Aftermath of Boko Haram violence in the Lake Chad Basin: a neglected global health threat

AbstractThe Lake Chad basin is one of the most unstable regions in Africa. The lake itself has shrunk and nowadays it covers less than 10 % of its area in 1960. These environmental changes have wider geopolitical consequences in the whole region, which encompasses countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Therefore, it seems that environmental threats may act as the detonators for larger political conflict as well as for a struggle for land and may cause growing instability in affected countries. The region is fragile, owing to the fact that several terrorist and Islamist groups are operating there. The most serious threat in the Lake Chad basin is militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which is based in north eastern Nigeria, but it is also active in neighbouring countries. As a result of both ecological changes and security threats, people are losing their traditional sources of income from herding and it is likely that there will be large waves of migration from the area. The paper focuses on the environmental challenges in the Lake Chad basin and their effect on the security in the region. The main attention will be paid to the strategies and actions of militant terrorist groups such as Boko Haram that will be analysed in the wider regional geopolitical context.

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National Interests and Regional Security in the Lake Chad: Assessing the Multinational Joint Task Force

The Journal of Social Sciences Research ◽

10.32861/jssr.61.40.49 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 40-49

Author(s):

Ifeanyichukwu Micheal Abada ◽

Charles Akale ◽

Kingsley Chigozie Udegbunam ◽

Olihe A. Ononogbu

Keyword(s):

Task Force ◽

Regional Security ◽

Security Architecture ◽

Boko Haram ◽

National Interests ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Joint Task ◽

Lake Chad Basin ◽

Joint Task Force

This article assessed security architecture for counter-insurgency against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB). The paper diagnosed the impact of conflicting national interests of contributing nations on the performance of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) as a regional security architecture in the LCB. Some scholars and analysts cite corruption, historical contradictions among LCB members, poor funding, and complex nature of the insurgency, as factors responsible for failure of counter-insurgency operations in the LCB. Others contend that resource geopolitics, linguistic differences, and hegemonic politics have impacted negatively on the capacity of the MNJTF to decimate terrorists in the region. This is a qualitative study that draws from the Fund for Peace, International Crisis Group (ICG), Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), and research literature dealing with national interest and military alliances, while using content analysis to argue that conflicts in national interests, more than any other factor, have hampered the collaborative efforts of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and weakened the capacity of the MNJTF to engage in robust counterinsurgency against Boko Haram in the LCB.

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The Split in Boko Haram and Its Impact for the Lake Chad Basin Region

Outlines of global transformations politics economics law ◽

10.23932/2542-0240-2021-14-2-12 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 214-230

Author(s):

T. S. Denisova ◽

S. V. Kostelyanets

Keyword(s):

Armed Conflict ◽

Large Scale ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Islamic State ◽

Boko Haram ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Lake Chad Basin ◽

Military Tactics ◽

Basin Region

The Islamist group Boko Haram (BH) was founded in the early 2000s and in less than two decades has transformed from a “Nigerian” movement into a regional one. Tactical, strategic and ideological differences between the leaders of BH have repeatedly led to its splits into separate factions; the most serious occurred in 2016, when the group split into the Islamic State in West Africa Province and Jamaatu Ahl-is-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad, the latter being still referred to as “Boko Haram” for convenience.The present paper examines the reasons for the splits in BH, the goals and military tactics of the two factions, and the prospects for the development of the security situation in the region of the Lake Chad basin (LCB), where armed conflict is fueled by large-scale poverty, socio-economic and political marginalization, and ineffectiveness of local authorities against the background of intertribal tensions and massive migration.The LCB has now become a huge human reservoir for jihadist recruitment. The situation in the region is further complicated by the fact that a significant portion of the population supports the Islamists, while the majority of locals are targeted by them and seek to leave their homes.The authors note that the division of BH into separate factions has made it more difficult for the LCB armed forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations, and for the LCB governments to negotiate cease fires or retrieve hostages, although, simultaneously, the split has led to a certain decline in the level of violence and to the weakening of the influence of the Islamists on the socio-economic development in the region.

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Boko Haram Insurgency, Terrorism and the Challenges of Peacebuilding in the Lake Chad Basin

Peacebuilding in Contemporary Africa ◽

10.4324/9781351031462-9 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 142-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Usman A. Tar ◽

Bashir Bala

Keyword(s):

Boko Haram ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Lake Chad Basin

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Spatial Expansion of Islamic Extremism in the Lake Chad Basin: Current Situation and Prospective Directions

Filosofia Theoretica Journal of African Philosophy Culture and Religions ◽

10.4314/ft.v9i1.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 47-62

Author(s):

Ruslan V. Dmitriev ◽

Stanislav A. Gorokhov ◽

Ivan A. Zakharov

Keyword(s):

Religious Affiliation ◽

Local Level ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Boko Haram ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Lake Chad Basin ◽

