Economic Determinism and Boko Haram Terrorism: Understanding the Long Road to Peace and Security in North-East Nigeria, 2009–2019

In spite of having expended billions of naira in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism in the north-eastern part of Nigeria, attaining the desired peace and security apparently remains an exercise in futility. Most public discourses and literature ascribe the intractability of terrorist activities within the region to religion and bad governance. However, a critical aspect of this subject, which has not been well captured in literature and national debates, is the economic pressure exerted by a few corrupt ruling classes within the country. The position in this paper is that the perpetuity of Boko Haram terrorism is, more likely, situated in the selfish expression of interests of a few corrupt leaders, who see counterterrorism as a veritable venture for the creation of personal wealth, and the attainment of economic and political power. Adopting Karl Marx’s theory of economic determinism, this paper seeks to engage the expression of selfish interests and the accumulation of material wealth by corrupt ruling elites, in order to explain the phenomenal protraction of conflict and the perpetual search for peace and sustainable security in the north-east and the country as a whole. The study examines the nexus between economic determinism and Boko Haram terrorism. It analyzes the implications of the exploitative dispositions of corrupt ruling leaders on peace, security, and development, and reveals the fact that the insolvability of Boko Haram terrorism is the function of a few corrupt ruling elites within the polity. The conclusion here is that peace and sustainable security will be achieved if the war against the corrupt practices of a few criminally minded ruling elites is won. Finally, the paper elucidates five fundamental blueprints for successful counterterrorism and for building lasting peace and security in the north-east and the entire nation.