Boko Haram Insurgency And Economic Development In Nigeria

1.3 Research questions

i. How does the Boko Haram Insurgency militate against economic development in Nigeria?

ii. Is the military option the best strategy in tackling the Boko Haram menace in Nigeria?

 

1.4 Objectives of the Study

By explaining how the sect came into being and by showing that they posed serious threat to national security, the broad objectives of this research work is designed to examine; 

i. To ascertain how the Boko Haram Insurgency militates against economic development in Nigeria.

ii. To find out if the military option is the best strategy in tackling the Boko Haram menace in Nigeria.

1.5 Research Hypotheses

i. Boko Haram Insurgency militates against economic development in Nigeria.

ii. The military option seems the best option in tackling this menace.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The problem of Boko Haram and its implication on economic development in Nigeria is central to this research. All individual lives in a world prone to crises. No nation is free from crises. Violence is now endemic in human relations. The global threat of terrorism respect no boundaries or borders. Nigeria is not free from these threats, emanating from Boko Haram activities.

This study is thereby motivated by strong desire to contribute to the ranging dissolution of Boko Haram and its implication on Nigeria’s economic development.

It is therefore, hoped that this study will be relevant and will be of great benefits to the students and scholars of political science, history, intelligent and security studies and the society at large.

1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study 

The scope of this research work is quite broad that it encompasses the investigations of “the effect of Boko Haram insurgency on the economic development in Nigeria.

In the limitation of this study, various factors contributed in affecting the researcher’s comprehensiveness and totality in carrying out the study. In producing such a work like this, the problem confronting the researcher is not the scarcity of materials, but its availability. Some of which are bias in their presentation. More so, the research work is contemporary and politically sensitive. The researcher therefore is confronted with the problem of interpretation of the actions of Boko Haram and their implications.

Finally, there is the question of time and funds which may serve as impediments to this research. Nevertheless, limitation or limitating factors will be greatly managed to make the research work more objective in its presentation.

1.8 Definition of Terms

According to Janet (2004: 107), definition of terms used in a research is operational. Works are defined as they are used by the researcher. This means that researcher uses certain words in the way they fit to the study, which may be different from the ordinary dictionary meaning. For an operational understanding of the term used within this study, the definitions are as follows:

Insurgency: - This is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority (government of a nation), when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents.

Crime: - On the definitions of crime, the united Nation Research Institution observed that:-

Crime in the sense of branch of a legal prohibition, is a universal concepts, out what actually constitutes a crime and how seriously it should be regarded, varies enormously from crime are not determined by any objective indicator of the degree of injury or damage, but by culture values and power relations (UN Research institute for social development, 1995).

In a strict legal definition however, a crime is a violation of the criminal low, which is subsequently followed by an act harmful not only to some individual, but also to the community or the state. Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law (Elizabeth, 2003).

Violence: - The World Health Organization defines violence as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal development, or deprivation” but acknowledges that the inclusion of the “the use of power” in its definition expands on the conventional meaning of the word (WHO, 2002).

Sect: - A sect is a subgroup of a religious political or philosophical belief system, usually an off shoot of a larger religious group. Although in past is was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded  and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles. The term is occasionally used in a malicious way to suggest the broken-off group follows a more negative path than the original. It refers to a group or movement with heretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox or wrong (Wilson, 2008).

Terrorism:- Terrorism is perhaps one of the most controversial problematic concept to define in the world today. This is made more problematic blurred distinction between legitimate act of resistance and criminal act of terrorism. Despite these difficulties, however motivated act of violation perpetrated against civilian targets with the aim of inflicting mass causalities, in stilling fear and a sense of insecurity and affecting a change in the policies and action of the victims (Nolan, 1998).

Islamic Fundamentalism:- Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a returning to the fundamentals of Islam, the Quran and the Sunnah, it is deemed problematic by those who suggest that Islamic belief requires all Muslims to be fundamentalists (Bernard, 1993). Islamic fundamentalist oppose the infiltration of secular and westernizing influences and seek to institute Islamic law including in Muslim and strict code of behavior.