TITLE:
Religion, Violence, Poverty and Underdevelopment in West Africa: Issues and Challenges of Boko Haram Phenomenon in Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Ani Casimir, C. T. Nwaoga, Rev. Fr. Chrysanthus Ogbozor
KEYWORDS:
Religion; Violence; Conflict; Poverty; Bad Governance; Weak Institutions and Underdevelopment
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.4 No.1,
February
27,
2014
ABSTRACT: Violent conflicts in
emerging democracies or societies in transition threaten the stability of state
governance institutions, which brings about insecurity of lives, property and
deepens the vicious cycle of poverty and criminality in Africa. The first
responsibility of any government is to provide security of lives and property.
At no time since Nigeria’s civil war has the country witnessed the resurgence
of violence and insecurity that claims hundreds of lives weekly. It is a sectarian
insurgence of multiple dimensions. This article makes the case that Boko Haram
is not just a religious phenomenon but a reflection of a so- cio-political,
economic and ethnic problem caused by bad governance. As a result, Boko Haram
has witnessed a cross-border influence and impact which has expanded its
frontiers beyondNigeriato neighboring countries in the West African region. The theoretical framework
employed in this article posits that Boko Haram has its roots fundamentally in
poverty caused by bad governance in the Northern Moslem bend, in Nigeria and
the West African Region where corruption, human rights violations,
marginalization of cultural, political and religious groups have created the
situation whereby weak state structures have abysmally failed to deliver on the
development promises made during elections. So the emergence of Nigeria’s Boko
Haram violence, as a result of the street poverty and the rise of unemployed
street beggars, popularly known as Almajiris, and their use for electoral and party violence, was encouraged by the
neglect and abandonment of the masses by the governors and other elected
leaders. The expansion and consolidation of the Boko Haram insurgence to other
parts of the country and neighboring West African nations was made possible by
the already existing failed state institutions, bad governance and corruption
and the existing band of small criminal sectarian groups that depend upon their
survival on aids from Al Quaeda, drug gangs and sea piracy. The religious
dimension is a marginal factor fueled by fundamental socio-economic and
political variables which have been thrown up in the first place by bad
governance and leadership in Nigeria.