The Nigerian State and Management of Terrorism

Abstract

The Nigerian state has for decades been infested with the various forms of terrorist challenges. Indeed, the country’s return to the democratic path has witnessed the emergence of various ethnic militia groups, increased Niger Delta militancy and now the Boko Haram insurgency, among others. The activities of these terrorist elements have earned the country the character of a state that is at war with itself. Consequent upon this, the Nigerian State has responded to these threats primarily through the use of military force in an attempt to quell the situation and restore order to the society. On this note, the study interrogates the counter-terrorist strategies of the Nigerian state in relation to its effectiveness in handling the terrorist challenge. The study anchored its analysis on some basic propositions emanating from the Marxist political economy. Designed as a desk study, it generated data from secondary sources. The study observed that the stick approach (military force) which the Nigerian state relies more on has not been successful as expected in tackling terrorism in the country as it has for long deceived the state to overlook the economic roots of terrorism in the country as evidenced in poverty, unemployment, socio-political exclusion, horizontal inequality and state repression, among others, that serve as basis for mobilisation, recruitment and radicalisation. It argued that in order to adequately de-escalate and curtail the rising waves of terrorism in the country, the Nigerian state should as a matter of necessity address these concerns.