Boko Haram Insurgency in Northern Nigeria from the perspective of historical materialism theory

When we trace the historical antecedents of Nigeria from British colonialism, when Nigeria was amalgamated in 1914, and when it gained its independence in 1960. Nigerians have faced multiple instances of violence or chaos vis-à-vis militarization, ethnicity, among others. The major conflicts and the challenges that stand as a turmoil to both the government and citizens are the emergence of Boko Haram in 2002, which has taken thousands of lives, and millions have been displaced. Boko Haram sect, which coined their ideology as Western Education is a sin, this armed carried out several attacks, especially against the inhabitants of the northern part of Nigeria. The incessant attack of this group has brought the attention of many scholars to focus on the factors that motivate the group to carry on such deadly attacks. From the point of view, the most important factor that motivates Boko Haram operations is bad governance because the government fails in socio-economic and political activities of Nigeria, which have been bastardized by the elite group and have taken absolute control of national resources for self-aggrandizement. Government as an institution is supposed to exhibit good governance to its citizens, which connotes accountability, infrastructure, health care, education, etc. This thesis will explore bad governance as a criterion and also as a framework to exhibit the uprising of the Boko Haram Insurgency in northern Nigeria. Nevertheless, the study will use a theoretical framework by critically analyzing terrorism studies and Karl Marx's Historical Materialism Theory on terrorism.