Poverty and Terrorism in Nigeria: Boko Haram Revisited
Olanrewaju, John. S. & A. M. Letswa
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Landmark University, Omu-aran. Kwara State
Department of Political Science, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State Nigeria
Email: srawsolly@gmail.com; ahmadletswa@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Boko Haram is well discussed in the extant literature but the root causes of the crisis are grossly under discussed. Beyond the template of religion, Boko Haram took advantage of massive poverty in the region to recruit members to its folds. Also, Terrorism flourishes in Nigeria due to economic ills. It also constitutes a fundamental factor fueling Boko Haram in Nigeria. Correspondingly, when terrorism broke out in Nigeria very few people observed the nexus between poverty and terrorism. However, the intensity of poverty and its manifestations have assumed unprecedented magnitudes in Nigeria with negative implication on the security architecture of the state. The Maitatsine crisis of 1980 and the recent Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria established a strong nexus between poverty and terrorism. In the light of poverty that have ravaged the country for several decades, Nigeria has become vulnerable to all manner of violence. This paper examines the nexus between poverty and terrorism in Nigeria using Boko Haram as a point of departure. It argues that galloping poverty has inspired terrorism in Nigeria coupled with the negligence on the part of government to provide greater happiness for the greater number of people most especially in the northern parts of the country. Worse still, during 1999 electioneering campaigns, politicians in the north were desperate to win elections by dishing out campaign promises which were later unfulfilled. Also, politics that characterized the implementation of Sharia law was not deniable in the North. In line with this complicated scenario, this paper infers that Nigeria is a giant experiment in the genesis of terrorism in the continent because of the pervasiveness of poverty. The paper adopts bibliographical and descriptive methods of research with recommendations on how Nigeria can escape the boredom; the paper argues that holistic measure has to be taken against poverty for the country to be freed from Boko Haram conundrum.
Keywords: Poverty; Terrorism; Boko Haram; North East, Nigeria.
