A PHILOSOPHICAL APPRAISAL OF BOKO HARAM TERRORISM AND THE SECURITY QUESTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamâ'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihâd (Arabic: ÏÇåÌáÇæ ÉæÚÏááÉäÓáÇ áå à ÉÚÇãÌ, "Group of the People of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad") is a terrorist organization founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the group was led by Abubakar Shekau from 2009 until his death in 2021, although it splintered into other groups after Yusuf's death. In 2016, the group split, resulting in the emergence of a hostile faction known as the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP). The group formerly aligned itself with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The group has been known for its brutality and since the insurgency started in 2009, Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands of people in frequent attacks against the police, armed forces and civilians. It has resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 children and displaced 2.3 million from their homes and was during part of the mid 2010s the world's deadliest terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index. This Thesis; “A Philosophical Appraisal of Boko Haram Terrorism and the Security Question in Nigeria” having emphasized the problem in Nigerian statism, which suggests the predominance of the state and its emphasis on force, fear and might that provided breeding ground for the Boko Haram Terror Group and gave rise to the present situation which elicits negative values of domination, suppression, alienation, terror, intolerance, among others. This research work also discovered that this trend is particularly pronounced in a poverty-stricken, violent, corruption prone, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society as Nigeria which struggles with identity politics and citizenship issues. This work basically recommends a more holistic pathway to security, peace and social order in Nigeria. Though this work further argues that it is within the right of the citizen to protest; however, the method of Boko Haram Insurgency is not known to any acceptable global standard. Thus, they must choose between the peaceful resistance of Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi or use revolution but in compliance to the United Nations guideline on war; which clearly provides that one should not attack noncombatants. The method adopted in this research work is analytical and expository. The conclusion is that the views of philosophers will help to liberate the mind of the average Boko Haram Terrorist who is predominantly acting from the position of ignorance.