A Surge from the Forest: Towards Rescuing the Africa's Giant from the Boko Haram's Clench

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2014 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: Post-Graduate, Obafemi Awolowo University, course: History, language: English, abstract: That Boko Haram, a Nigerian based terrorist group, has been terrorizing every part of Northern Nigeria is no longer a new phenomenon as lives and properties are being lost on a daily basis to the insurgent's sinister activity. What is new however, is the recent onslaught of the terrorist group. In the time past, it had the habit of hiding in the forest known as 'Sambisa' from where it perpetrated its malevolence acts. However, it appears as if the carnages and horror the country has seen in recent times are not enough as the insurgent group, once believed to be hiding its face in the forest of Sambisa, is now tending towards separatist expansionism as it is laying claim to the control of some parts of the country, engaging the military in what is rapidly becoming a conventional warfare. Indeed, Boko Haram has fully changed tactics as its attack is becoming more brutal with its well-equipped sophisticated weapons. Suicide-bombers are being dispatched ahead of high-speed convoys; the dissidents showed an eagerness to die in battle rather than duck bullets. Without the airstrikes, the results would have been otherwise. Given the approach of the Nigerian politicians to this issue, this crisis may remain a recurring problem. In the middle of these crises, the Nigerian government seemed to be short of ideas on how to curtail the excesses of this deadly group and nip its activities in the bud. After a critical field-work in the crisis-prone area, this research analysis the problems and offers a far-reaching recommendations on how the crisis can be permanently dealt with.

Adewale Stephen is a full time researcher based in Nigeria, where he researches on Nigerian Foreign Policy and other International Relations subjects. Stephen is the author of two books and over a ten articles.