Abstract

Despite current military efforts to combat Boko Haram insurgency, the insurgent group remains a significant regional security threat, recruiting members and attacking civilians and security forces in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and has brought in its wake a humanitarian catastrophe. Failure to bring security, other basic public goods and visible socio-economic dividends to affected areas risks derailing recent progress.

That would have severe consequences for the security and long-term stability of the four countries made up of the Lake Chad basin. It is against this background that this work tries to interrogate government and military commitment toward curbing Boko Haram insurgency within the region. It also looks at root causes, impact and the effort of government in addressing the menace.

The work employs both primary and secondary sources of data. It also adopts regional integration theory in its analysis. It also reveals among others that, curbing security challenge within the Lake Chad basin is a collective effort of the member countries.

The paper therefore, recommends that Governments should redouble their efforts toward addressing the menace within the region jointly. It has been concluded that engaging the services of vigilante groups and community policing from across the member states will go a long way in combating Boko Haram Insurgency within the Lake Chad basin.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study Area

The insurgency has been and will continue to be a regular characteristic of the security atmosphere around the globe. Although it is true each conflict is a unique observation, every study merely states conflicts are context-specific without breaking context down into analyzable terms, add little to the understanding of insurgency. The international rate of terror campaign has amplified frighteningly from September 11, 2001.

However, the combined efforts embarked upon by the intercontinental neighborhood to guarantee its eradication has been noted but has up till now proved not enough. These ra ises are not unrelated with the balance of terror and gesticulate of total insecurity that formed the commencement of the 21st century; it is the product of unsettled issues of the Cold War and the persistence of the ideological war stuck between the west and the Islamic fundamentalism.

Africa and Nigeria in particular, has in the past decade been bedeviled by a rising occurrence of insurgencies, witnessing a high level of destruction of property and lives of its citizens as a result. Consequently, the most current insurgence in the Lake Chad Basin among others is the Boko Haram insurgency, which originated from Nigeria sometime around July 2009. Further instance of the terror siege in Nigeria and indeed Africa were the Maitatsine uprising of the 1980s, the Al-Shabaab in Somalia and alQaeda in the Maghreb, which were all threat to peaceful-coexistence and general security in the region. Since the start of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, the security condition has been in a state of uncertainty.

The Boko Haram violence in the Lake Chad Basin has resulted in a humanitarian crisis. Since the violence began, more than 20,000 people have been killed and many villages and towns were either dislocated or conquered by the insurgent group. Farms, schools, health facilities and other key infrastructure have been destroyed. Over 20 million people residing in the region which comprises parts of Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, are severely affected by the crisis, with many unable to access essential health and social services. Nigeria, been the country with highest population and strong economy and political base among the Lake Chad Basin member countries within the region suffered more.

This made it easier and of more benefit to the insurgents for their campaigns and more importantly realization of their desired objectives taking advantage of week political institutions, unemployment, religious extremists. In the Lake Chad Basin as earlier mentioned, unemployment, poverty and illiteracy among youths are the major and leading root causes of insurgency and have created enabling environment for recruiting new members within the region. It was however, acknowledged that political class across African countries neglected education and that leads to collapse of so many economic activities (Oluwadare, nd). These among others are the major roots and causes that triggered Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and off course in the Lake Chad Basin.

Ever since 2009, Boko Haram insurgents lunched several attacks in the Northeast of Nigeria; taken into custody some territories under Borno State in Nigeria and dispersal to some parts of the Lake Chad Basin region of Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic. Nigeria started countering Boko Haram insurgents at the beginning of its activities in the Northeast, which however, prior to the formation of the Joint Task Force (JTF) by the Lake Chad Basin Regional Authorities, the activities of the sect had spread to neighboring countries.

The terrorists targeted these countries (LCB) for attacks in revenge for their involvement in the regional joint task force campaign and for brave to support Nigeria’s efforts in countering the Boko Haram insurgency. Beyond the last decade, the four riparian countries around Lake Chad Basin Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, have experienced unparalleled levels of crises, aggravated by continual incidences of violence from the Boko Haram terrorist group. These crises have deepened instability, slowed economic growth and development as well as causing deep humanitarian crisis in the region. Therefore, the African Union and the Lake Chad Basin Commission in 2015 signed an agreement for the operationalization of the Joint Task Force (JTF) to bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgency in the Region.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

The Lake Chad Basin consists of some part of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Connections throughout the region exceed the national boundaries forced upon it. It is in this region that Boko Haram was able to succeed, taking advantage of a number of common issues that affect all four states as earlier mentioned, even though with slight dissimilarity. However, no particular cause can explain the emergence of Islamist militancy (Boko Haram) in the region, understanding the context and environment in which this has taken place is important to ultimately understanding the movement itself and their campaigns in the region.

The youths in the region are mostly jobless and those with jobs are not leaving within their desired self- esteem. Socio-economic activities have collapsed totally as a result of insurgent’s activities in the region. Villages and communities within the region are also, supporting the campaign. Example, terrorist groups cannot exist without the accessibility of larger sources of active or passive empathy, resources, and support within the societies where they operate (Cortright and Lopez, 2007).

This resulted to their total acceptance of token amount of money to carry out terrorist attacks in their home towns. North-eastern Nigeria faces one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world today. The armed conflict has left an estimated 8.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the worst affected states: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. Residents of these states are suffering the increasing impact of years of conflict, violence, and now food, shelter and water shortages. It has disrupted basic health services, production of food and trade as well as household livelihoods.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) estimates that 5.2 million people are now food insecure in Northeast Nigeria alone. These have severe consequences for the security and lingering instability of the region (Lake Chad Basin). It is against this backdrop that this work interrogates government and military commitment towards curbing Boko haram insurgency within the region, which is totally omitted.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What are the root causes of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin?
2. What are the impacts of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin?
3. How has the level of cooperation (MNJTF) of the Lake Chad Basin affected the success of counter-terrorism efforts in the area?
4. What are the efforts put in place by Nigerian Army in combating Boko Haram insurgency?

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