THE BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND DEMOCRATIC TRAJECTORY IN NIGERIA
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Date
2014
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Society for Peace Studies and Practice, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Abstract
Nigeria's democratization experiments have midwifed three republics. However, the crises which have rendered the Nigerian democracy palpable persist. Since the transition to democratic rule in 1999, Nigerian has been battling the challenges of electoral malpractices and violence. The 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections were globally adjudged to be marred by electoral fraud and violence. However, the 2011 election was adjudged by both local and international observers to be a marked improvement on previous elections in Nigeria. Yet, after the election, Nigeria has been facing serious security challenges which the government has not been able to manage. This situation poses risks not only to the country’s fragile democracy, but to internal security, stability and development. The northern part of the country has been hit by scores of bombing and shootings attributed to the Boko Haram Islamist group, which has been linked to al-Qaeda. A string of attacks has also hit Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The security challenges rather than abating, continue to escalate to the level whereby the state assumed the character of a failed state. Thus, this paper examines the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency for the democratisation process in Nigeria. Data were derived from existing studies on security and democracy in Nigeria. The paper argues that the security challenges may jeopardize the forward trajectory of democratic consolidation. Indeed, the ineffectiveness of the government in addressing the security challenges has grave implications for the positive trajectory of democratic consolidation such that Nigeria’s serious internal instability may be fatally aggravated.
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Keywords
Boko Haram, Insurgency, Security Challenges, Democratic Trajectory, Nigeria
Citation
Babatunde, A.O. (2014). The Boko Haram Insurgency and Democratic Trajectory in Nigeria. The Journal of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice. 1 (3); 289-306. Published by the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.