Rise Of Boko Haram In Nigeria

Once a religious commune and now a violent terrorist organization, Boko Haram is impacting the country and surrounding countries of Nigeria. Their activity includes killing civilians, targeting government buildings, and even sending children in as suicide bombers to bomb buildings such as mosques. The main goal is for the group to turn the country of Nigeria into a true Islamic state. They believe that Islam should be the main religion and the country should move away from western and secular values. The government is currently combating this situation and many argue that they are doing a subpar job. There are three different types of causes that can explain the violent rise of Boko Haram. The rise of Boko Haram is attributed to individual, …show more content…
The state lacks legitimacy through rampant corruption in the government and it also lacks autonomy due to the failing situation of handling Boko Haram. The government and military have been struggling to maintain control over the organization for the last couple of years. To try to maintain the monopoly on violence, they have resorted to mass arrests and extrajudicial killings (Alvi). They have both been failing at maintaining order and equality. The fighting between the two groups has only ended in innocent people killed and only a reduction in Boko Haram forces. Some citizens are even starting to question whose worse, the military, or Boko Haram. In the raid of Giwa Barracks, many prisoners escaped as a result of a Boko Haram raid. However, the government and other militias rounded them up and executed most of them (Alvi). The military is losing its monopoly over violence and the faith of their citizens. To add, as Northern Nigeria is stricken with poverty, Nigerian politicians are making absurd amount of money up to 2 million dollars per year (Mbachu). This adds to the overall tension and creates a weaker Nigerian state. This has only strengthened the rise of Boko Haram and has created stronger want for the creation of an Islamic …show more content…
With concentrations of Muslims in the north and Christians in the south, this can lead to much religious tension about values and ideals for the country. Southern Christians are wealthier and are more represented in government while northern Muslims boast a low literacy rate and poverty. The corruption in government also aids to the poverty as a result of southern politicians making million dollar salaries while northerners living in this poverty. The Nigerian state has also lost the monopoly on violence and is losing the faith their citizens had in them. This can be linked directly to individual, ideational, and institutional causes of political violence. If the Nigerian state does not change, this violence could go own for many more years or even decades until Boko Haram’s objectives are