Response Of The International Community To The Boko Haram Insurgency In Nigeria

Nigeria has been under terrorist attacks from the activities of Boko Haram since 2009.The group started as a religious movement within Islam to institute some changes.However,a confrontation between them and the Nigerian security services in 2009 more or less made the group to redefine themselves.It is estimated that at least a minimum of 7,500 people to a maximum of 33,000 people have died as a result of this insurgency.Boko Haram which is literally translated as Western education is forbidden is the short form of the groups’ original name “Sunni Community for the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teaching and Jihad”.Unlike al-Qaeda and its affiliates,its focus is specifically on Nigeria and adjacent countries rather than international jihad.Boko Haram bounced back in 2010 with a campaign of massive killings and assassinations.The reconstituted Boko Haram sought revenge against the security forces and committed itself to the overthrow through violence of the Nigerian state government and the ‘compromised’ Islamic establishment.The Nigerian government and for that matter their military,has not been able to deal with the group.This research therefore attempts to analyse how the Boko Haram insurgency has been handled by the leadership of Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan and his successor Major Gen.(Rtd)Muhammadu Buhari.The first chapter provides the research background which begins with a brief history of Nigeria and an overview on Boko Haram.The main focus of the research is to identify why Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan and his successor Major Gen.(Rtd)Muhammadu Buhari have received different responses from the international community;UN,AU and the US in handling Boko Haram.A critical focus is placed on the role of the two Presidents and how their actions and inactions either aided or prevented efforts aimed at eliminating Boko Haram.A qualitative research approach is employed with emphasis on case-study design.The theory applied for this study is the Actor-Specific Theory as this research focuses on the role of the two individual Presidents in the period of review.In International Relations(IR),much of the theories tend to neglect the role of individuals in international affairs.There is a dearth of literature on the influence of individuals in this area.Infact,less than 15% of literature examines the role of the first image(individuals)in the international system.This is because many IR scholars do not place much emphasis on the role of individuals or tend to waive their prevalence in what constitutes valuable political science.A critical look at history reveals the important roles played by some individuals in the international system.We can mention names likes Pericles,Hitler,Napoleon,Bismarck and Caesar.The second chapter analyses events under the leadership of Goodluck Jonathan mostly from 2011 when he was sworn-in as the President of Nigeria.His leadership was considered ineffective and unable to handle matters involving Boko Haram.Despite the escalating crisis,during Nigeria’s 2014-2015 term as an elected member of the UNSC,the Council only issued three Presidential Statements on efforts to combat Boko Haram.This was during the leadership of Goodluck Jonathan.Many believe Nigeria’s election to the UNSC should have been an opportunity for them to take concrete steps in dealing with the Boko Haram issue.Unfortunately,this did not happen under the watch of Goodluck Jonathan.Weak political leadership by President Goodluck Jonathan also contributed to the escalation of the conflict.Even worse were the human rights abuses by the Nigerian military and excessive corruption by government officials which he did little to remedy the situation.His request to the US for intervention was refused for several reasons.The most obvious one was the inhumane treatment of the Nigerian military to its population which the United Nations had condemned.His government rather rejected an intervention which was at the instance of the United Nations.The AU could not do much during his tenure as his government did not cooperate with Nigeria’s neighbours.Chapter three discusses the progress made in fighting Boko Haram when Muhammadu Buhari assumed office as President in May 2015.Muhammadu Buhari assumed office with a lot of high hopes and expectations from the Nigerian population and the international community to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.He as a matter of urgency reignited efforts to strengthen relations with the country’s neighbours who were also been targeted by Boko Haram.Major Gen(Rtd)Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as president of Nigeria in May 2015 and by August 01,2015,he had visited Niger,Chad,Cameroon and Benin to proof his commitment of cooperating with Nigeria’s neighbours.He made plans to support the activities of the MNJTF with an amount of up to $100 million and was also prepared to take on its leadership.He also actively engaged the UN and the AU in the fight against Boko Haram by allowing the former to spearhead negotiations with the group for the abducted Chibok girls which occurred in 2014.President Buhari also made efforts to revive the deteriorating relations with the US under the erstwhile Jonathan regime.Chapter Four provides a comparative analysis of events under the two leaders.Emphasis is placed on how President Buhari with his personality and impressive perception about him,has made significant strides at efforts aimed at dealing with Boko Haram.It shows how President Buhari changes the perception of Nigeria’s immediate neighbours who are also affected by the Boko Haram insurgency,actively involves the UN in negotiations with the group as well as the AU renewing the mandate of the MNJTF.Most importantly,President Buhari makes deteriorating relations with the US under the erstwhile administration his prime concern and makes his first official visit to meet President Barack Obama.The chapter also investigates how his leadership made efforts at eliminating corruption in the government sectors as well as strengthening their military.Chapter Five concludes the research with some conclusions,findings and policy recommendations.Among other things,this research concludes that the high number of Muslims in northern Nigeria affects how the Boko Haram insurgency is tackled by the Federal government.Conclusions are also made on how the individual leaders matter and the gradual change of policy by the UN,AU and the US.Some of the findings include the following: The beliefs of Boko Haram and the rest of the world which are identified in this research as two opposing ends.Also,the research identifies that Boko Haram shares a lot in common with the LRA of Uganda.Uneven economic development in Nigeria is also mentioned as one of the factors that has given support to the Boko Haram insurgency.The role and impact of the Multinational Joint Task Force(MNJTF)is discussed as the unit sanctioned by the AU to fight Boko Haram.Boko Haram’s alleged connection to the dreaded Islamic State of Iraq and Syria(ISIS)is identified as one of the reasons which changed the perception and attitude of the international community to the group.This research ends by making some policy recommendations for stakeholders and decision makers on how to deal with this insurgency as well as prevent its spread to other countries.