Abstract

The general objective of this research was to examine the concept of terrorism and its implication for global security in the 21 century; Using the case of the book haram insurgency in northern Cameron. more specifically this research sought to; examine the concept of terrorism and how it relates to book haram ,to bring out the role of the Cameroon government in containing and fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Cameroon and lastly to Identify the various challenges being faced by the Cameroon government in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism

In this study, the General strain Theory was used, which offered an understanding for causes of crime in other words crime occurs when society emphasizes socially desirable and approved goals but at the same time provides inadequate opportunity to achieve these goals with legitimate institutionalized means.

This research study has a number of   key findings worth taking note in the first place, it was revealed in this study that Boko Harram is significantly linked to terrorism as a matter of fact Boko Haram is one of the most prominent terrorist origination in West Africa, Also this research revealed that the Cameroon government has been doing quite a lot to solve the Boko Haram insurgency from joint military patrols, to creation of community vigilate’s and much more.

Last but not the least this study identified major enormous obstacles that challenge the Cameroonian government in its fight against terrorism in the far north of Cameroon this study relied on secondary sources of data and Questionnaires to gather the data used for this study. However, Even though the Cameroon government has been making significant efforts in deterring the Boko haram insurgency in the north of Cameroon, There are still enormous challenges that delay the complete eradication of terrorism in northern Cameroon

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Terrorism, arguably, is the biggest threat to global peace and stability in contemporary times. Since the dawn of this millennium, the incidence of terrorism has been on a steady rise worldwide (Adepelumi,2018). Hitherto, terrorism was more or less a national or regional affair.

This trend, however, has since changed as brilliantly observed by Awake: Just few years ago, terrorism seemed to be restricted to a few isolated places, such as Northern Ireland, the Basque Country in Northern Spain, and some areas of the Middle East. Now – especially since September 11, 2001, with the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York – worldwide phenomenon (June, 2006:4). Indeed, the worldwide manifestation of terrorism has been evident in Africa, but also in Nigeria (Finlay.2002).

With particular reference to northern Cameroon, the phenomenon has found expression in the emergence of Boko Haram insurgency. Since its advent, the sectarian insurgency has wrecked immense havoc in the country, especially by “using explosives and firearms with gruesome, fatal” consequences (Awake, 2006).

Boko Haram is the sophisticated and genocidal militant sect driven by the ideology of a fanatical Islamic practice with a fairly controversial origin, tracing back to the early 2000s, and posing a unique problem in Northern Nigeria and Cameroon when compared to other insurgent groups in the country (Adesoji, A.2010). The core beliefs of Boko Haram are based on the teachings of Muhammed Marwa, who was born in 1927 in Northern Nigeria and moved to Kano at age 18 to become a preacher. His teachings were aimed at the influence of Western culture in Nigerian life: He condemned Western education as the product of infidels and considered the reading of any book other than the Koran as sinful and tantamount to paganism. Initially ignored by Nigerian authorities in the early 1970s, Marwa’s increasingly antigovernment sermons and his growing number of followers finally compelled the government to crack down on the sect in the late 1970s(Finlay.2002).

The government crackdown further fueled a series of uprisings in Kano in the 1980s, masterminded by Marwa’s followers, culminating in the 1982 riots. The government crackdown on the riots resulted in over 4000 militants killed, including Marwa himself. Marwa’s death sparked more riots against the government in Bulumkutu in 1982, where 3,300 people were killed, in Gongola State, where nearly 1,000 people perished in 1984, and in Bauchi State where hundreds more were killed in 1985 (Adesoji.2010).

It appears that Marwa’s main goal was to have Sharia law (which was abandoned by drafters of the 1960 independence settlement in favor of their secular aims) reintroduced in Northern Nigeria. In the 1980s, the belief that Muslim acquiescence to the 1960 settlement was a horrible mistake had taken hold in Northern Nigeria. Muhammad Marwa’s death left a void that was filled by Muhammad Yusuf. Known at birth in 1970 as Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, he founded the militant Islamist group Boko Haram in 2002.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Yusuf was “a radical, young Islamist cleric who created Boko Haram with the aim of establishing a fully Islamic State in Nigeria,” who gained support from speaking out against poverty and corruption within the Nigerian government (Foster-Bowser & Sanders, 2012, p 5) He acted as the spiritual leader of the sect until he was killed in the 2009 Boko Haram uprising. Its membership, then as now, largely relates to the depth of feelings about socioeconomic injustice, marginalization, and human insecurity, with a majority of its members being uneducated, poor, jobless, school dropouts, or students from low socio-economic backgrounds (Adibe.2012).

According to Foster-Bowser & Sanders (2012), the group’s official name is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.” However, the name Boko Haram, in the Hausa language, was given to the group by the local people from where the group was founded. It loosely translates to “Western education is evil” or “Western education is forbidden.” It has also existed under other names, such as Nigerian Taliban and Yusufiyyah sect after the group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf (Ezirin & Onuoha, 2013).

Over the past several years, Boko Haram has been responsible for several violent attacks, including bombings against the Nigerian state in the north, and has extended its mayhem to the to northern Cameroon, where it has attacked targets in the northern capital of Cameroon’s. These attacks have occurred at high-profile government establishments, markets, banks, police stations, and churches (Aghedo & Osumah, 2012).

The sect, which was originally considered to be a domestic terrorist group, has also successfully launched transnational attacks and struck international targets. This has not only fundamentally changed their description and designation, but has put them in the global spotlight (Ezirin & Onuoha,2013). Foyou et .The group’s leadership claims to have over 4000 members in Northern Cameroon, as well as some neighboring African countries.

As a matter of fact, in May of 2014, Boko Haram was added to a U.N. Security Council list of terrorist groups due to their affiliation with al-Qaida. It is now subject to financial sanctions and an arms embargo, and any group that provides any kind of financial or material support to Boko Haram is also eligible to be added to the al-Qaida Sanctions (U.N., 2017).

1.2 Statement of the problem

The major problem identified in this research paper is the limited scope of national security in the northern region of Cameroon. To say that terrorism threatens Cameroons national security is to state the obvious.

This observation is a truism considering the destructive and destabilizing impacts of terrorism in northern Cameroon over the recent years., the activities of the Boko Haram sect have created an atmosphere of siege and desolation in most parts of Northern Cameroon.

The resultant public security volatility in the region has been an impediment to trade and investment, peaceful co-existence and stability, as well as sustainable livelihood and development. This scenario has since complicated and accentuated the light of the region as a developmentally challenged section of Cameroon.

In respect of the implications of terrorism for the wider polity of Cameroon, it is to be noted that the Boko Haram insurgency has led to negative perception of Cameroon as an unsafe country by the wider world. This has damaged Cameroon’s profile as a favorable international destination for investment, travel, tourism, scholarship, and migration.

The implication of this is that northern Cameron is gradually drifting into the status of an ostracized nation. This does not augur well for the sustenance of the country’s national security. Furthermore, the extent of violence and destruction that has been associated with the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has been horrific. The advent of suicide bombing as a strategy for prosecuting terrorism by members of the sect has since signaled a new dimension to the national security challenge in Cameroon.

1.3 Objective of the study

1.3.1 General Objective

The purpose of this work is to bring out the place of terrorism in global insecurity taking the case of Boko haram in northern Cameroon

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives are:

1. To examine the concept of terrorism and how it relates to the book haram?
2. To bring out the role of the Cameroon government in containing and fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Cameroon
3. Identify the various challenges being faced by the Cameroon government in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism

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