AN ANALYSIS AND EFFECT OF INSURGENCY A CASE STUDY OF BORNO STATE IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study

Insurgencies has been as old as civilization but became most prominent after the September 11 2001 bombings of the United States by Al-Qaeda. The bombings were carried out on world trade centre which has adverse effects on the business activities of America and globally (Rogan 2007). Other insurgent’s activities were carried out by other groups such Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb of Algeria and Al-Shabaab of Somalia which also affects the business as well the economy of those countries.

Boko Haram started as a small radical Sunni Islamic organization with preaching and a limited support from among the Sufi Islamic communities in the Northeastern part of Nigeria, the anti-western ideology of the Boko Haram terrorist group, earn it the concern about its potential relationship with other groups such as Sunni extremist or terrorist groups elsewhere, including al-Qaeda as well as al-Qaeda affiliates such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Algeria and Mali and Al-Shabaab in Somalia. These groups bomb shopping malls; airports and business areas, thereby making business environment to collapse (Reuters, 2013). Like an array of contemporary terrorist groups throughout history, Boko Haram started domestically, but over time, its operational capabilities and impact have grown, spreading like cancer from Borno state to neighboring states such as Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano and even to Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria and beyond. It Attacks Military formations such as army barracks, police stations, immigration offices, schools and prisons, and more seriously, killing and injuring of both Christians, Muslims, women and children and most recently abduction and killing of school children. Markets and motors parks were constantly attacked and banks frequently robbed thereby forestalling business activities in the affected areas (This Day Newspaper, 2012).

1.2. Statement of the problem

Borno State is the only State in Nigeria that is bordered by three countries. These include Cameroon, Niger and Chad Republic. There is a healthy trade relationship between the State and her international neighbors. Tones of grains, livestock and other consumables flow between Borno and her bordering trading partners. Despite this advantage, the State depends on monthly allocation from the Federal Government to keep it running. The scenario is further compounded by insurgency and this has hampered on the socio-economic development of the organization of Borno State and her immediate neighbors. The effect of the insurgency has been far reaching and has affected a whole of things including the socio economic development of Borno state and the North eastern part of the country at large. The root cause of the insurgency is yet to be unraveled as a lot has been said about the various causes of insurgency. Discovering the root cause of insurgency would solve the problem half way.