consummated following the devastating attacks by Al Qaida against the military architecture of United States of America. The first counter terrorism strategy adopted by President George Bush was military approach which led to the declaration of total war against terrorism. This approach has become global approach with different countries adopting it through heavy deployment of military weapons to decimate the capacity of terrorists. However, President Good luck Jonathan derived inspiration from military approach in the war against Boko Haram. After the declaration of state of emergency there was heavy military presence in the North Eastern Nigeria with the intension of degrading the capacity of Boko Haram. There is no doubt that President Good luck Jonathan adopted counter terrorism strategies but the effectiveness of all the strategies adopted has become a subject of trepidation. The administration of President Good luck Jonathan was not only bedeviled by corruption but lacked clear direction in its war against Boko Haram. Also, the inability of his administration to effectively tackle Boko Haram eventually led to his fundamental electoral defeat in 2015 General Elections. The electioneering campaign of Mohammed Buhari was greeted with much euphoria because of his promise to tackle Boko Haram within six months of his administration. Remarkably, the present administration has made some progresses but victory has not been achieved. However, this study analyses the state and non state responses through the prism of counter terrorism strategies adopted since the beginning of Boko Haram crisis, the study adopts bibliographical method of data collection and descriptive method of data analysis with the recommendation that the war against Boko Haram cannot be completely won through the barrel of gun. The counter terrorism strategy should be combination of both orthodox and critical terrorism approaches.
Keywords: Terrorism; Counter terrorism; Anti terrorism; Boko-Haram, North East
