Making Sense of the Boko Haram Insurgency from a Historical Materialist Perspective

Since the end of colonialism and the dawn of its independence on October 1, 1960, independent Nigeria has continued to be characterized with the existence of violent and militarized conflicts. The high point of this phenomenon was the emergence of Boko Haram in 2002 which was accompanied with a number of violent attacks and loss of hundreds of lives. Boko Haram is against western education and western induced policies and its attacks targeted both Christians and Muslims. This unending violence and attacks have gained the focus and interest of scholars who tried to explain the rise of Boko Haram by referring to different factors. One of the widespread explanations focuses on the failure of good governance in Nigeria. Good governance entails accountability of government, a clear legal framework embracing the rule of law, citizen access to reliable information and transparent, open government which includes an end to corruption. This thesis discusses the shortcomings of such a framework that explains the dynamics of the Boko Haram insurgency in terms of the failure of good governance. It employs an alternative theoretical framework by drawing on critical terrorism studies and in specific a historical materialist approach to terrorism.