Extremist Groups ◽

Administrative Units ◽

Islamic Extremism

The article discusses the expansion of the Islamic extremist groups (especially Boko Haram) in the Lake Chad basin countries. The geopolitical zones and states of Nigeria, regions of Niger and Cameroon, macro-regions of Chad were selected as the territorial range. The religious affiliation data has been compiled from the DHS-database. Income levels and literacy rates were evaluated indirectly using body mass index and the degree of age-heaping (modified Whipple's index), respectively. A hierarchical cluster analysis, has allowed us to categorize the territorial-administrative units into four groups by the probability of new Islamic extremist groups appearing there. The article clearly shows that Boko Haram may expand in the Western and North-Western directions. Meanwhile, the new cells are more likely to form inside Nigeria than outside it. Thus, in the near future, theexpansion of Islamic extremist organizations in the Lake Chad basin countries will occur at the local level. Keywords: Lake Chad basin countries, Islamic Extremism, Boko Haram, expansion.

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Between the ‘Kanuri’ and Others

Tribes and Global Jihadism ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190864545.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 131-152

Author(s):

Claude Mbowou

Keyword(s):

Boko Haram ◽

Community Based ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Settlement Area ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Far North ◽

Lake Chad Basin ◽

Community Ties ◽

The Common ◽

Border Areas

One of the common explanations for the expansion of Boko Haram in Lake Chad Basin is to consider that it has been fostered by the links between the jihadist movement and Kanuris. Indeed, the area of this insurgency largely covers the historical settlement area of Kanuris between northeastern Nigeria, the far-north of Cameroon and southeastern of Niger. Many Boko Haram supporters are from Kanuri populations. Yet many victims of this insurgency also belong to this community. Based on observations made in the far-north of Cameroon, this chapter calls into question the primacy of community ties in the diffusion of Boko Haram. It highlights the ability of the jihadist movement to undermine the tribal system upon which the state has always based its local domination. In particular, it shows how Boko Haram, whose social base is in reality trans-communal, has been able to take advantage of inequalities and divisions within tribes to create links stronger than community ties. This has taken place in a context of contestation of state and community elites by the marginalized peoples living in these border areas.

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The Nexus between Bad Governance, Ungoverned Spaces and Terrorism: Analysing the Boko Haram Insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin through the lenses of the Social Contract Theory

10.31124/advance.17078045 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Felix Oyosoro ◽

Robert Tayimlong ◽

Innocent Pikirayi

Keyword(s):

Social Contract ◽

Contract Theory ◽

Social Contract Theory ◽

Environmental Drivers ◽

Eastern Region ◽

Boko Haram ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Lake Chad Basin ◽

The Social

<p>The Lake Chad Basin is one of the most fragile and politically unstable regions in Africa. This is largely due to the insurgency of Boko Haram which broke out in Nigeria’s north-eastern region and later spilled over to northern Cameroon, western Chad and south-eastern Niger. By 2020, approximately 37000 people had died and 2.6 million displaced as a consequence of the crisis. The conflict has undermined security in vast human habitats, destroyed billions of dollars’ worth of critical public goods, damaged livelihoods and left millions of affected populations without access to basic services. The challenge in academic and peacebuilding spaces has been to dissect and tackle the principal causes of the conflict. Whereas there is substantial literature on the religious, political, social, economic and environmental drivers of the insurgency in Nigeria, much is not known about the governance environment that facilitated its outbreak and spread. To understand this, this article adopts the social contract theory to critically examine the correlation between bad governance, ungoverned spaces and the insurgency in the affected countries. The paper uses secondary sources to supplement primary data from key informant interviews and focus group discussions in Nigeria's Borno State, Chad's Lake Province, Cameroon's Far North Region, and Niger's Diffa Region.</p>

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“Small Fires Causing Large Fires”: The rise of Boko Haram in Northeastern Nigeria and its Transnational Posture in the Lake Chad Basin

The Journal of Intelligence Conflict and Warfare ◽

10.21810/jicw.v4i2.2952 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 46-67

Author(s):

Gershon Adela

Keyword(s):

Rapid Expansion ◽

Boko Haram ◽

Lake Chad ◽

Western Education ◽

Chad Basin ◽

Lake Chad Basin ◽

Northeastern State ◽

Large Fires

The Islamist group, Jama’atul Alhul Sunnah Lidda’wati wal Jihad, translated as “people committed to the propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and jihad”, is commonly known as Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden.” It originated in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno in 2002, but its violence extends into neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger in the Lake Chad Basin. This article provides an overview of the factors that led to the emergence of Boko Haram, its resort to violence, and rapid expansion in the Lake Chad Basin. The article argues that the Boko Haram insurgency is the result of the combination of overlapping and self-complementing factors. The similarity of these factors across Nigeria’s neighboring countries in the Lake Chad Basin has led to the rapid escalation of Boko Haram’s conflict.

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