Boko Haram insergency: Boko Haram War In Nigeria

The recent biggest security challenges in the mother of Africa (Nigeria) is the war against Boko Haram. Boko Haram is a terrorist group based in Nigeria which had been actively operating since the early 2000s. The group's goal is to establish an Islamic state or Shariah laws in the region and impose a strict interpretation of sharia law.

Boko Haram has carried out a range of attacks, including gorilla war, suicide bombings, assassinations of politicians, top government officials, and kidnappings, targeting both civilians and security forces. The group has been responsible for the thousands of deaths of people in Nigeria and the neigbouring countries like Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon.

The Federal government of Nigeria with the support from foreign countries in the region using multi joint task forces have been fighting against Boko Haram since 2009.

However, despite some military successes and weakening of the sect, the group continues to carry out attacks in the region and kidnapping civilians, government officials and military personnels.

Boko Haram gained international attention after it kidnapped more than 250 school girls from the town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria around 2013. The incident had sparked a global campaign, with slogan "Bring Back Our Girls", to secure the release of the girls. Some of the girls have since been rescued or released, but many remain married to the Boko Haram, delivered to their Commanders children and some died of military attacks. Recently, few of these Chibok girls were found with their children rescued after military attacks.

Recently, the Nigeria Government and its Multinational Joint Task Force have had some significant military successes in dealing with the group, killing or capturing many of its leaders, as well as rescuing many abductees including Chibok girls and reducing the group ability to launch devastating attacks.

The insurgency is far from over and ongoing reports of sporadic attacks continue to occur. Additionally, the lack of proper rehabilitation programs for former insurgents and the lack of development in the North East Nigeria, which is the main area of operation of the group, has been identified as a root cause of the problem.

In addition to the military efforts to combat Boko Haram, there have also been attempts to address the underlying socio-economic hardship and political issues that contributed to the creation of the group. These include addressing extreme poverty and lack of proper education in the region, as well as addressing government's officials corruption and human rights abuses by military and other joint tasks security forces.

Moreover, despite these efforts, the situation remains complex and the insurgency continues. The group has splited into several factions, some of which have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISWAP & Alqa'idah) further complicating the situation.

Thus, the group has evolved from a mainly domestic oriented terrorist group to a cross-border one by launching some attacks in the neibouring countries like Niger, Chad and Cameroon, which in turn formed the Multinational Joint Task Force, to tackle the group.

In addition to this, the group has been known to use child soldiers, and employ the use of kidnappings and forced marriages of young girls, which has led to devastating humanitarian consequences in the region.

Furthermore, the group have important linked to other transnational terrorist group in the region of West Africa  and some politicians in Nigeria were involved in an effort to get mantle of leadership. This has led to concern of it being a major security threat not only to Nigeria, but also to the West Africa and the Sahel region entirely. This requires joint actions to combat or eliminate Boko Haram from the regions. Efforts were made from the leadership of the region to jointly combat the insecurity in the region. 

In conclusion, the fight against Boko Haram is a multifaceted and ongoing issue, requiring a comprehensive approach that addresses not just military force but also socio-economic and political issues. If care is not be taking the war will take a decades before culminated.

References:

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Nigeria: Boko Haram's Impact on Children (https://www.unocha.org/nigeria/boko-harams-impact-children)

Institute for Security Studies: Boko Haram: From a local to a regional threat (https://issafrica.org/iss-today/boko-haram-from-a-local-to-a-regional-threat)

Combating Terrorism Center at West Point: Boko Haram's Evolution from Domestically Focused Group to International Terrorist Organization (https://ctc.usma.edu/boko-harams-evolution-from-domestically-focused-group-to-international-terrorist-organization/)

Council on Foreign Relations: Boko Haram (https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/boko-haram)

BBC News: Boko Haram Fast Facts (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28752701)

CNN: The Chibok girls: A timeline of Nigeria's fight against Boko Haram (https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/africa/chibok-girls-boko-haram-timeline-intl/index.html)

Human Rights Watch: Nigeria: Boko Haram's Reign of Terror (https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/03/17/boko-harams-reign-terror/abuses-boko-haram-and-nigerian-security-forces)


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